Christopher Isherwood

Christopher Isherwood was born in 1904 in the United Kingdom. His father, a member of the military, was killed in World War I. His mother was a member of the wealthy Greene family. After finishing school, Christopher attended Cambridge University to study history. However, he was asked to leave after writing only jokes on his exams. In 1925, Christopher reconnected with a prep school friend, the famous author W.H. Auden. The two become close friends. Isherwood published his first novel, All the Conspirators, in 1928. After a failed stint in medical school, Isherwood visited Auden in Berlin in 1929. There, he enjoyed the liberal attitudes toward homosexuality (Isherwood himself was gay). Isherwood eventually moved to Berlin in 1930, and there he published his second novel, The Memorial, and wrote the stories that make up Goodbye to Berlin. While in Berlin, Isherwood began a relationship with the 17-year-old Heinz Neddermayer. Together, they fled Nazi Germany and traveled around looking for a new citizenship for Neddermayer. Neddermayer was called back to Germany, arrested, and sentenced to serve time in a labor camp. During that period, Isherwood lived in Luxembourg and collaborated with Auden on writing. In 1939, Isherwood emigrated to the United States. He became an American citizen in 1946. In 1953, 48-year-old Isherwood met 18-year-old Don Bachardy. They stayed together until Isherwood’s death in 1986. Over the course of his life, Isherwood wrote and collaborated on over 40 books, plays, and films.