Ape and Essence
First edition (US) | |
| Author | Aldous Huxley |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science fiction, satire |
| Publisher | Harper & Brothers (US) Chatto & Windus (UK) |
Publication date | August 1948 (US) 1949 (UK) |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (hardcover and paperback) |
| Pages | 152 |
| OCLC | 248417 |
Ape and Essence (1948) is a novel by Aldous Huxley, first published in August 1948 by Harper & Brothers in the US, and then in 1949 by Chatto & Windus in the UK. It is set in a dystopia, as is Brave New World, Huxley's more famous work. It is largely a satire of the rise of large-scale warfare and warmongering in the 20th century, and presents a pessimistic view of the politics of mutually assured destruction. The book makes extensive use of surreal imagery, depicting humans as apes who, as a whole, will inevitably kill themselves.