Isherwood

Born into the English landed gentry, the heir to a substantial country estate, Christopher Isherwood ended up in California, an American citizen and the disciple of a Hindu swami. En route, he became a leading writer of the 1930s generation, an unmatched chronicler of pre-Hitler Berlin, an experimental dramatist, a war reporter, a travel writer, a pacifist, a Hollywood screenwriter, a monk, and a grand old man of the emerging gay liberation movement. In this biography, the first to be written since Isherwoods death, and the only one with access to all Isherwoods papers, Peter Parker traces the long journey of a man who never felt at home wherever he lived. Isherwoods travels were a means of escape: from his family, his class, his country, and the dead weight of the past. Parker reveals the truth about Isherwoods relationship with his war-hero father, his strong-willed mother, and his disturbed younger brother, Richard, who was also homosexual. He also draws upon a vast number of letters to describe Isherwoods complicated relationships with such lifelong friends as W.H. Auden, Stephen Spender, Edward Upward and John Lehmann. The result is a frank portrait of contradictions, a man searching for meaning in life, and one of the twentieth centurys most significant writers.Peter Parker has had access to all private family papers. Written with the full cooperation of Don Bachardy. Will be lead reviews in most papers. Destined to be selected for many Summer and Christmas round-ups.