John Boynton Priestley (; 13 September 1894 – 14 August 1984) was an English novelist, playwright, screenwriter, broadcaster and social commentator. His

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

background is reflected in much of his fiction, notably in ''

The Good Companions ''The Good Companions'' is a novel by the English author J. B. Priestley. Written in 1929, it follows the fortunes of a Concert Party (entertainment), concert party on a tour of England. It is Priestley's most famous novel and established hi ...

'' (1929), which first brought him to wide public notice. Many of his plays are structured around a

time slip A time slip is a plot device in fantasy and science fiction in which a person, or group of people, seem to accidentally travel through time by unknown means, or by a means unknown to the character(s). Time slip is one of the main plot devices ...

, and he went on to develop a new theory of time, with different dimensions that link past, present and future. In 1940, he broadcast a series of short

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...

radio talks, which were credited with strengthening civilian morale during the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain () was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...

. In the following years his left-wing beliefs brought him into conflict with the government and influenced the development of the

welfare state A welfare state is a form of government in which the State (polity), state (or a well-established network of social institutions) protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of its citizens, based upon the principles of equal oppor ...

Early life

Priestley was born on 13 September 1894 at 34 Mannheim Road, Manningham, which he described as an "extremely respectable" suburb of

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

. His father, Jonathan Priestley (1868–1924), was a headmaster. His mother, Emma (''née'' Holt; 1865–1896), was a mill girl. She died when Priestley was just two years old and his father remarried four years later.Lincoln Konkle, ''J. B. Priestley'', in British Playwrights, 1880–1956: A Research and Production Sourcebook, by William W. Demastes, Katherine E. Kelly;

Greenwood Press Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. (GPG) was an educational and academic publisher (middle school through university level) which was part of ABC-Clio. Since 2021, ABC-Clio and its suite of imprints, including GPG, are collectively imprints of B ...

, 1996 Priestley was educated at Belle Vue Grammar School, which he left at 16 to work as a junior clerk at Helm & Co. in the Swan Arcade. During his years at Helm & Co. (1910–1914) he started writing at night and had articles published in local and London newspapers. He was to draw on memories of Bradford in many of the works he wrote after he had moved south, including '' Bright Day'' and '' When We Are Married''. As an old man he deplored the destruction by developers of Victorian buildings in Bradford such as the Swan Arcade, where he had his first job. Priestley served in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, volunteering for the Duke of Wellington's Regiment on 7 September 1914 and being posted to the 10th Battalion in France as a Lance-Corporal on 26 August 1915. He was badly wounded in June 1916 when he was buried alive by a trench mortar. He spent many months in military hospitals and convalescent establishments. On 26 January 1918 he was commissioned as an officer in the

Devonshire Regiment The Devonshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that served under various titles and served in many wars and conflicts from 1685 to 1958, such as the Second Boer War, the World War I, First World War and the World War II, ...

and posted back to France in the late summer. As he describes in his literary reminiscences, ''Margin Released'', he suffered from the effects of poison gas and then supervised German

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

before being demobilised in early 1919. After his military service Priestley received a university education at

Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge, colloquially "Tit Hall" ) is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1350, it is th ...

, where he was among the first cohort of students to study the newly founded English

Tripos TRIPOS (''TRIvial Portable Operating System'') is a computer operating system. Development started in 1976 at the Computer Laboratory of Cambridge University and it was headed by Dr. Martin Richards. The first version appeared in January 1978 a ...

; transferring to History for Part II, he was awarded an upper-second class degree in 1921. By the age of 30 he had established a reputation as an essayist and critic. His novel '' Benighted'' (1927) was adapted into the

James Whale James Whale (22 July 1889 – 29 May 1957) was an English film director, theatre director and actor, who spent the greater part of his career in Cinema of the United States, Hollywood. He is best remembered for several horror films: ''Fra ...

film '' The Old Dark House'' (1932); the novel was published under the film's name in the United States.

