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Christopher William Bradshaw Isherwood

クリストファー・ウィリアム・ブラッドショー・イシャーウッド

Christopher William Bradshaw Isherwood

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1904-08-26 （High Lane, Cheshire, England）
Died
1986-01-04 （Santa Monica, California, U.S.） age 81
Nationality
United Kingdom, United States
Languages
English
Religion
Vedanta (Hindu philosophy/practice)
Residence History
Cheshire (birthplace) → London (residence, early career) → Berlin (1929–1933) → Santa Monica, California (later life)

Career

Occupations
novelist, playwright, screenwriter, autobiographer, diarist
Active Years
1928-1986
Affiliations
Vedanta Society of Southern California, Group Theatre (London) — theatrical collaborations
Memberships
Vedanta Society-related circles
Influenced By
W. H. Auden, Aldous Huxley, Gerald Heard
Influenced
Truman Capote (literary influence), Later gay writers and Californian authors

Education

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
History (scholar)
Period: 1920年代（学業中退）
Country: United Kingdom
Left without a degree in 1925
King's College London
Medicine (brief attendance)
Period: 1928（約6か月在籍）
Country: United Kingdom
Enrolled October 1928 but left after about six months

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Berlin Stories

1945 Modernism, Realism

Portraits of Berlin life on the eve of Nazism, collected stories including Mr Norris Changes Trains and Goodbye to Berlin.

urban lifepolitical upheavalindividual and other
Adaptations
  • [stage (play)] I Am a Camera / John van Druten (1951)
  • [musical / film] Cabaret / ボブ・フォッシー（映画版監督） (1972)

Mr Norris Changes Trains

1935 Novel (satirical realism)

A novel based on Berlin observations, portraying the narrator's relationship with the enigmatic Mr Norris.

friendshippolitical tensionidentity

Goodbye to Berlin

1939 Short stories / semi-autobiographical novel

A collection based on Isherwood's Berlin experiences, featuring Sally Bowles and depicting nightlife and the political climate.

hedonismpersecution and povertymovement and exile
Adaptations
  • [stage] I Am a Camera / John van Druten (1951)
  • [musical / film] Cabaret / ボブ・フォッシー（映画監督） (1972)

A Single Man

1964 Novel (modern fiction)

Portrays a day in the life of George, a middle-aged gay Englishman in Los Angeles; praised for subtle psychological insight.

loss and lonelinesshomosexuality and identitytime and memory
Adaptations
  • [film] A Single Man / Tom Ford (2009)

Christopher and His Kind

1976 Memoir

Autobiographical memoir covering his Berlin years and youth, addressing his experiences as a gay man and cultural context.

autobiographygay liberationcultural reminiscence
Adaptations
  • [television film] Christopher and His Kind (BBC) / Geoffrey Sax (2010)

Bibliography

  • All the Conspirators (1928)
  • The Memorial (1932)
  • Mr Norris Changes Trains (1935)
  • Goodbye to Berlin (1939)
  • Prater Violet (1945)
  • The Berlin Stories (1945)
  • The World in the Evening (1954)
  • Down There on a Visit (1962)
  • A Single Man (1964)
  • Christopher and His Kind (1976)

Adaptations

  • Cabaret (musical 1966 / film 1972)
  • I Am a Camera (play, 1951)
  • A Single Man (film, 2009)
  • Christopher and His Kind (TV film, 2010)

Translations by Author

  • Bhagavad Gita – The Song of God (translation, with Swami Prabhavananda)
  • Shankara's Crest-Jewel of Discrimination (co-translation)
  • How to Know God: The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali (co-translation)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
concise, observational narrationsemi-autobiographical realismmodernist techniques
Recurring Motifs
city and nightlifehomosexuality and self-awarenessexile and movementspiritual quest (Vedanta)

Health

  • prostate cancer
    1981–1986
    Diagnosed in 1981 and died of the disease in 1986; affected late-life activities and public engagements.

Legacy

Isherwood is an important 20th-century Anglo-American writer; his Berlin-era works were widely adapted and influential. His commitment to Vedanta and open treatment of homosexuality form part of his cultural legacy.

Museums

  • Christopher Isherwood Foundation (collection)
  • Memorial plaque, Nollendorfstraße, Schöneberg, Berlin Schöneberg, Berlin

Academic Societies

  • Vedanta Society of Southern California — scholarly interest

Archives

  • Harry Ransom Center (Christopher Isherwood Collection)
  • Materials held by the Christopher Isherwood Foundation

In Popular Culture

  • The musical/film Cabaret, based on Goodbye to Berlin, became a major cultural hit.
  • The 2009 film A Single Man renewed interest in the novel.
  • Documentary Chris & Don: A Love Story and the BBC dramatization were produced.

Quotes

  • To Christopher, Berlin meant Boys.
    Source: Commentary in Christopher and His Kind / memoir context (1976)
  • Homosexual relationships can be and frequently are happy. Many men live together for years and share their lives and their work.
    Source: Letter to Gore Vidal (1949) (1949)

Trivia

  • Became a U.S. citizen in 1946.
  • Longtime partner was Don Bachardy (1953–1986).
  • Diagnosed with prostate cancer late in life and died in 1986; body donated to medical science and ashes scattered at sea.
  • Goodbye to Berlin was adapted to the stage and helped inspire the musical Cabaret.