Aldous Huxley 
Those Barren Leaves 

A sharply witty novel about social ambitions and artistic pretensions by the author of Brave New World. The widowed Mrs. Aldwinkle will tell anyone who will listen of her love for art, and in a quest to surround herself with her intellectual equals, she invites an entourage to an Italian palace. One guest, who supports his poetry habit by editing a magazine for rabbit fanciers, will become the target of her amorous advances. Another guest will use the opportunity to embark on an affair in order to mine it for literary material, while yet another chases after a vulnerable heiress. A sparkling satire of the cultural elite, Those Barren Leaves is as entertaining and relevant today as when it was originally published. “Extremely clever, with the brilliance we have come to associate with this author.” —The New York Times