First edition cover (Chatto & Windus)

Brief Candles is the fifth collection of short fiction written by Aldous Huxley, published in 1930. The book consists of three short stories and a novella.

Brief Candles takes its title from a line in William Shakespeare's Macbeth, from Macbeth's famous soliloquy:

Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more: it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

Content

• "Chawdron"
• "The Rest Cure"
• "The Claxtons"
• "After the Fireworks", novella

Adaptations

Based on short story "The Claxtons":

• The Holy Family (1994), short film directed by Ulrich Weis

External links

• Brief Candles at Faded Page (Canada)
• Aldous Huxley at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• Aldous Huxley at IMDb