J. B. Priestley
| J. B. Priestley | |
|---|---|
J. B. Priestley
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| Born |
13 September 1894 Manningham, Bradford, West Riding of Yorkshire, England |
| Died | 14 August 1984 (aged 89) Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Nationality | British |
| Period | 20th century |
| Genre | Crime |
| Website | |
| www |
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John Boynton "J. B." Priestley, OM (/ˈpriːstli/; 13 September 1894 – 14 August 1984), was an English novelist, playwright, scriptwriter, social commentator, and broadcaster.
His Yorkshire background is reflected in much of his fiction, notably in The Good Companions (1929), which first brought him to wide public notice. Many of his plays are structured around a time slip, 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 radio shows that were credited with strengthening civilian morale during the Battle of Britain. His left-wing beliefs brought him into conflict with the government, and influenced the birth of the Welfare State. The programme was eventually cancelled by the BBC for being too critical of the Government.
He is perhaps best known for his 1945 play An Inspector Calls.
Priestley was born at 34 Mannheim Road, Manningham, which he described as an "extremely respectable" suburb of Bradford. His father was a headmaster. His mother died when he was just two years old and his father remarried four years later. Priestley was educated at Belle Vue Grammar School, which he left at sixteen to work as a junior clerk at Helm & Co., a wool firm 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.
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