- Aldous Huxley (the author) was worried people were becoming too optimistic about "progress"
- Written between The Great War and The Second World War
Period of developments in:
- psychology (Pavlov - conditioning / psychology)
- technology, industry (manufacturing, telephones, radio, Ford automobiles)
-genetics (discovery of replications of genetics / transformation)
entertainment (radio, motion picture, television)
social change (feminism, consumerism, urbanisation)