The Vision of J.B. Priestley

Drawing on private and published sources, Roger Fagge takes an in-depth look at J.B. Priestley's work, seeking to reclaim him as an important English thinker. Priestley grew up in Bradford, and served on the front line in the First World War, before attending Cambridge and embarking on a career as a writer. A committed radical, he wrote widely for the press, as well as producing autobiographies, social criticism and plays. This work revealed a growing interest in the meaning of Englishness and the start of a long-running relationship with America. Priestley achieved even greater influence during the early years of World War II via his popular BBC radio 'postscripts'. His later career, however, shows his faith in the people give way to disillusionment with a world that he found difficult to understand. The Vision of J.B. Priestley charts the development of his thought throughout his career, showing how Priestley ultimately found himself drifting into a general dismissal of the popular that he had once celebrated, and indeed helped create.

Introduction \ 1. Priestley, Politics and Class \ 2. Priestley and England between the wars \ 3. Priestley, the ‘People' and World War II \ 4. The Disillusioning of Mr. Priestley \ 5. Priestley, Admass and America \ 6. Late Priestley \ Conclusion