Christopher Isherwood

Christopher William Bradshaw Isherwood (*26.08.1904 in High Lane, Cheshire County; deceased 4.01.1986 in Santa Monica, California) is a British homosexual novelist and playwright who is renowned for his stories about Berlin in the 1930ies.

Biography

Isherwood studied history at the Corpus Christi College in Cambridge where he met his later friend W.H Auden. He also studied medicine at King's College in London but he didn't finish his studies, instead he went on a trip to Germany together with W.H Auden.

His time in Berlin

During his stay in Berlin (1929-1933)Isherwood lived among others in Berlin- Schöneberg where a plaque commemorates his resdidence. He was In Berlin he also met his first boyfriend Heinz. Isherwood was intrigued by the Weimarer Republic and the sexual freedom which existed there.

Life in Los Angeles

In 1939 Isherwood emigrated to California where he worked as freelance writer and a screenwriter for various Hollywood Studios. From 1959- 1962 he worked as a visting professo for Modern English Literature. He hab a relationship with the 30-year younger Don Bachardy (18/19; Isherwood 48)which was unaccepted and quite controversial among his aquaintances. Nevertheless Isherwood and his partner became a respectable couple in Hollywood. Although McCarthy's policy was highly homophobic, Isherwood and Bachardy stuck to their homosexuality and were an openly gay couple. The partnership lasted until Isherwood's death in 1986. In 1946 Isherwood obtained the American citizenship.