Career

Priestley's first major success came with a novel, ''

'' (1929), which earned him the

James Tait Black Memorial Prize The James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are literary prizes awarded for literature written in the English language. They, along with the Hawthornden Prize, are Britain's oldest literary awards. Based at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, Un ...

for fiction and made him a national figure. His next novel, ''

Angel Pavement ''Angel Pavement'' is a novel by J. B. Priestley, published in 1930 after the enormous success of ''The Good Companions'' (1929). It is a social panorama of the city of London, seen largely through the eyes of the employees of the firm Twigg & ...

'' (1930), further established him as a successful novelist. However some critics were less than complimentary about his work and Priestley threatened legal action against

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquired a re ...

for what he took to be a defamatory portrait of him in the novel '' Stamboul Train'' (1932). In 1934, he published the travelogue '' English Journey'', an account of what he saw and heard while travelling through the country in the depths of the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. Priestley is today seen as having a prejudice against the Irish, as is shown in ''English Journey'': "A great many speeches have been made and books written on the subject of what England has done to Ireland... I should be interested to hear a speech and read a book or two on the subject of what Ireland has done to England... if we do have an

Irish Republic The Irish Republic ( or ) was a Revolutionary republic, revolutionary state that Irish Declaration of Independence, declared its independence from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in January 1919. The Republic claimed jurisdict ...

as our neighbour, and it is found possible to return her exiled citizens, what a grand clearance there will be in all the western ports, from the Clyde to Cardiff, what a fine exit of ignorance and dirt and drunkenness and disease." He moved into a new genre and became equally well known as a

dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. Ben Jonson coined the term "playwri ...

. '' Dangerous Corner'' (1932) was the first of many plays that would enthral West End theatre audiences. His best-known play is '' An Inspector Calls'' (1945). His plays are more varied in tone than the novels, several being influenced by J. W. Dunne's theory of time, which plays a part in the plots of ''Dangerous Corner'' (1932) and '' Time and the Conways''. In 1940, Priestley wrote an essay for ''

Horizon The horizon is the apparent curve that separates the surface of a celestial body from its sky when viewed from the perspective of an observer on or near the surface of the relevant body. This curve divides all viewing directions based on whethe ...

'' magazine in which he criticised

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...

for his support of

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

: "Shaw presumes that his friend Stalin has everything under control. Well, Stalin may have made special arrangements to see that Shaw comes to no harm, but the rest of us in Western Europe do not feel quite so sure of our fate, especially those of us who do not share Shaw's curious admiration for dictators." During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he was a regular broadcaster on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. The ''Postscript'', broadcast on Sunday night in 1940 and again in 1941, drew peak audiences of 16 million; only Churchill was more popular with listeners.

wrote that Priestley "became in the months after Dunkirk a leader second only in importance to Mr Churchill. And he gave us what our other leaders have always failed to give us—an ideology." But his talks were cancelled. It was thought that this was the effect of complaints from Churchill that they were too left-wing; however in 2015 Priestley's son said in a talk on the latest book being published about his father's life that it was in fact Churchill's Cabinet that brought about the cancellation by supplying negative reports on the broadcasts to Churchill. Priestley chaired the 1941 Committee and in 1942 he was a cofounder of the socialist

Common Wealth Party The Common Wealth Party (CW) was a socialist political party in the United Kingdom with parliamentary representation in the House of Commons from 1942 (the middle of the Second World War) until 1946. Thereafter CW continued to function, e ...

. The political content of his broadcasts and his hopes of a new and different Britain after the war influenced the politics of the period and helped the Labour Party gain its landslide victory in the 1945 general election. Priestley himself, however, was distrustful of the state and dogma, though he did stand for the

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

constituency in 1945. Priestley's name was on Orwell's list, a list of people that George Orwell prepared in March 1949 for the

Information Research Department The Information Research Department (IRD) was a secret Cold War propaganda department of the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Foreign Office, created to publish anti-communist propaganda, including black propaganda, provide support and i ...

