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Christopher and His Kind

4 Extra Debut. Christopher Isherwood's novel 'Goodbye to Berlin' inspired the musical ‘Cabaret’. He's talking to Paul Bailey. From 1977.

“I didn't sit there watching all those people. I was up to the neck in their affairs and often gravely compromised by them. I always sounded kind of aloof, because I wasn't writing about myself. Well, now I am.”

Christopher Isherwood reflects on the formative experiences of his life and how he used them in his novels.

In the week he published his autobiography ‘Christopher and His Kind’, the author chats to Paul Bailey.

Christopher's 1939 novel, ‘Goodbye Berlin’, based on his experiences living in Jazz Age Germany, inspired the 1951 stage play ‘I Am a Camera’, and the musical and film, ‘Cabaret’.

He died aged 81 in 1986.

One of a series of classic in depth, long-form interviews unearthed by 4 Extra from tapes deep in the ѿý archives.

First broadcast on ѿý Radio 3 in March 1977.

6 days left to listen

40 minutes

Last on

Sat 29 Mar 2025 21:00

Broadcasts

  • Sat 29 Mar 2025 10:00
  • Sat 29 Mar 2025 15:00
  • Sat 29 Mar 2025 21:00