"[Bucknell's] big blue book breathes and glistens. Her subject, who regularly meditated as a convert with Aldous Huxley to the Hindu philosophy Vedanta, is reincarnated. . . Stone by stone, [Bucknell has] built up a gritty, gorgeous monument to a curiously indelible 20th-century figure." --Alexandra Jacobs, New York Times

"[A] nuanced, masterful portrait of a brilliant, insecure, charismatic seeker of artistic truth and personal freedom. . . . as Bucknell's definitive wide-screen biography shows us, Isherwood's struggles were transmuted into lyrical fiction that never stopped questioning what it meant to be a man in the 20th century, and thus his art became our gift." --Marc Weingarten, Boston Globe

"Katherine Bucknell, who has edited four huge volumes of Isherwood's diaries and a collection of his letters, knows the man as no other scholar ever will. . . [She] is indefatigable, leading us expertly through every detail of [Isherwood's] early years in England, his time in Weimar Germany, his travels everywhere from China to Western Samoa. Beneath the carnival of his social life, she never loses sight of the fact that even his spiky friend Gore Vidal named Isherwood 'the best prose writer in English.'" --Pico Iyer, Airmail

"This absorbing biography burrows deeply into each stage of Isherwood's continuous intellectual and spiritual evolutions . . . Isherwood questioned everything in life, ardently examining himself, and Bucknell's marvelously knowledgeable portrait reveals the full dimensions of his richly contemplative life." --Raúl Niño, Booklist (starred review)

"Bucknell brings scholarly acumen and bravura storytelling to her stunning biography . . . This is a monumental achievement." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Christopher Isherwood Inside Out is the best biography I've ever read. The subject, Christopher Isherwood, was a mindful, moral man, an example for all, and a wonderfully talented writer. The author, Katherine Bucknell, explores every moment of his life--English, German, American--and links them all to the vast ongoing project of his life and work. The book is long but every page is full of surprises." --Edmund White

"This is a first-rate biography of the man, the writer, and the lover. Had he stayed in England, he would have been the squire of Marple Hall in Cheshire, very very different to the Christopher I knew." --David Hockney

"A penetrating exploration of the life and work of the acclaimed novelist, memoirist, and pioneering figure in gay culture. . . . The author renders a sweeping portrait of Isherwood's remarkable life journey . . . An engrossing, rigorously documented study of a 20th-century literary trailblazer." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

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

"A roller-coaster ride through a genuinely remarkable life. Katherine Bucknell has had full access to all the primary sources--and it shows. Her Isherwood is both fascinating and dangerous, as reckless in his relationships as he was scrupulous in his art. His virtues shine, and his faults are documented with admirable candour." --Neil Bartlett, author of Address Book

"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, marshalling an enormous range of scholarship with insight, empathy, and humor. Her long immersion in Isherwood's work and life is lightly worn, she writes beautifully, and whether she is invoking declining English country-house life, Weimar Berlin, mid-century Hollywood, or the alternative cultures of California, one trusts her judgment implicitly. Christopher Isherwood Inside Out matches its subject's narrative skill and psychological insight, and brilliantly illuminates his search for a new way to live." --Roy Foster, author of W. B. Yeats: A Life

"Inside Out is a master work by Katherine Bucknell, skillfully delving into the intricate layers of Christopher Isherwood's mind and spirit. Aptly titled, this book offers an intimate portrayal of Isherwood's essence, with prose that guides readers on an intimate journey into his world, revealing the nuances of his life and artistry." --Tina Mascara, director (with Guideo Santi) of "Chris and Don: A Love Story"

"This is the Isherwood book we've been waiting for. While Isherwood is rightly celebrated as a courageous forefather of the gay liberation movement, he should be equally celebrated as a fearless early practitioner and writer on Hinduism (Vedanta), again pulling the rest of the country with him. By telling the truth through his writing and through his life, Isherwood achieved greatness in his art and in his spiritual quest, and that will continue to move us and change us long after we, and all those who knew him, are gone." --Pravrajika Vrajaprana, author of Vedanta: A Simple Introduction

"Open this thick book to almost any page about Christopher Isherwood's important and glamorous life, and you will find a lot about the fascinating people this supreme twentieth-century literary artist often saw. What stars he knew in his magic circle during his many lives, from 1930s Berlin down to postwar Hollywood and after." --James Ivory, author of Solid Ivory: Memoirs

"Katherine Bucknell's brilliant biography . . . reestablishes Isherwood as one of Anglo-American literature's most significant literary figures of the 20th century" --Simon Lewis, The Post and Courier