Katharine Bucknell’s new Isherwood biography is the most important non-fiction book QueerReader has reviewed so far. Because of his background, education, talents and personality, Christopher Isherwood was uniquely positioned to meet most of the important queer authors of the twentieth century. He developed and cultivated friendships with E.M Forster, W.H Auden, Stephen Spender, Truman Capote, Tennessee Williams, Gore Vidal, John Rechy and Armistead Maupin among others. Thus, Inside Out is not only the definitive Christopher Isherwood biography, It is also an essential history of modern queer literature.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Stephen Spender comes off the worst here. His denial of his bisexuality was bound to form a friction between the two, but it was the hit pieces in the Daily Express which must have been the final straw. Interestingly, while Forster and Auden looked down on Vidal, Isherwood never did. Isherwood didn’t disagree with their assessment of The City and the Pillar–they all hated it–but Isherwood genuinely liked Vidal. Their shared sense of humor cemented a friendship that would endure for decades.
Alcohol, it must be said, was often the lubricant that enabled these relationships. Ms. Bucknell exhaustively documents the numerous drunk driving episodes–Isherwood certainly would have lost his license today, There was a surprisingly violent episode. And while the story that Charlie Chaplin ended their friendship because Isherwood urinated on Chaplin’s sofa might not be true, something alcohol-related did cause the rift–and it was for life. So, in today’s language Christopher Isherwood must be defined as a high-functioning type A alcoholic.
And yet, what struck this Queer Reader the most was Mr. Isherwood’s determination to be true to himself. Foremost was his mission to create great literature and to enhance his own spiritual growth through Vedanta. Though his Anglican/Agnostic British friends dismissed his involvement in Vedanta, reading this book, one is left with no doubt that Mr. Isherwood’s commitment to it was both deep and sincere.
Isherwood was determined to write a great queer novel and the publication of A Single Man satisfied him. Perhaps Vedanta’s doctrine of non-attachment helped him to disregard the homophobic reviews of it. Throughout his life he was determined to not be defined by his circumstances. Though born and raised in Britain, he knew from an early age that he was to live in the United States–specifially California. Though he wrote a lot of screenplays he refused to be identified as just a screenwriter. And when he in later years he openly advocated for gay rights, he continued his quest for quality literature with the publication of what many consider his masterpiece, Christopher and His Kind.
The doctrine of non-attachment certainly helped him cope with the many pressures of his relationship with Don Bacardy. It is well known that his relationship with Mr. Bacardy was open, but this book documents just how many times they came close to completely separating. (Who knew Tennessee Wiliams was such a heart-breaker?) And yet, it seems now inevitable that Mr. Bacardy would be with Christopher Isherwood until the very end, Isherwood had met Bacardy when he was just eighteen years old. It was Isherwood who encouraged Bacardy’s study of art. And he wasn’t wrong: Bacardy went on to become a tremendously successful artist–with works displayed at the National Portrait Gallery in London.
In Isherwoood’s final days at home in California, Bacardy spent the time drawing his dying life partner again and again. Ms. Bucknell’s rendering of this scene made this Queer Reader shed a tear.
Needless to say, Queer Reader strongly recommends this important book.
Katharine Bucknell’s Christopher Isherwood Inside and Out is published by Farrar, Strauss and Giroux.
November 30, 2024