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John Boyton Priestley was a British journalist, novelist, playwright and essayist. His output was prodigious and included a vast number of newspaper and magazine articles, essays, as well as novels, histories and travel books..
J.B. Priestley
Priestley was born in Bradford in 1894 (september, 13.). His father, Jonathan Priestley, was a prosperous schoolmaster; his mother died shortly after his birth. He attended Bradford Grammar School, but left his studies at the age of sixteen and worked as a junior clerk. At this time, he started writing articles for papers and poems for his own pleasure.
During World War First, Priestley did a voluntary service in the British Army. 1919, he began to study literature, history and political science in Cambridge where he received his B.A. two years later. From 1922 on he worked as a journalist in London. He gained international popularity with his novel The Good Companion.
Priestley started writing plays in the 1930s, when he also founded his own production company. Through the performance of his plays such as An Inspector Calls, Priestley was characterised as "Shakespeare of the little man" and compared with Dickens. After the outbreak of World War Second, Priestley reached popularity as a patriotic radio broadcaster and criticiser of Great Britain conducts.
Priestley was married three times, for the first time in 1919 with Emily Tempest, who died young in 1925. His second marriage was with Mary Wyndham Lewis. And in 1953 he married the archeologist and writer Jacquetta Hawkes. The couple lived near Stratford-upon-Avon.
Priestley had success as a writer, he was director of the Mask Theatre in London, he was member of the International Theatre-company, he was sent to UNESCO conference as delegate of U.K. - he had passed a very active and long life, when he died on August fourteenth, 1984.
For his service he was given the order of merit in 1977, before he refused both knighthood and peerage.
Some of the most famous pieces of work:
1929 The Good companions
1930 Angel Pavement
1932 Dangerous Corners
1933 Laburnum Grove
1934 English Journey
1960 Literature and a Western Man
1962 Margin Released
1976 Found, Lost, Found
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