Christopher Isherwood
Christopher Isherwood was a prominent English writer, born Christopher William Bradshaw-Isherwood on August 26, 1904. He gained recognition for his significant contributions to literature during the 1930s, particularly through his autobiographical novels, which often drew from his own experiences and relationships. Isherwood's early life was marked by the traumatic loss of his father during World War I, an event that deeply influenced his writing and personal outlook.
In 1929, he traveled to Berlin, where he became part of a vibrant artistic scene and formed a lasting friendship with poet W. H. Auden. This period inspired his notable works, including "Goodbye to Berlin," which is regarded as a key narrative of political fiction in the 20th century and later adapted into the famous musical "Cabaret." In the late 1930s, Isherwood relocated to Southern California, where he embraced Vedantism, a philosophy that harmonized with his exploration of homosexuality.
Despite experiencing a decline in literary recognition during the 1950s and 1960s, Isherwood's works were later rediscovered, rejuvenating his reputation. His novel "A Single Man," published in 1964, is often seen as a masterpiece, poignantly depicting the life of a gay English professor navigating grief in 1960s Los Angeles. Isherwood's life and writing remain influential, characterized by their exploration of identity, love, and the human experience. He passed away in 1986, leaving behind a legacy of rich and introspective literature.
Christopher Isherwood
English American author
- Born: August 26, 1904
- Birthplace: High Lane, Cheshire, England
- Died: January 4, 1986
- Place of death: Santa Monica, California
Biography
Christopher Isherwood is considered by some critics to be one of the most important English writers of the 1930s. He was born Christopher William Bradshaw-Isherwood on August 26, 1904, to Kathleen Machell-Smith and Frank Bradshaw-Isherwood, English gentry. His father was killed in France in May 1915 while serving as a lieutenant-colonel in the British army during World War I. The loss of his father when he was only ten years old had a lasting impact on Isherwood.
Isherwood was educated in the English public school system. In 1923, he enrolled in Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, but left in 1925 without completing his degree. He then worked at various jobs in London, including that of a private tutor. In 1928, he published his first novel, All the Conspirators. As with all of his novels, it was to some extent autobiographical.
In March, 1929, Isherwood visited Berlin with W. H. Auden, whom he had met while they were both students at St. Edmund’s School (Isherwood was there from 1914 to 1918). Isherwood and Auden remained lifelong friends, and during the 1930s, they collaborated on a travel book and three plays. From 1930 to 1933, Isherwood taught English in Berlin, where he met and fell in love with Heinz Neddermayer, a working-class youth. The two traveled together between 1934 and 1937, while Heinz tried to avoid being drafted into the German army.
Isherwood’s experiences in Berlin during the 1930s provided material for his three most successful works: The Last of Mr. Norris, Sally Bowles, and Goodbye to Berlin, known collectively as the “Berlin stories.” Literary critics and historians alike consider these works, especially Goodbye to Berlin, to be among the most significant political fiction of the twentieth century. The Berlin stories became the basis for John Van Druten’s play I Am a Camera (pr. 1951) and the award-winning musical and film Cabaret (1972). Although Isherwood was disappointed with Cabaret, its success ensured his lasting reputation.
In 1939, Isherwood settled in Southern California with Auden. Shortly afterward, he cut all ties with his Christian past and embraced Vedantism, one of the numerous forms of Hinduism. He had always felt an inner conflict between the Christian teachings of his youth and his same-sex attraction. His conversion to Vedantism enabled him to resolve, or at least escape, the conflict, since Vedantism views both heterosexuality and homosexuality as valid choices. The move to California marked the beginning of what critics term Isherwood’s American, or Vedantic, years. During the late 1940s, he worked as a scriptwriter in Hollywood and edited a periodical, Vedanta and the West. His first American novel, Prater Violet, which is actually set in London, explored the two themes that were becoming increasingly dominant in his work—homosexuality and Vedantism.
Isherwood’s reputation as a serious author declined markedly during the 1950s and 1960s. Critics judged that his writing became burdened with sentimentalism and religious mysticism. Three novels published during the 1960s—Down There on a Visit, A Single Man, and A Meeting by the River were rediscovered during the 1970s and, together with the success of Cabaret, resulted in a rehabilitation of Isherwood’s reputation as a writer. Most of Isherwood’s novels are autobiographical, and there is much corroborative information available in his diaries. Leading characters are modeled after individuals Isherwood knew personally, sometimes as lovers. Published in 1964, A Single Man is considered by some critics to be Isherwood’s masterpiece. Set in Los Angeles during the early 1960s, it is the story of a day in the life of George, a middle-aged gay English professor who is mourning the recent death of his lover. After a rather mundane day, George renews his commitment to life. A Single Man has been compared favorably with Isherwood’s earlier portrayal of Berlin during the 1930s.