(IRD), a propaganda unit set up at the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United ...

by the Labour government. Orwell considered or suspected these people to have pro-communist leanings and therefore to be unsuitable to write for the IRD. Priestley was a founding member of the

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) is an organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nucl ...

in 1958. In 1960, Priestley published ''Literature and Western Man'', a 500-page survey of

Western literature Western literature, also known as European literature, is the literature written in the context of Western culture in the languages of Europe, and is shaped by the periods in which they were conceived, with each period containing prominent weste ...

in all its genres from the second half of the 15th century to the middle of the 20th century. (The last author discussed was

Thomas Wolfe Thomas Clayton Wolfe (October 3, 1900 – September 15, 1938) was an American novelist and short story writer. He is known largely for his first novel, '' Look Homeward, Angel'' (1929), and for the short fiction that appeared during the last ye ...

.) In 1964 Priestly joined the ''Who Killed Kennedy Committee?'' set up by

Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, and public intellectual. He had influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, and various areas of analytic ...

. His interest in the problem of time led him to publish an extended essay in 1964 under the title of ''Man and Time''. (Aldus published this as a companion to

Carl Jung Carl Gustav Jung ( ; ; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and psychologist who founded the school of analytical psychology. A prolific author of Carl Jung publications, over 20 books, illustrator, and corr ...

's '' Man and His Symbols''.) In the book he explored in depth various theories and beliefs about time as well as his own research and unique conclusions, including an analysis of the phenomenon of precognitive dreaming, based in part on a broad sampling of experiences gathered from the British public, who responded enthusiastically to a televised appeal he made while being interviewed in 1963 on the BBC programme ''

Monitor Monitor or monitor may refer to: Places * Monitor, Alberta * Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States * Monitor, Kentucky * Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States * Monitor, Washington * Monitor, Logan County, Wes ...

''.

The

University of Bradford The University of Bradford is a public research university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. A plate glass university, it received its royal charter in 1966, making it the 40th university to be created in Britain, but ...

awarded Priestley the title of honorary

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...

in 1970 and he was awarded the Freedom of the City of Bradford in 1973. His connections with the city were also marked by the naming of the J. B. Priestley Library at the University of Bradford, which he officially opened in 1975, and by the larger-than-life statue of him, commissioned by the Bradford City Council after his death and which now stands in front of the

National Science and Media Museum The National Science and Media Museum (formerly The National Museum of Photography, Film & Television, 1983–2006 and then the National Media Museum, 2006–2017), located in Bradford, West Yorkshire, is part of the national Science Museum G ...

Personal life

Priestley had a deep love for classical music, especially

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

. This love is reflected in a number of Priestley's works, notably his own favourite novel, ''Bright Day'' (Heinemann, 1946). His book ''Trumpets Over the Sea'' is subtitled "a rambling and egotistical account of the London Symphony Orchestra's engagement at Daytona Beach, Florida, in July–August 1967". In 1941, he played an important part in organising and supporting a fund-raising campaign on behalf of the

London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is a British orchestra based in London. One of five permanent symphony orchestras in London, the LPO was founded by the conductors Thomas Beecham, Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a riv ...

, which was struggling to establish itself as a self-governing body after the withdrawal of Sir

Thomas Beecham Sir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Baronet, (29 April 18798 March 1961) was an English conductor and impresario best known for his association with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Philh ...

. In 1949 the opera '' The Olympians'' by Arthur Bliss, to a libretto by Priestley, was premiered. Priestley snubbed the chance to become a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

in 1965 and also declined appointment as a Companion of Honour in 1969. But he did become a member of the

Order of Merit The Order of Merit () is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by Edward VII, admission into the order r ...

in 1977. He also served as a British delegate to

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

conferences.

Marriages

Priestley was married three times. He also had a number of affairs, including a serious relationship with the actress

Peggy Ashcroft Dame Edith Margaret Emily "Peggy" Ashcroft (22 December 1907 – 14 June 1991) was an English actress whose career spanned more than 60 years. Born to a comfortable middle-class family, Ashcroft was determined from an early age to become ...

