Aldous Huxley (1894–1963) was an English novelist, poet, essayist, and dramatist famous for his dystopian 1932 book Brave New World, set in a prescient, futuristic London and long a staple of middle–school curricula. Huxley was greatly concerned about the future of humanity and was often referred to as a humanist, although, with age, he became more focused on spirituality. By the end of his life, Huxley was widely acknowledged as one of the preeminent intellectuals of his era and was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in seven separate years.