During the 1970s, Isherwood turned his attention to autobiographical works, written to be read like novels. Kathleen and Frank: The Autobiography of a Family is a biography of his parents, though the focus is on himself. Christopher and His Kind, a sexual and political autobiography of his Berlin years, appeared at a time when Isherwood was becoming more openly active in the gay rights movement. My Guru and His Disciple recounts his conversion to Vedantism and his relationship with Swami Prabhavananda.
From the late 1960s until his death in 1986, Isherwood collaborated with Don Bachardy on a number of film and television scripts. Bachardy was an eighteen-year-old college student when Isherwood met him in Santa Monica 1953. They began living together in early 1954 and remained companions until Isherwood’s death. Isherwood has been variously described as one of the most gifted English novelists of the century and as one who showed great promise but ended as an “entertainer.”
Author Works
Long Fiction:
All the Conspirators, 1928
The Memorial: Portrait of a Family, 1932
The Last of Mr. Norris, 1935 (published in the UK as Mr. Norris Changes Trains)
Sally Bowles, 1937
Goodbye to Berlin, 1939
Prater Violet, 1945
The Berlin Stories, 1945 (contains Mr. Norris Changes Trains and Goodbye to Berlin)
The World in the Evening, 1954
Down There on a Visit, 1962
A Single Man, 1964
A Meeting by the River, 1967
The Mortmere Stories, 1994 (with Edward Upward)
Plays:
The Dog Beneath the Skin: Or, Where Is Francis?, pb. 1935 (with W. H. Auden)
The Ascent of F6, pb. 1936 (with Auden)
On the Frontier, pr., pb. 1938 (with Auden)
Screenplays:
Frankenstein: The True Story, 1973 (with Don Bachardy)
Nonfiction:
Lions and Shadows: An Education in the Twenties, 1938 (autobiography)
Journey to a War, 1939 (with W. H. Auden)
Vedanta for Modern Man, 1945
Vedanta for the Western World, 1949 (editor and contributor)
The Condor and the Cows: A South American Travel-Diary, 1949
An Approach to Vedanta, 1963
Ramakrishna and His Disciples, 1965
Essentials of Vedanta, 1969
Kathleen and Frank: The Autobiography of a Family, 1971
Christopher and His Kind: 1929–1939, 1976 (autobiography)
My Guru and His Disciple, 1980 (autobiography)
October, 1981 (with Don Bachardy)
Where Joy Resides: A Christopher Isherwood Reader, 1989 (Don Bachardy and James P. White, editors)
Diaries: 1939–1960, 1996 (Katherine Bucknell, editor)
Lost Years: A Memoir, 1945–1951, 2000 (Bucknell, editor)
Conversations with Christopher Isherwood, 2001 (James J. Berg and Chris Freeman, editors)
The Sixties: Diaries: 1960–1969, 2010 (Bucknell, editor)
Liberation: Diaries: 1970–1983, 2012 (Bucknell, editor)
The Animals: Love Letters between Christopher Isherwood and Don Bachardy, 2014 (Bucknell, editor)
Miscellaneous:
Lions and Shadows: An Education in the Twenties, 1938 (fictionalized autobiography)
Exhumations: Stories, Articles, Verses, 1966
Bibliography
Berg, James J., and Chris Freeman, eds. The Isherwood Century: Essays on the Life and Work of Christopher Isherwood. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2000. Includes an introduction by the editors and a foreword by Armistead Maupin.
Ferres, Kay. Christopher Isherwood: A World in Evening. San Bernardino, Calif.: Borgo Press, 1994. A critical study. Includes bibliographical references and an index.
Finney, Brian. Christopher Isherwood: A Critical Biography. New York: Oxford University Press, 1979. Written with Isherwood’s cooperation; it is based upon Isherwood’s personal papers and interviews with his friends and associates.
Fryer, Jonathan. Eye of the Camera: A Life of Christopher Isherwood. London: Allison & Busby, 1993. A thorough biography. A revision and expansion of his 1978 biography Isherwood.
Izzo, David Garrett. Christopher Isherwood: His Era, His Gang, and the Legacy of the Truly Strong Man. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2001. A comprehensive critical study. Izzo draws on newly available material to offer a fresh appraisal of the writer’s literary milieu and influence.
Lehmann, John. Christopher Isherwood: A Personal Memoir. New York: Henry Holt, 1988. A biography by a friend of Isherwood.
Page, Norman. Auden and Isherwood: The Berlin Years. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1998. Discusses the lives of Isherwood and W. H. Auden during this period.
Piazza, Paul. Christopher Isherwood: Myth and Anti-Myth. New York: Columbia University Press, 1978. Takes a psychobiographical approach to analyzing Isherwood’s work.
Schwerdt, Lisa M. Isherwood’s Fiction: The Self and Technique. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1989. Discusses Isherwood’s autobiographical fiction.
Summers, Claude J. Christopher Isherwood. New York: Frederick Ungar, 1980. Opens with a short biographical sketch and chronological table and then devotes a chapter to each of Isherwood’s novels.
Wade, Stephen. Christopher Isherwood. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1991. From the series Modern Novelists. Includes bibliographical references and an index.