Writers and scholars are always looking for ways to promote their work, often by discussing their subjects in non-academic places. My collaborator for much of my work on Christopher Isherwood pitched a "listicle" to the Huffington Post around the time our book, The American Isherwood, came out in 2015. We started with Isherwood's most famous (sort of) work.
1. Isherwood's best known work is not quite his own.
The latest revival of the musical Cabaret recently closed on Broadway and is headed out on the road. Having seen the likes of Sienna Miller and Emma Stone as the iconic Sally Bowles, this musical drama first appeared on stage in 1966 with a book Joe Masteroff, music by John Kander, and lyrics by Fred Ebb. Cabaret is based on the stage play, I Am a Camera by John Van Druten, which was based on "stories by Christopher Isherwood, " including "Sally Bowles" and "Berlin Diary" from Isherwood's 1938 novel, Goodbye to Berlin. Cabaret ran for nearly three years. It was made into a groundbreaking film by Bob Fosse in 1972 and swept the Academy Awards even though it was up against The Godfather. Perhaps the big winner was Liza Minnelli for Best Actress. Upon seeing the stage play for the first time, Isherwood reportedly said, "I don't recognize my own child." But it sure paid the bills over the years, and he was happy with all of those Oscars.