CHRISTOPHER ISHERWOOD PAPERS

Finding Aid

Size: 0.25 linear feet

Literary rights:
Literary rights were not granted to Wichita State University. When permission is granted to examine the manuscripts, it is not an authorization to publish them. Manuscripts cannot be used for publication without regard for common law literary rights, copyright laws and the laws of libel. It is the responsibility of the researcher and his/her publisher to obtain permission to publish. Scholars and students who eventually plan to have their work published are urged to make inquiry regarding overall restrictions on publication before initial research.

Restrictions: None

Content note:
The Christopher Isherwood collection contains two typed transcripts of interviews with Christopher Isherwood by Robert Wennersten, with note and pencil corrections by Isherwood. In the interviews Isherwood discusses his work, his homosexuality, and his interest in Eastern philosophy. Included are references to his friends, Stephen Spender, W. H. Auden, Chester Kallman and E. M. Forster. Later published in a magazine, these interviews date from September and October 1971.

Biographical note:
Christopher Isherwood (1904-1986) was a British novelist who wrote Sally Bowles and Mr. Norris among other works, and Goodbye to Berlin on which the musical Cabaret is based. Isherwood was born into a middle-class family (to Frank and Kathleen Bradshaw-Isherwood), and raised at High Lane, Cheshire. He attended a public school, then went to Cambridge University but did not graduate. Soon after his departure from Cambridge, Isherwood left home and struck out on his own, first living in Berlin and later in America. During World War II Isherwood worked in the American Friends Service because of his status as a conscientious objector. In 1946 he became a United States citizen, settling in Santa Monica, California. Here he worked in films, lectured at the University of California, and wrote books.

Isherwood's works lean heavily on his own personal experiences, and it is this unique tone that gives his books distinction. His writings were influenced by his interest in Indian mysticism, as well as his outspoken support for the gay community.

Acquisition: Purchased from Heritage Book Shop, Inc

Processed by: KJC, 22 October 1991; JEF, 10-19-1998