Christopher Isherwood (1904-1986) was born in Manchester, England, and lived in Berlin from 1929 to 1933 and immigrated to the United States in 1939. A major figure in twentieth-century fiction and the gay rights movement, he wrote more than twenty books. FSG Classics presents some of his finest work, including the novels Prater Violet, A Single Man, and A Meeting by the River; the semi-autobiographical Lions and Shadows; and the memoir Christopher and His Kind.
Don Bachardy was born in Los Angeles in 1934. His artwork, which parallels David Hockney's and anticipates Elizabeth Peyton's, is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the de Young Museum, San Francisco; the Fogg Art Museum of Harvard University; and the National Portrait Gallery, London, among others. Bachardy was Christopher Isherwood's partner for over thirty years. He lives in Santa Monica, California.
"Theirs is an enormous love, but it also clearly came with an enormous amount of work and care . . . One of the best surprises of the collection is what an excellent writer Bachardy is--wry, sharp and funny . . . These are tender, sweet, campy love letters we are given the privilege of reading, if we so choose." --Annalisa Quinn, NPR Books "It is a fascinating sociological document while, like most exchanges between two people wrapped up in the tantalizing subject of themselves and each other, lacking very much real interest in the wider world." --DJ Taylor, The Spectator (London) "In her excellent introduction to The Animals, Bucknell does a skillful job of trying to interpret the lovers' talk for the reader. Apparently Bachardy reminded Isherwood of his younger self--and indeed there was a strong physical similarity. The letters end in 1970 and Isherwood died in 1986, survived by Bachardy. But thanks to The Animals Isherwood's devotion lives on. As a typical sign-off from Dobbin put it: 'Love from a devoted old horse who is waiting day and night with his saddle on, ready for his Kitty's commands.'" --Mark Simpson, The Independent (London)
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