The Berlin Stories - Christopher Isherwood (1945)


"The Berlin Stories is a semi-autobiographical account of Christopher Isherwood’s life in Berlin before the Second World War. Set in 1931, the English-born author chronicles his misadventures with the city’s most interesting characters. The novel is essentially divided into ‘Mr. Norris Changes Trains’ and ‘Goodbye to Berlin’. With both stories barely skimming 200 pages, the tales were combined in 1946 to become The Berlin Stories. In ‘Mr. Norris Changes Trains’, Isherwood goes by his alias William Bradshaw (Derived by his full name, Christopher William Bradshaw Isherwood). The novel opens with young William Bradshaw encountering with an nervous man named Arthur Norris, on a train from Holland to Berlin. Noticing Norris is a fellow Englishman, Bradshaw strikes up a conversation with the stranger. Norris’s hesitation reaches it’s climax when German police ask to see his passport. Bradshaw appeases the officer and helps to calm Norris down without making a scene. Originally intrigued by Norris’s mysterious nature (and overly aristocratic English demeanor) the two soon develop a friendship. ..."
Living with Literature
W - The Berlin Stories
I Could Show You Memories To Rival Berlin in the Thirties: Christopher Isherwood and The Berlin Stories
BBC: Berlin through the eyes of Christopher Isherwood
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