Christopher Isherwood was considered a major British writer of the 1930s and 1940s, and much of his writing continued to be well received until the end of his life. Following his critically praised second and third novels, The Memorial (1932) and Mr. Norris Changes Trains (1935), Isherwood began producing the works for which he received his first great acclaim, the novella Sally Bowles (1937) and the parts of what became Goodbye to Berlin (1939). These works were based on his experiences in Nazi Germany during the 1930s, and Isherwood was praised for his prescience and imagination. That travel was important to Isherwood's life and work is evident in the titles of his fiction as well as his nonfiction, and he is known for using fact in his fiction. His two travel books--Journey to a War (1939), written with W. H. Auden, and The Condor and the Cows (1948)--were published at the height of his renown, a time when many believe he was at the peak of his ability as a writer.
