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'''Christopher Isherwood''' ([[1904]]-[[1986]]) was an Anglo-American writer known for his novels and plays. He is also remembered as a long-time collaborator with poet [[W.H. Auden]].
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'''Christopher Isherwood''' was an early-[[20th century]] writer whom [[the Doctor]] and [[Iris Wildthyme]] met in [[Berlin]] before he achieved fame. At that time, he was living on the [[Nollendorfstrasse]], with "that terrible floozy" who sang and kept trying to have [[sex]] him — "and poor Chris was only there in the city for the boys."


[[Jack Harkness]] claimed to have once known Isherwood and that the two went "cruising" together in [[Berlin]] in the 1960s. His memory of Isherwood was sparked by [[Martha Jones]] quoting the title of one of Isherwood's best-known works, the play {{wi|I Am a Camera}}. ([[TV]]: ''[[Reset (TV story)|Reset]]'')
The Doctor forgot this encounter by an adventure in his [[eighth incarnation]], but remembered another encounter with Isherwood involving a picnic in a dusty valley with [[Bertrand Russell]], [[Aldous Huxley]] and [[Greta Garbo]]. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|The Scarlet Empress (novel)}})
 
[[Jack Harkness]] claimed to have once known Isherwood and that the two "cruised" the [[Kurfurstendamm]] together. Jack quoted him as having said, "I'm a [[camera]]" and "It's not the getting in; it's the getting out." ([[TV]]: {{cs|Reset (TV story)}})
 
The [[Eighth Doctor]] gave the full camera quote, from ''[[Goodbye to Berlin]]'', [[1939]]: "I am a camera with its shutter open, quite passive, recording, not thinking. Recording the man shaving at the window opposite and the woman in the kimono washing her hair. Some day, all this will have to be developed, carefully printed, fixed." ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|History 101 (novel)}})


== Behind the scenes ==
== Behind the scenes ==
* [[Matt Smith]] was cast as Christopher Isherwood in a BBC television film entitled {{wi|Christopher and His Kind (television film)|Christopher and His Kind}} (based on Isherwood's 1976 autobiography of the same name).<ref>[http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2010/04/28/doctor-who-star-matt-smith-to-play-gay-writer/ Pink News - Doctor Who star Matt Smith to play gay writer], accessed 28th April 2010</ref>
Iris' comment is a direct reference to an early line in Isherwood's autobiography, {{wi|Christopher and His Kind}}:
 
:''As to why I went [to Berlin] in the first place, my friend [[Wystan Auden]] was there, and encouraged me to join him. I could say that I went there because of what was happening politically, but in fact I went because of the boys. To me, Berlin meant boys.''
== Footnotes ==
In the [[BBC]] adaptation of {{wi|Christopher and His Kind (film)|Christopher and His Kind}}, [[Matt Smith]] played the lead character of Isherwood himself. He acted alongside [[Toby Jones]] as [[Gerald Hamilton]].
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[[Category:Writers from the real world]]
[[Category:Writers from the real world]]
[[Category:20th century individuals]]
[[Category:20th century individuals]]
[[Category:People from the real world encountered by the Doctor]]

Latest revision as of 20:45, 21 March 2024

Christopher Isherwood

Christopher Isherwood was an early-20th century writer whom the Doctor and Iris Wildthyme met in Berlin before he achieved fame. At that time, he was living on the Nollendorfstrasse, with "that terrible floozy" who sang and kept trying to have sex him — "and poor Chris was only there in the city for the boys."

The Doctor forgot this encounter by an adventure in his eighth incarnation, but remembered another encounter with Isherwood involving a picnic in a dusty valley with Bertrand Russell, Aldous Huxley and Greta Garbo. (PROSE: The Scarlet Empress [+]Loading...["The Scarlet Empress (novel)"])

Jack Harkness claimed to have once known Isherwood and that the two "cruised" the Kurfurstendamm together. Jack quoted him as having said, "I'm a camera" and "It's not the getting in; it's the getting out." (TV: Reset [+]Loading...["Reset (TV story)"])

The Eighth Doctor gave the full camera quote, from Goodbye to Berlin, 1939: "I am a camera with its shutter open, quite passive, recording, not thinking. Recording the man shaving at the window opposite and the woman in the kimono washing her hair. Some day, all this will have to be developed, carefully printed, fixed." (PROSE: History 101 [+]Loading...["History 101 (novel)"])

Behind the scenes[[edit] | [edit source]]

Iris' comment is a direct reference to an early line in Isherwood's autobiography, Christopher and His Kind:

As to why I went [to Berlin] in the first place, my friend Wystan Auden was there, and encouraged me to join him. I could say that I went there because of what was happening politically, but in fact I went because of the boys. To me, Berlin meant boys.

In the BBC adaptation of Christopher and His Kind, Matt Smith played the lead character of Isherwood himself. He acted alongside Toby Jones as Gerald Hamilton.