. Writing in 1972, Priestley described himself as "lusty" and as one who has "enjoyed the physical relations with the sexes ..without the feelings of guilt which seems to disturb some of my distinguished colleagues". In 1921, Priestley married Emily "Pat" Tempest, a music-loving Bradford librarian. Two daughters were born: Barbara (later known as the architect Barbara Wykeham) in 1923 and Sylvia (a designer known as Sylvia Goaman following her marriage to

Michael Goaman Geoffrey Michael Goaman (14 February 192113 May 2009) was a graphic designer and illustrator, who designed a number of Postage stamps and postal history of Great Britain, British commemorative postage stamps starting with the 4d stamp in the set ...

) in 1924. In 1925, his wife died of cancer. In September 1926, Priestley married Jane Wyndham-Lewis (ex-wife of the one-time ' Beachcomber' columnist D. B. Wyndham-Lewis, no relation to the artist

Wyndham Lewis Percy Wyndham Lewis (18 November 1882 – 7 March 1957) was a British writer, painter and critic. He was a co-founder of the Vorticist movement in art and edited ''Blast (British magazine), Blast'', the literary magazine of the Vorticists. His ...

); they had two daughters (including music therapist Mary Priestley, conceived in 1924 while Jane was still married to D. B. Wyndham-Lewis) and one son, the film editor Tom Priestley. During the

Jane ran several residential nurseries for evacuated mothers and their children, many of whom had come from poor districts. For much of their married life they lived at 3, The Grove in

Highgate Highgate is a suburban area of N postcode area, north London in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden, London Borough of Islington, Islington and London Borough of Haringey, Haringey. The area is at the north-eastern corner ...

, formerly the home of the poet

Samuel Taylor Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge ( ; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets with his friend William Wordsworth ...

. In 1953, Priestley was divorced by his second wife and then married the archaeologist and writer Jacquetta Hawkes, with whom he collaborated on the play '' Dragon's Mouth''. The couple lived at Alveston, Warwickshire, near

Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon ( ), commonly known as Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon (district), Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands region of Engl ...

, later in his life.

Death

Priestley died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

on 14 August 1984, a month short of his ninetieth birthday. His ashes were buried in the churchyard of the Church of St Michael and All Angels, Hubberholme at the head of

Wharfedale Wharfedale ( ) is one of the Yorkshire Dales. It is situated at source in North Yorkshire and then flows into West Yorkshire and forms the upper valley of the River Wharfe. Towns and villages in Wharfedale (downstream, from west to east) includ ...

in Yorkshire. The exact location of his ashes has never been made public and is known only to the three people who were present for the burial. A plaque in the church just states that his ashes are buried 'nearby'. Three photographs exist showing the ashes being interred, taken by Dr Brian Hoyle Thompson. He and his wife were two of the three people present. The brass plate on the box containing the ashes reads ''J. B. Priestley'' and can be seen clearly in one of the pictures.

Bibliography

Novels

* ''Adam in Moonshine'' (1927) * '' Benighted'' (1927) (filmed as ''The Old Dark House'') * ''

'' (1929) * ''

'' (1930) * ''Faraway'' (1932) * ''Wonder Hero'' (1933) * ''Albert Goes Through'' (1933) * ''They Walk in the City'' (1936) * ''The Doomsday Men'' (1937) * '' Let the People Sing'' (1939) * '' Blackout in Gretley'' (1942) * '' Daylight on Saturday'' (1943) * ''Three Men in New Suits'' (1945) * '' Bright Day'' (1946) * '' Jenny Villiers'' (1947) * '' Festival at Farbridge'' (1951) * ''Low Notes on a High Level'' (1954) * '' The Magicians'' (1954) * ''Saturn over the Water'' (1961) * ''The Thirty-First of June'' (1961) * '' Salt Is Leaving'' (1961) * '' The Shapes of Sleep'' (1962) * ''Sir Michael and Sir George'' (1964) * ''

Lost Empires ''Lost Empires'' is a 1986 television miniseries adaptation of J. B. Priestley's 1965 novel of the same name and starred Colin Firth, John Castle and Laurence Olivier. Produced by Granada Television, it was shown as a serial, and premiered on t ...

