Synopses & Reviews
The book in which Isherwood became Isherwood . . . With The Memorial, Christopher Isherwood began his lifelong work of rewriting his own experiences into witty yet almost forensic portraits of modern society. Set in the aftermath of World War I, The Memorial portrays the dissolution of a tradition-bound English family. Cambridge student Eric Vernon finds himself torn between his desire to emulate his heroic father, who led a life of quiet sacrifice before dying in the war, and his envy of his fathers great friend Edward Blake, who survived the war only to throw himself into gay life in Berlin and the pursuit of meaningless relationships.
Published in 1932, when Isherwood was twenty-eight years old, The Memorial is the immediate precursor to the first volume of the famous Berlin Stories, but it stands in its own right as the first book in which Isherwood really found his literary voice.
This is the beginning of a multiyear plan to reissue all of Isherwoods best work, culminating with the publication of a definitive new biography in 2015.
Review
“The best prose writer in English.” —Gore Vidal,
The New York Review of Books“A genuine interpretation of the times.” —Frank Kermode
“That young man holds the future of the English novel in his hands.” —W. Somerset Maugham
“His novels and nonfiction now all seem to be chapters of one enormous work in which he is the major character.” —The Guardian
Review
“The best prose writer in English.” — Gore Vidal, The New York Review of Books
“Dazzling . . . Pre-eminent for its wit, humour, charm of style and narrative skill.” —John Lehmann, The Guardian
Synopsis
With
The Memorial, Christopher Isherwood began his lifelong work of rewriting his own experiences into witty yet almost forensic portraits of modern society. Set in the aftermath of World War I,
The Memorial portrays the dissolution of a tradition-bound English family. Cambridge student Eric Vernon finds himself torn between his desire to emulate his heroic father, who led a life of quiet sacrifice before dying in the war, and his envy for his fathers great friend Edward Blake, who survived the war only to throw himself into gay life in Berlin and the pursuit of meaningless relationships.
Published in 1932, when Isherwood was twenty-eight years old, The Memorial is the immediate precursor to the first volume of the famous Berlin Stories, but it stand in its own right as the first book in which Isherwood really found his literary voice.
Synopsis
Set in the aftermath of World War I, Christopher Isherwoods
The Memorial is the witty, almost forensic portrayal of the dissolution
of a tradition-bound English family. On the cusp of adulthood,
the Cambridge student Eric Vernon finds himself torn between
his desire to emulate his heroic father, who led a life of quiet sacrifice
before dying in the war, and his envy of his fathers roguish
friend who survived the war and afterward threw himself into
gay life.
Published in 1932, when Isherwood was twenty-eight years old, The Memorial is the novel in which a dazzlingly talented young writer found his literary voice, the book in which Isherwood became Isherwood.
About the Author
Christopher Isherwood (1904-1986) was born outside Manchester, England. He lived in Berlin from 1929 to 1933 and emigrated from Europe to the United States in 1939. A major figure in twentieth-century fiction and the gay rights movement, he wrote more than twenty books.