Chemainus Theatre Festival > The Season > An Inspector Calls

J.B. Priestley

John Boynton Priestley (1894-1984) was pre-eminently a dramatist and a novelist. Many of his works have become 20th century literary classics, among them The Good Companions, Angel Pavement, Lost Empires, When We are Married, An Inspector Calls and Time and the Conways. But he was undoubtedly the most versatile writer of his time, producing essays, short stories, verse, literary criticism, social histories, travel books and film scripts, as well as an opera libretto and an autobiography. He was also a practitioner in, and an enthusiast for, painting and music.

Away from the arts Priestley played many roles as a political activist and commentator; a campaigner for nuclear disarmament and public lending right; a cultural ambassador; and a student of time and of dreams. Priestley was also a wartime broadcaster second only to Winston Churchill in importance and influence during a time of great national peril. These broadcasts, listened to by millions of people, were, perhaps, the zenith of his career as a national figure. It may be argued that in literary, social and political terms he was very much 'a man for all seasons'.

Excerpt from The J.B. Priestley Society webpage at: www.jbpriestley-society.com