Overview

A stunningly intimate exploration of the writer and gay cultural icon and of his lifelong search for authenticity. The story of Christopher Isherwood's life is one of pilgrimage: away from the constraints of inheritance and empire and toward authenticity and spiritual illumination. Isherwood--the author of Goodbye to Berlin, which inspired Cabaret, and A Single Man--was born the heir to a crumbling English estate. He died an icon of gay liberation in California while his partner of thirty years, Don Bachardy, painted his death portrait. Isherwood began his career depicting the psychological wreckage of World War I. While living in Berlin, he began to write his reputation-making fiction and (with W. H. Auden) plays inspired by the city's nightlife, its artistic underbelly, its fevered politics. When Hitler took power, he fled with his German boyfriend, who was pursued and arrested by the Gestapo. Isherwood left Europe and found work as a screenwriter in Hollywood, where he became the disciple of a Hindu monk, Swami Prabhavananda. Together they translated the Bhagavad Gita. Isherwood shed his family ghosts and became a chief instigator of the cultural shift that made gay liberation possible. Every step of the journey served his writing; one of our greatest diarists, he recorded his experiences and transformed them in fiction and memoir. Katherine Bucknell charts the quest of the restless, penetrating, blackly comic mind through books, films, foreign lands, love affairs, and collaborations toward self-understanding and happiness. Here is Christopher Isherwood Inside Out.

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9780374119362

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Reviews

"""This absorbing biography burrows deeply into each stage of Isherwood's continuous intellectual and spiritual evolutions . . . Isherwood questioned everything in life, ardently examining himself, and Bucknell's marvelously knowledgeable portrait reveals the full dimensions of his richly contemplative life."" --Ra�l Ni�o, Booklist (starred review) ""Bucknell brings scholarly acumen and bravura storytelling to her stunning biography . . . This is a monumental achievement."" --Publishers Weekly (starred review) ""Christopher Isherwood Inside Out is the best biography I've ever read. The subject, Christopher Isherwood, was a mindful, moral man, an example for all, and a wonderfully talented writer. The author, Katherine Bucknell, explores every moment of his life--English, German, American--and links them all to the vast ongoing project of his life and work. The book is long but every page is full of surprises."" --Edmund White ""This is a first-rate biography of the man, the writer, and the lover. Had he stayed in England, he would have been the squire of Marple Hall in Cheshire, very very different to the Christopher I knew."" --David Hockney ""A penetrating exploration of the life and work of the acclaimed novelist, memoirist, and pioneering figure in gay culture. . . . The author renders a sweeping portrait of Isherwood's remarkable life journey . . . An engrossing, rigorously documented study of a 20th-century literary trailblazer."" --Kirkus Reviews (starred review) ""This book--profoundly sympathetic to its subject, lucidly and excitingly written--is both a fast-paced story of an extraordinary life and a broadly illuminating history of vast cultural changes across eight decades and four continents. Katherine Bucknell, having edited four volumes of Isherwood's diaries, has distilled her expertise into the finest literary biography of its century."" --Edward Mendelson, author of Early Auden, Later Auden ""A roller-coaster ride through a genuinely remarkable life. Katherine Bucknell has had full access to all the primary sources--and it shows. Her Isherwood is both fascinating and dangerous, as reckless in his relationships as he was scrupulous in his art. His virtues shine, and his faults are documented with admirable candour."" --Neil Bartlett, author of Address Book ""The best biographies make the reader feel they are looking over the subject's shoulder, watching them grow up and into life. Katherine Bucknell does exactly this, marshalling an enormous range of scholarship with insight, empathy, and humor. Her long immersion in Isherwood's work and life is lightly worn, she writes beautifully, and whether she is invoking declining English country-house life, Weimar Berlin, mid-century Hollywood, or the alternative cultures of California, one trusts her judgment implicitly. Christopher Isherwood Inside Out matches its subject's narrative skill and psychological insight, and brilliantly illuminates his search for a new way to live."" --Roy Foster, author of W. B. Yeats: A Life ""Inside Out is a master work by Katherine Bucknell, skillfully delving into the intricate layers of Christopher Isherwood's mind and spirit. Aptly titled, this book offers an intimate portrayal of Isherwood's essence, with prose that guides readers on an intimate journey into his world, revealing the nuances of his life and artistry."" --Tina Mascara, director (with Guideo Santi) of ""Chris and Don: A Love Story"" ""This is the Isherwood book we've been waiting for. While Isherwood is rightly celebrated as a courageous forefather of the gay liberation movement, he should be equally celebrated as a fearless early practitioner and writer on Hinduism (Vedanta), again pulling the rest of the country with him. By telling the truth through his writing and through his life, Isherwood achieved greatness in his art and in his spiritual quest, and that will continue to move us and change us long after we, and all those who knew him, are gone."" --Pravrajika Vrajaprana, author of Vedanta: A Simple Introduction ""Open this thick book to almost any page about Christopher Isherwood's important and glamorous life, and you will find a lot about the fascinating people this supreme twentieth-century literary artist often saw. What stars he knew in his magic circle during his many lives, from 1930s Berlin down to postwar Hollywood and after."" --James Ivory, author of Solid Ivory: Memoirs ""Katherine Bucknell's brilliant biography . . . reestablishes Isherwood as one of Anglo-American literature's most significant literary figures of the 20th century"" --Simon Lewis, The Post and Courier"

