''Mortal Coils'' is a collection of five short fictional pieces written by

Aldous Huxley Aldous Leonard Huxley (26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. He wrote nearly 50 books, both novels and non-fiction works, as well as wide-ranging essays, narratives, and poems. Born into the prominent Huxle ...

in 1921. The title uses a phrase from ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'', Act 3, Scene 1: : ... To die, to sleep, :To sleep, perchance to dream; aye, there's the rub, :For in that sleep of death, what dreams may come, :When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, :Must give us pause ... The stories all concern themselves with some sort of trouble, normally of an amorous nature, and often ending with disappointment.

The stories

*"The Gioconda Smile" is a mixture of social satire and murder story, which Huxley later adapted into a film called ''

A Woman's Vengeance ''A Woman's Vengeance'' is a 1948 American film noir drama mystery film directed by Zoltán Korda and starring Charles Boyer, Ann Blyth, Jessica Tandy, Cedric Hardwicke, Rachel Kempson, and Mildred Natwick. The screenplay by Aldous Huxley was ...

'' (1948). *"Permutations Among the Nightingales" is a play concerning the amorous problems encountered by various patrons of a hotel. *"The Tillotson Banquet" tells of an old artist who was thought to be dead, and is "rediscovered"; a not entirely successful honorary dinner is organised for him. *"Green Tunnels" is about the boredom of a young girl on holiday with her family. She develops a romantic fantasy, and is ultimately disillusioned. *"Nuns at Luncheon" is a second-hand story told of a nun falling in love. The story mocks the writer's process, a concept Huxley used in his novel ''

Crome Yellow ''Crome Yellow'' is the first novel by British author Aldous Huxley, published by Chatto & Windus in 1921, followed by a U.S. edition by George H. Doran Company in 1922. Though a social satire of its time, it is still appreciated and has been a ...

''.

References

External links

* 1922 short story collections Short story collections by Aldous Huxley Chatto & Windus books {{1920s-story-collection-stub