Mortal Coils

''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. His bibliography spans nearly 50 books, including non-fiction novel, non-fiction works, as well as essays, narratives, and poems. Born into the ...

, published in 1921. The book consists of three

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

, a novelette and a

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

. The title uses a phrase from ''

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

'', 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 ../blockquote> The stories all concern themselves with some sort of trouble, normally of an amorous nature, and often ending with disappointment.

Content
* "The Gioconda Smile", novelette: *: is a mixture of social satire and murder story, which Huxley later adapted into a film called '' A Woman's Vengeance'' (1948). * "Permutations Among the Nightingales", play: *: 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''.

Adaptations
Based on novelette "The Gioconda Smile": * '' A Woman's Vengeance'' (1948), film directed by
Zoltan Korda Zoltan Korda (May 3, 1895 – October 13, 1961) was a Hungary, Hungarian-born motion picture screenwriter, film director, director and film producer, producer. He made his first film in Hungary in 1918 and worked with his brother Alexander Korda ...
* '' Mortal Coils: Play'' (1948), play by Aldous Huxley * ''Das Lächeln der Gioconda'' (1958), TV movie directed by Michael Kehlmann * ''The Gioconda Smile'' (1963), TV movie directed by Patrick Barton * ''Das Lächeln der Gioconda'' (1966), TV movie directed by Ilo von Jankó * ''Mona Lisan hymy'' (1966), TV movie directed by Jukka Sipilä * ''Úsmev Mony Lízy'' (1968), TV movie directed by Bedřich Kramosil Based on play '' Mortal Coils: Play'': * ''Das Lächeln der Gioconda'' (1953), TV movie directed by Werner Völger * ''Il sorriso della Gioconda'' (1969), TV movie directed by Enrico Colosimo

References

External links
* * * {{Huxley 1921 short story collections Short story collections by Aldous Huxley Chatto & Windus books