Liberation: Diaries, Volume Three, 1970-1983

by Christopher Isherwood

Overview

Candid and revealing, the final volume of Christopher Isherwood's diaries brings together his thoughts on life, love, and death. Beginning in the period of his life when he wrote Kathleen and Frank, his first intensely personal book, Liberation: Diaries 1970–1983 intimately and wittily records Isherwood's immersion in the 1970s art scene in Los Angeles, New York, and London—a world peopled by the likes of Robert Rauschenberg, Ed Ruscha, Andy Warhol, and David Hockney, as well as his Broadway writing career, which brought him in touch with John Huston, Merchant and Ivory, John Travolta, John Voight, Elton John, David Bowie, Joan Didion, and Armistead Maupin. With a preface by Edmund White, Liberation is a rich and engaging final memoir by one of the most celebrated writers of his generation.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062084767
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	12/03/2013
Pages:	928
Sales rank:	1,015,673
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.70(d)

About the Author

Christopher Isherwood (1904–1986) was one of the most prominent writers of his generation. He is the author of many works of fiction, including All the Conspirators, The Memorial, Mr. Norris Changes Trains, and Goodbye to Berlin, on which the musical Cabaret was based, as well as works of nonfiction and biography.

Table of Contents

Preface vii

Introduction xiv

Textual Note xli

Acknowledgements xliv

Liberation: January 1, 1970-July 4, 1983

January 1-March 2, 1970 1

England, March 2-April 30, 1970 7

May 27, 1970-August 26, 1972 79

September 2, 1972-December 14, 1974 278

January 1, 1975-December 31, 1975 465

Day-to-Day Diary, January 1-July 31, 1976 490

August 1, 1976-June 9, 1980 521

July 16, 1980-July 4, 1983 636

Glossary 691

Index 827

Editorial Reviews

Compulsively readable…a testament to his connections to the literati and Hollywood glitterati…a fitting finale to a fascinating life” — Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

“Alongside sharp and often very funny assessments of those Isherwood knew, the diaries also record a wealth of domestic detail…giving a richly textured sense of what it was like to live in California during this period of social change.” — The Spectator

“Christopher Isherwood continues to perform open-heart surgery on himself, without anaesthestic, and with one beady eye on the audience...a rare treat.” — The Guardian

“Isherwood proves a captivating, honest diarist, his entries rich with reflection and gossip.” — Booklist

“Unique literary archives...Ultimately LIBERATION is a real-time gallery of men in love at a time when the world was nowhere near catching up with them.” — Huffington Post

“But the gold mine of Isherwood work has been the posthumous publication of three huge diaries amounting to almost 3,000 pages. Comprehensively and lovingly edited and annotated by Katherine Bucknell, these volumes give us the most detailed portrait of the writer...” — San Francisco Chronicle

From the Publisher

Unique literary archives...Ultimately LIBERATION is a real-time gallery of men in love at a time when the world was nowhere near catching up with them.

Huffington Post

Isherwood proves a captivating, honest diarist, his entries rich with reflection and gossip.

Booklist

But the gold mine of Isherwood work has been the posthumous publication of three huge diaries amounting to almost 3,000 pages. Comprehensively and lovingly edited and annotated by Katherine Bucknell, these volumes give us the most detailed portrait of the writer...

San Francisco Chronicle

Alongside sharp and often very funny assessments of those Isherwood knew, the diaries also record a wealth of domestic detail…giving a richly textured sense of what it was like to live in California during this period of social change.

The Spectator

Christopher Isherwood continues to perform open-heart surgery on himself, without anaesthestic, and with one beady eye on the audience...a rare treat.

The Guardian

But the gold mine of Isherwood work has been the posthumous publication of three huge diaries amounting to almost 3,000 pages. Comprehensively and lovingly edited and annotated by Katherine Bucknell, these volumes give us the most detailed portrait of the writer...

San Francisco Chronicle

Isherwood proves a captivating, honest diarist, his entries rich with reflection and gossip.

Booklist

Alongside sharp and often very funny assessments of those Isherwood knew, the diaries also record a wealth of domestic detail…giving a richly textured sense of what it was like to live in California during this period of social change.

Jonathan Mirsky