'' (1965) * '' It's an Old Country'' (1967) * ''The Image Men Vol. 1: Out of Town'' (1968) * ''The Image Men Vol. 2: London End'' (1968) * '' Found, Lost, Found'' (1976)

Other fiction

* ''Farthing Hall'' (1929) (Novel written in collaboration with

Hugh Walpole Sir Hugh Seymour Walpole, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (13 March 18841 June 1941) was an English novelist. He was the son of an Anglican clergyman, intended for a career in the church but drawn instead to writing. Among ...

) * ''The Town Major of Miraucourt'' (1930) (Short story published in a limited edition of 525 copies) * ''I'll Tell You Everything'' (1932) (Novel written in collaboration with Gerald Bullett) * '' The Other Place'' (1952) (Short Stories) * ''Snoggle'' (1971) (Novel for children) * ''The Carfitt Crisis'' (1975) (Two novellas and a short story) ; Novelizations by Ruth Mitchell (author of the wartime novel ''The Lost Generation'' and Priestley's sister-in-law by way of his second marriage): * '' Dangerous Corner'' (1933), based on the later Broadway draft of the play, with a foreword by Priestley (paperback) * '' Laburnum Grove'' (1936), based on the play and subsequent screenplay, published as a hardcover tie-in edition to the film

Selected plays

* ''

'' (1931) * '' Dangerous Corner'' (1932) * '' Laburnum Grove'' (1933) * '' Eden End'' (1934) * ''Cornelius'' (1935) * ''People at Sea'' (1936) * '' Bees on the Boat Deck'' (1936) * '' Time and the Conways'' (1937) * ''

I Have Been Here Before ''I Have Been Here Before'' is a play by J. B. Priestley, first produced by Lewis Casson at the Royalty Theatre, London, on 22 September 1937. The play is one of Priestley's J. B. Priestley's Time Plays, ''Time Plays'', and in 1947 the script w ...

'' (1937) * '' When We Are Married'' (1938) * '' Johnson Over Jordan'' (1939) * ''The Long Mirror'' (1940) * '' They Came to a City'' (1943) * ''Desert Highway'' (1944) * '' How Are They at Home?'' (1944) * '' An Inspector Calls'' (1945) * '' Ever Since Paradise'' (1946) * '' The Linden Tree'' (1947) * '' Home Is Tomorrow'' (1948) * '' Summer Day's Dream'' (1949) * ''Mother's Day'' (1950) * '' The White Countess'' (1954) * '' Mr. Kettle and Mrs. Moon'' (1955) * '' The Glass Cage'' (1957) * ''The Thirty-first of June: A Tale of True Love, Enterprise and Progress in the Arthurian and AD-Atomic Ages'' ** Novel. December 1961: hardback; / (UK edition); William Heinemann Ltd ** BBC radio dramatisation; one and a half hours ** Novel. 1996: paperback; / (UK edition); Mandarin ** '' 31 June'' (1978) (TV) Soviet film * ''Benighted'' (2016, adapted from his 1928 novel by Duncan Gates) * ''The Roundabout'' (1931)

Films

* '' Sing As We Go'' (1934) (screenplay with Gordon Wellesley) * '' Look Up and Laugh'' (1935) (screenplay) * '' We Live in Two Worlds'' (1937) (a documentary short subject, written and presented by Priestley) * '' Jamaica Inn'' (1939) (additional dialogue) * '' Britain at Bay'' (1940) (a documentary short subject, written and presented by Priestley) * '' They Came to a City'' (1944) (screenplay with

Basil Dearden Basil Dearden (born Basil Clive Dear; 1 January 1911 – 23 March 1971) was an English film director. Early life Dearden was born as Basil Clive Dear at 5 Woodfield Road, Leigh-on-Sea, Essex to Charles James Dear, a steel manufacturer, and the ...

