The Christopher Isherwood Encyclopaedia is a reference volume for all students of Christopher Isherwood's writing who would like sundry facts about his life and work gathered in one volume. David Garret Izzo's enthusiasm for the writings and life of Christopher Isherwood enabled him to “comprehensively indulge [his] fascination with Isherwood”, and his preface acknowledges a need for a volume that works as a reference for Christopher Ishwerood's life and work. The encyclopedia is primarily written by Izzo with acknowledged contributions from a number of other authors.
While the idea is laudable there are a few instances where a more professional presentation would have been better. The cross‐references within the encyclopedia are confusing. For example, a discussion of the Northwest Passage, the term, is followed by the italic entry “Northwest Passage, see Northwest Passage” to refer readers looking for discussion of the novel back to the previous entry. It seems a rather circuitous route to accomplish what is in essence a discussion of a literary term developed in a novel by the same name. Would it not have been just as effective to have an entry on the novel, with a discussion of the development of this term and then an index entry for the term Northwest Passage to refer readers back to the aforementioned entry? This confusion is compounded by the presence of typographical errors which also detract from the book's presentation.
The alphabetically arranged entries range from brief mentions of people Isherwood met and worked with briefly, like Sanford Roth, to more extensive entries on topics ranging from Isherwood's devotion to Vedanta, to particular novels, plays, and stories. The entry on Vedanta provides the encyclopedia reader with a thorough description of Isherwood's interest in, and conversion to, Vedanta, as well as detailing the translations and writings he produced on the subject. Another good example of a detailed entry is the six and a half pages for Goodbye to Berlin, which provides historical context to the novel as well as a thematic discussion and analysis that draws both on the author's perceptions of the novel and of the story collection The Berlin Stories, which were gathered together to form Goodbye to Berlin. Izzo also highlights some of the events in Christopher Isherwood's life (and described in his diaries) that served as inspiration for these stories.
Izzo has previously authored another book on Isherwood (Izzo, 2001) and has also produced The W.H. Auden Encyclopaedia (Izzo, 2004) (RR 2004/436), and his interest in the topic is undeniable. However, the juxtaposition of long, detailed entries with strangely abrupt entries such as the rather awkward one for Wilfred Israel that states that he was the model for the character Beranhard Landauer “who figures in both Goodbye to Berlin and Christopher and His Kind; each has its own entry in this encyclopedia” is jarring at times, and one wonders at this juncture if a cross‐reference might not have been clearer and more useful.
The Encyclopedia also includes a bibliography and an index. The bibliography will prove useful to those looking for further information on the novels, people, and ideas discussed. The index does provide some useful access points to the text.
While there are existing volumes that provide biographical detail and critical examination about and on Christopher Isherwood, the Christopher Isherwood Encyclopedia does offer a convenient bringing together of this type of information. It is unfortunate that there are typographical errors and awkward entries and cross‐references. This book would be a useful addition to an academic library if it were not for these factors that argue against a more enthusiastic recommendation.
