Tuesday, 21 October 2008

J.B.Priestley's life and career

Use the internet to find out information about the playwright whose work you have been studying. Leave a comment to show what you have discovered, BUT...

  • Try to restrict your comments to details that are related to the play.
  • Use your own words

I will leave an example to start you off. You only need to add one or two points; the links are what matter more.

25 comments:

MsW said...

Priestley grew up in Bradford, Yorkshire, an industrial town in the North of England. This links to the fact that he sets the play in a similar place and writes about factory owners and their relationship to workers.

Anonymous said...

In 1914 J.B Priestley enlists on the army and serves in France. This is probably why he makes connections to the first world war in An Inspector Calls.

MsW said...

Chris has exactly the right idea and gets bonus points for completing it early. Come on... what have the rest of you got to offer?

Anonymous said...

In the 1930s, Preistley was concerned about social inequality,so in 1942 Preistley and some others set up a political party called 'the common wealth party'.This could be why he includes social classes in the play.
preet

Anonymous said...

J.B Priestly was born in 1894. While in France serving for the army he tokk place in the battle of looms but was woonded in 1917 and sent back to England for six months. When he got back to France he was gas bombed by the germans and deemed unfit for active service and transfered to the entertainers section of the British army. After he got a degree in modern history and political science at trinity hall, cambridge, he then got a job as a theatre reviewer for the daily news.
His first book was 'The English comic characters' (1927), shortly followed by 'The good companions'(1925) 'The English novel'(1927), 'English humour'(1928) and 'Angel pavement'(1930). His best known plays are 'Dangerous corner'(1932), 'Time and the Conways(1937), When we are married(1938) and 'An inspector calls'(1947)

Anonymous said...

J.B Priestley was born in an suburb of Bradford which was described as 'ultra-respectable.'This could be where he got his ides of an upper-class living from and where he got the charecter ideas for Mr and Mrs Birling.
Sonia

Will said...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._B._Priestley

http://kirjasto.sci.fi/priestle.htm


From 1919 Priestley studied literature, history and political science at Bradford and at Cambridge, receiving his B.A. in 1921.

Studying history may have had an influence on the book being set in the time of the titanic sinking. Political science may have made him want to choose this era because of the struggle between capitalists and socialists.

Anonymous said...

On 26th July 1941 Priestley, Richard Acland and other members of the 1941 Committee established the socialist Common Wealth Party. This is most probably why Priestly makes the link on socialism within An Inspector Calls.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Jpriestley.htm

Anonymous said...

Preistly lost his mother when he was very young, and I feel this is reflected in the distant relationship Mrs.Birling has with her children.

Richmal

Anonymous said...

CAREER - J.b priestly writes about people which have a job, although they aren't qualified to do that job. For example, In "An Inspector calls" the inspector isn't real and in a different book which priestly wrote a decade before "When We Are Married" a parson married three couples however, he wasn't authorised to marry anyone.
Leanne =)

Anonymous said...

Priestly worked in the wool trade before he became a writer. This is probably where he got ideas about the relationship between Mr Birling and his staff. Harjit

Anonymous said...

Since Priestly worked in a wool factory after leaving school this could be reflected in Eva Smith's character. He himself may be speaking from experience of the low pay in this trade and may be indirectly protesting against it.

Anonymous said...

An Inspector Calls

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._B._Priestley

Priestley was born in what he described as an "ultra-respectable" suburb of Bradford. This could be the reason why he made Mr and Mrs Birling characters over proud and arrogant.Many of his works have a political aspect. An inspector calls contains many references to socialism. he gave the inspector the role of being a socialist, therefore Priestley could express his views of society.

His father was a headteacher whilst his mother died young.This is shown in the play because the family have a large amount of respect for the father like a headteacher but the relationship between the parents and children is weak.He was married three times. which shows an element of his family not perfect which you also discover about the Birlings.

Rianne_x

Anonymous said...

Around 1934, Priestly became interested in the problem of time.

This led him to publish an extended essay in 1964 under the title of Man and Time

Also, this could have inspired that bewildering finish to A.I.C

Anonymous said...

Priestly never had a good relationship with his mother as she died when he was young.ms birling does not have a good relationship with her children so maybe his feelings about relationships with mothers is shown in the play.

mica.

Anonymous said...

J.B. Priestly's mother dies at a very young age. i think this reflects on the relationship between mrs. Birling and sheila.

Jodie :)

Anonymous said...

It said that Priestley used to speak on BBC radio but his talks were cancelled because of complaints saying it was too left wing. Left wing is a socialist view so this probably links to him writing a socialist play.
pav

Anonymous said...

Priestly used to work in a wool factory which links to the play because Birling owns a factrory

Ruby

Anonymous said...

John Boynton Priestley was born in Bradford in 1894. In the 1930s Priestley became increasing concerned about social problems. This is reflected in English Journey (1934), an account of his travels through England.

Mathew!

Anonymous said...

Priestlys mother died at a young age. this would have greatly effect priestly. i think this death my have infulenced the character of Mrs b.

Kacie :)

Anonymous said...

John Boynton Priestley was born in Bradford in 1894.he became concerned about social problems this could be why his play boldens a social issue and moral problem which is inequality.

zach

Anonymous said...

Priestly served in the first world war and that is why he believs in socialism. Socialism is when a person belives in equality.
kiran

Anonymous said...

priestley was born in bradford in 1894. before he was a writer he worked in a wool factory

Anonymous said...

Priestly served time in the war and so he has a lot of history of the war... which he includes in his play...during Birling speech about the Germans

Sammie =D

Anonymous said...

Priestley was born in what he described as an 'ultra-respectable' suburb of Bradford. His father was a headteacher, whilst his mother died young. As most people have said this might have influenced they wy he wrote "An Inspector Calls" with Mrs. Birling and her relationship with her children and how Mr. Birling gets a lot of respect.

After he left Grammer school, he went into work in a wool factory, this has many reasons why he uses certain things in "An Inspector Calls":
- It could be why Mr. Birling wokrs in the factory,
- He might know a lot about how people in factories are treated and paid, which is why Eva Smith may have worked in a factory.

He had always had ambitions to become a writer, but after he worked he then went into the Fitst World War - he mentions the first would war in his play in a sarcastic way, he would know a lot about the war as he had been in it.

^^Made it up for being late =D