and Sidney Cole, based on his play; Priestly also appears as the story's narrator) * '' Last Holiday'' (1950) (screenplay and producer)

Television work

* '' You Know What People Are'' (1955) * '' Armchair Theatre: Now Let Him Go'' (ABC – 15 September 1957) * ''Doomsday for Dyson'' (Granada – 10 March 1958) * '' Out of the Unknown: Level Seven'' (BBC2 – 27 October 1966, adaptation of a story by Mordecai Roshwald) * ''

The Wednesday Play ''The Wednesday Play'' is an anthology series of United Kingdom, British television plays which ran on BBC One, BBC1 for six seasons from October 1964 to May 1970. The plays were usually original works written for television, although dramatic ...

: Anyone for Tennis?'' (BBC1 – 25 September 1968) * ''

Shadows A shadow is a dark area on a surface where light from a light source is blocked by an object. In contrast, shade occupies the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross-section of a shadow is a two-dimensiona ...

: The Other Window'' (Thames – 15 October 1975, co-written with Jacquetta Hawkes) * '' An Inspector Calls'' (several versions including BBC – 2015)

Literary criticism

* ''The English Comic Characters'' (1925) * ''The English Novel'' (1927) * ''Literature and Western Man'' (1960) * ''Charles Dickens and his world'' (1969)

Social and political works

* '' English Journey'' (1934) * ''Out of the people'' (1941) * ''The Secret Dream: an essay on Britain, America and Russia'' (1946) * ''The Arts under Socialism'' (1947) * ''The Prince of Pleasure and his Regency'' (1969) * ''The Edwardians'' (1970) * '' Victoria's Heyday'' (1972) * ''The English'' (1973) * ''A Visit to New Zealand'' (1974)

Autobiography and essays

* ''Essays of To-day and Yesterday'' (1926) * ''Apes and Angels'' (1928) * ''The Balconinny'' (1931) * ''Midnight on the Desert'' (1937) * ''Rain Upon Godshill: A Further Chapter of Autobiography'' (1939) * ''Postscripts'' (1940) * ''Delight'' (1949) * ''Journey Down a Rainbow'' (co-authored with Jacquetta Hawkes, 1955 * ''Thoughts in the wilderness'' (1957) * ''Margin Released'' (1962) * ''Man and Time'' (1964) * ''The Moments and Other Pieces'' (1966) * ''Over the Long High Wall'' (1972) * ''The Happy Dream'' (Limited edition, 1976) * ''Instead of the Trees'' (1977)

References

Other sources * Brome, Vincent (1988). ''J.B. Priestley.''
Bright Day: A special collectors' edition, by J.B. Priestley
*

External links

;Digital collections * * ;Physical collections
J. B. Priestley Papers
at the

at the

J. B. Priestley Archive
at the

Priestley in the Theatre Collection

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

* ;Biographical information
J. B. Priestley biography
at

Spartacus Educational Spartacus Educational is a free online encyclopedia with essays and other educational material on a wide variety of historical subjects, principally the struggle for equality and democracy as part of British history from 1700 and the history of ...

* * * ;Other links
The Official J. B. Priestley website

The J. B. Priestley Society

''John Angerson's English Journey''
. Photographer Angerson retraces J.B. Priestley's footsteps 75 years after publication of Priestley's seminal travelog, ''English Journey''. Article by Graham Harrison for the Photo Histories web site.
1944 film of Priestley at work
at

British Pathé British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and cultur ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Priestley, J. B. 1894 births 1984 deaths 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English male writers 20th-century English novelists Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge British Army personnel of World War I English male dramatists and playwrights Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament activists Common Wealth Party Common Wealth Party politicians Devonshire Regiment officers Duke of Wellington's Regiment soldiers English anti–nuclear weapons activists English humorists English male novelists English opera librettists English socialists James Tait Black Memorial Prize recipients Members of the Order of Merit Military personnel from Bradford People educated at Belle Vue Boys' Grammar School, Bradford Philosophers of time Presidents of the English Centre of PEN Writers from Bradford Writers from Yorkshire