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| Christopher Isherwood |
Even the title is a nod to his darkly humorous work 'Mr Norris Changes Trains', which, by the way, is a fun read if you want to delve into the pre 2nd World War lives of British expats living in Germany.
Isherwood famously travelled by train from London to Berlin in the 1930s to soak up life in the Weimar Republic and of course taste the 'boys', as he famously wrote later on in his book 'Christopher and His Kind'.
Of course, had he not gone there, the world would never have had 'Goodbye to Berlin' the fab stories of William Bradshaw and Sally Bowles that inspired one of the most popular ever musicals, Cabaret!
I so wish he was still around today, as I would have loved to have talked with him about his writing and how he captured the hedonism of the Weimar Republic.
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| Cabaret actor Michael York with Don Bachardy (right) |
Isherwood eventually moved to California and settled there with his partner, Don Bachardy, who still ives in the house they shared. I would love to meet Don, just so I could give him a copy of the book in person.
I'd also love to talk to him about his relationship with Christopher. What he was like as a partner and whether he missed England at all? How he wrote, what drove him and what made him uncertain in his writing?
In case you didn't know, among many other famous pieces, Isherwood also wrote 'A Single Man', which was turned into the award-winning film of the same name starring Colin Firth and directed by world famous fashion designer Tom Ford.
I like to think that Christopher would enjoy my tale of 'Sam' travelling Europe, discovering the different tastes of the countries he visits and learning about his own tastes too. Although I wonder what he would have to say about the sex scenes.
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