‘Katherine Bucknell<b> </b>writes so well,<b> </b>the <b>depth and width of her research is astonishing</b>, and she <b>brings Isherwood to life with vividness and acute perception</b>.<b> Her understanding of his complex character is truly remarkable</b>, as well as those of his many different worlds on both sides of the Atlantic, and of his vast number of friends and lovers — Bachardy, of course in particular. She is also excellent on Isherwood’s work, which she writes about with <b>exceptional vision and clarity</b>. <b>This biography is a magnificent achievement</b>’

Selina Hastings, author of SYBILLE BEDFORD: A LIFE

'This book - profoundly sympathetic to its subject, <b>lucidly and excitingly written - </b>is both <b>a fast paced story of an extraordinary life and a broadly illuminating history of vast cultural changes</b> <b>across eight decades </b>and four continents. Katherine Bucknell, having edited four volumes of Isherwood’s diaries, has distilled her expertise into <b>the finest literary biography of its century'</b>

Edward Mendelson, author of Early Auden, Later Auden

'<b>The best biographies make the reader feel they are looking over the subject’s shoulder, watching them grow up and into life. Katherine Bucknell does exactly this</b>, marshalling an enormous range of scholarship with <b>insight, empathy, and humour</b>. Her long immersion in Isherwood’s work and life is <b>lightly worn</b>, she<b> writes beautifully</b>, and whether she is invoking declining English country-house life, Weimar Berlin, mid-century Hollywood or the alternative cultures of California, <b>one trusts her judgement implicitly</b>. <b><i>Christopher Isherwood Inside Out </i>matches its subject's narrative skill and psychological insight, and brilliantly illuminates his search for a new way to live</b>'

R. F. Foster, author of W. B. Yeats: A Life

<b>'Every writer or student of writing should read this book</b> because it so<b> intelligently pinpoints</b> the sources of the characters and events in his novels; it helps explain the pragmatic mechanics of inspiration and the vital importance, to a writer, of <i>selection. </i> It's so clear that he was not only a genius but an exquisite craftsman, and how useless it is to be one without the other. But genius can be foreboding; you don't often want to be in its company. What's wonderful is<b> Bucknell has captured the excitement and the engagement of being with Isherwood ... A</b> <b>magnificent achievement'</b>

Martin Sherman, producer of Bent

<b>'A roller-coaster ride through a genuinely remarkable life</b>. Katherine Bucknell has had <b>full access</b> to all the primary sources—<b>and it shows</b>. Her Isherwood is both <b>fascinating and dangerous, as reckless in his relationships as he was scrupulous in his art</b>. His virtues shine, and his faults are documented with <b>admirable candour</b>'

Neil Bartlett, author of SKIN LANE

'Katherine Bucknell <b>combines the descriptive talent of a novelist with the passion of a biographer</b> to conjure up a portrait of a man whose work continues to <b>captivate and intrigue </b>today‘

Alexandra Shulman, author of Clothes . . . and Other Things that Matter

'Open this thick book to almost any page about Christopher Isherwood’s<b> important and glamorous life</b>, and you will find a lot about the<b> fascinating people</b> this supreme twentieth century literary artist often saw. <b>What stars he knew in his magic circle during his many lives, from thirties Berlin down to post-war Hollywood and after</b>'

James Ivory, founder of Merchant Ivory