Priestley, J. B. ( John Boynton Priestley) (1894–1984), novelist, playwright, and critic, born in Bradford, the son of a schoolmaster; he served in the infantry in the First World War, then took a degree at Trinity Hall, Cambridge. He achieved success as a novelist with
The Good Companions (1929), an account of theatrical adventures on the road, which was followed by the grimmer novel of London life
Angel Pavement (1930). His many other novels, which vary greatly in scope, include
Bright Day (1946),
Festival at Farbridge (1951),
Lost Empires (1965), and
The Image Men (1968).
Priestley also wrote some 50 plays and dramatic adaptations; amongst the best known are his ‘Time’ plays, influenced by the theories of J. W. Dunne (
Dangerous Corner, 1932;
I Have Been Here Before, 1937;
Time and the Conways, 1937), his psychological mystery drama
An Inspector Calls (1947), and his West Riding farce
When We Are Married (1938). He also published many miscellaneous works, ranging from
English Journey (1934), an acutely observant account of his travels through England, to collections of his wartime broadcasts (
Britain Speaks, 1940;
All England Listened, 1968); from the ambitious, Jungian
Literature and Western Man (1960) to informal social histories and commentaries, many of which attempt to define the Englishness of the English, such as
The Edwardians (1970) and
The English (1973). He much admired H. G.
Wells (whose spirited disregard of the ‘mandarin conventions’ of the literary novel he applauded), and in a sense inherited his role as Man of Letters, who remained nevertheless a spokesman for the common sense of the common man. He wote several volumes of autobiography, including
Margin Released (1962) and
Instead of the Trees (1977). He was awarded the Order of Merit in 1977.
