Isherwood, Christopher (1904-1986), was an English-born novelist and dramatist best known for his descriptions of the petty boredom and aimless quality of life in Europe in the 1930’s. His most representative works, including The Last of Mr. Norris (1935) and Goodbye to Berlin (1939), present trivial characters caught up in the great crises of the modern age. Lacking any moral sense, the characters react to crisis with laughter and bluster, until the rise of the Nazis wipes out their world. The two novels inspired the hit musical and motion picture Cabaret. Isherwood’s style shows a strong sense of form and movement and facility with words.
Isherwood was born on Aug. 26, 1904, in Cheshire, England. He moved to the United States in 1939 and became a U.S. citizen in 1946. Isherwood collaborated with poet W. H. Auden on several plays, including The Dog Beneath the Skin (1935) and Ascent of F6 (1937). Isherwood also wrote an autobiography, Lions and Shadows (1938). He died on Jan. 4, 1986.
