Mortal Coils
Encyclopedia
Mortal Coils is a collection of five short fictional pieces written by Aldous Huxley
Aldous Huxley
Aldous Leonard Huxley was an English writer and one of the most prominent members of the famous Huxley family. Best known for his novels including Brave New World and a wide-ranging output of essays, Huxley also edited the magazine Oxford Poetry, and published short stories, poetry, travel...

 in 1922.

The title uses a phrase from Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...

, 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
    Mona Lisa
    Mona Lisa is a portrait by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. It is a painting in oil on a poplar panel, completed circa 1503–1519...

     Smile" is a short murder-mystery story, which Huxley later adapted into a 1947 film called A Woman's Vengeance
    A Woman's Vengeance
    A Woman's Vengeance is a film directed by Zoltán Korda, with a screenplay by Aldous Huxley based on his short story "The Gioconda Smile", and starring Charles Boyer, Ann Blyth, Jessica Tandy, Cedric Hardwicke, Rachel Kempson, and Mildred Natwick. The film was released by Universal Studios....

    .
  • "Permutations Among the Nightingales" is a play concerning the amorous problems encountered by various patrons of a certain establishment.
  • "The Tillotson Banquet" tells of an old artist who was thought to be dead, and is "rediscovered", and an honorary dinner that 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
    Aldous Huxley
    Aldous Leonard Huxley was an English writer and one of the most prominent members of the famous Huxley family. Best known for his novels including Brave New World and a wide-ranging output of essays, Huxley also edited the magazine Oxford Poetry, and published short stories, poetry, travel...

     used in his novel Crome Yellow
    Crome Yellow
    Crome Yellow is the first novel by British author Aldous Huxley. It was published in 1921. In the book, Huxley satirises the fads and fashions of the time. It is the witty story of a house party at "Crome"...

    .
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