"""Christopher Isherwood Inside Out is the best biography I've ever read. The subject, Christopher Isherwood, was a mindful, moral man, an example for all, and a wonderfully talented writer. The author, Katherine Bucknell, explores every moment of his life--English, German, American--and links them all to the vast ongoing project of his life and work. The book is long but every page is full of surprises."" --Edmund White"

"""Christopher Isherwood Inside Out is the best biography I've ever read. The subject, Christopher Isherwood, was a mindful, moral man, an example for all, and a wonderfully talented writer. The author, Katherine Bucknell, explores every moment of his life--English, German, American--and links them all to the vast ongoing project of his life and work. The book is long but every page is full of surprises."" --Edmund White ""The best biographies make the reader feel they are looking over the subject's shoulder, watching them grow up and into life. Katharine Bucknell does exactly this, marshalling an enormous range of scholarship with insight, empathy, and humour. Her long immersion in Isherwood's work and life is lightly worn, she writes beautifully, and whether she is invoking declining English country-house life, Weimar Berlin, mid-century Hollywood or the alternative cultures of California, one trusts her judgement implicitly. Christopher Isherwood Inside Out matches its subject's narrative skill and psychological insight, and brilliantly illuminates his search for a new way to live."" --Roy Foster, author of W. B. Yeats: A Life ""Open this thick book to almost any page about Christopher Isherwood's important and glamorous life, and you will find a lot about the fascinating people this supreme twentieth century literary artist often saw. What stars he knew in his magic circle during his many lives, from 'thirties Berlin down to post-war Hollywood and after."" --James Ivory, author of Solid Ivory: Memoirs"

"""Christopher Isherwood Inside Out is the best biography I've ever read. The subject, Christopher Isherwood, was a mindful, moral man, an example for all, and a wonderfully talented writer. The author, Katherine Bucknell, explores every moment of his life--English, German, American--and links them all to the vast ongoing project of his life and work. The book is long but every page is full of surprises."" --Edmund White ""This is a first-rate biography of the man, the writer, and the lover. Had he stayed in England, he would have been the squire of Marple Hall in Cheshire, very very different to the Christopher I knew."" --David Hockney ""This book--profoundly sympathetic to its subject, lucidly and excitingly written--is both a fast-paced story of an extraordinary life and a broadly illuminating history of vast cultural changes across eight decades and four continents. Katherine Bucknell, having edited four volumes of Isherwood's diaries, has distilled her expertise into the finest literary biography of its century."" --Edward Mendelson, author of Early Auden, Later Auden ""A roller-coaster ride through a genuinely remarkable life. Katherine Bucknell has had full access to all the primary sources--and it shows. Her Isherwood is both fascinating and dangerous, as reckless in his relationships as he was scrupulous in his art. His virtues shine, and his faults are documented with admirable candour."" --Neil Bartlett, author of Address Book ""The best biographies make the reader feel they are looking over the subject's shoulder, watching them grow up and into life. Katherine Bucknell does exactly this, marshalling an enormous range of scholarship with insight, empathy, and humor. Her long immersion in Isherwood's work and life is lightly worn, she writes beautifully, and whether she is invoking declining English country-house life, Weimar Berlin, mid-century Hollywood, or the alternative cultures of California, one trusts her judgment implicitly. Christopher Isherwood Inside Out matches its subject's narrative skill and psychological insight, and brilliantly illuminates his search for a new way to live."" --Roy Foster, author of W. B. Yeats: A Life ""This is the Isherwood book we've been waiting for. While Isherwood is rightly celebrated as a courageous forefather of the gay liberation movement, he should be equally celebrated as a fearless early practitioner and writer on Hinduism (Vedanta), again pulling the rest of the country with him. By telling the truth through his writing and through his life, Isherwood achieved greatness in his art and in his spiritual quest, and that will continue to move us and change us long after we, and all those who knew him, are gone."" --Pravrajika Vrajaprana, author of Vedanta: A Simple Introduction ""Open this thick book to almost any page about Christopher Isherwood's important and glamorous life, and you will find a lot about the fascinating people this supreme twentieth-century literary artist often saw. What stars he knew in his magic circle during his many lives, from 1930s Berlin down to postwar Hollywood and after."" --James Ivory, author of Solid Ivory: Memoirs"

"""Christopher Isherwood Inside Out is the best biography I've ever read. The subject, Christopher Isherwood, was a mindful, moral man, an example for all, and a wonderfully talented writer. The author, Katherine Bucknell, explores every moment of his life--English, German, American--and links them all to the vast ongoing project of his life and work. The book is long but every page is full of surprises."" --Edmund White ""This is a first rate biography of the man, the writer and the lover. If he would have stayed in England, he would have been the squire of Marple Hall in Cheshire, very very different to the Christopher I knew."" --David Hockney ""A roller-coaster ride through a genuinely remarkable life. Katherine Bucknell has had full access to all the primary sources--and it shows. Her Isherwood is both fascinating and dangerous, as reckless in his relationships as he was scrupulous in his art. His virtues shine, and his faults are documented with admirable candour."" --Neil Bartlett, author of Address Book ""The best biographies make the reader feel they are looking over the subject's shoulder, watching them grow up and into life. Katharine Bucknell does exactly this, marshalling an enormous range of scholarship with insight, empathy, and humour. Her long immersion in Isherwood's work and life is lightly worn, she writes beautifully, and whether she is invoking declining English country-house life, Weimar Berlin, mid-century Hollywood or the alternative cultures of California, one trusts her judgement implicitly. Christopher Isherwood Inside Out matches its subject's narrative skill and psychological insight, and brilliantly illuminates his search for a new way to live."" --Roy Foster, author of W. B. Yeats: A Life ""Open this thick book to almost any page about Christopher Isherwood's important and glamorous life, and you will find a lot about the fascinating people this supreme twentieth century literary artist often saw. What stars he knew in his magic circle during his many lives, from 'thirties Berlin down to post-war Hollywood and after."" --James Ivory, author of Solid Ivory: Memoirs"

Author Information

Katherine Bucknell is the editor of four volumes of diaries by Christopher Isherwood; The Animals, a volume of letters between Isherwood and his partner Don Bachardy; and W. H. Auden's Juvenilia: Poems 1922-1928. She is the director of the Christopher Isherwood Foundation as well as a founder of the W. H. Auden Society and coeditor of Auden Studies. Bucknell is also the author of four novels: Canarino, Leninsky Prospekt, What You Will, and +1. She lives in London.

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