Biography of JB Priestley

John Boynton Priestley is one of the premier English writers of the 20th century. In a writing career spanning sixty years, Priestley wrote novels, essays, plays and screenplays. Priestley was more than just a writer though; during the Second World War he turned his hand successfully to radio broadcasting. Most people will not recognise the name John Boynton Priestley and will know him better as simply JB Priestley.

Priestley was born on the 13th September 1894, in a well to do suburb of Bradford. Priestley’s father, Jonathan, was a respected school teacher. A happy childhood was made difficult for Priestley when his mother, Emma Holt, died. Priestley was only two years of age when she died. Though he was to have no memory of his mother, Priestly did consider his stepmother to be kind, gentle and loving’.
Priestely did well at the local grammar school, and could have gone onto further education. His father though wanted him to get into a trade. So at the age of sixteen Priestley entered the wool trade in Bradford. Priestley was not particularly interested in the wool industry, although it did give him the opportunity to travel across Europe. The other benefit of his employment though was that it gave him enough spare time to indulge in his love of writing. He even became a correspondent of the "Bradford Pioneer".

JB Priestley

His happy existence though was interrupted as he approached his twentieth birthday. The First World War broke out and Priestley immediately signed up. Initially he served in the 10th Battalion of the Duke of Wellington Regiment. Sent to France, Priestley took part in the Battle of Loos in September 1915. Priestley survived the fighting on the Western Front until he was injured in 1917, and promptly was sent back to England for six months recuperation.

His return to the front line was short lived though, as he was injured in German mortar and gas attack. The effects of the gas were not serious enough for him to be sent back to England. The Medical board review did mean he was removed from the fighting to serve in the Entertainers Corp.

In 1919 Priestley was released from the army. Discharge gave him the opportunity to go onto further education, an opportunity that had passed him by when he was sixteen. Priestley enrolled at Trinity hall, Cambridge. Priestley studied Modern History and Political Science but augmented his studies by writing for the "Cambridge Review". Writing also helped him pay some of his university fees, as Priestley sold articles to provincial and London newspapers.

Having graduated in 1922, Priestley moved to London, where he found employment as theatre critic for the Daily News. Priestley again supplemented his wages by writing articles for other papers, including the" Spectator", "Challenge" and "Nineteenth Century". His work was quickly recognised for its quality, and Priestley soon had a reputation as a first rate critic and essayist.

Prior to his move to London, Priestley married his first wife, Pat Tempest. Together they had two daughters. The marriage though was cut short by pat’s untimely death in 1925. The following year, Priestley married Jane Wyndham-Lewis. This second marriage lasted until a divorce decree in 1953. Three children, two daughters and a son were produced as a result of this union. Priestley’s third and final marriage began in 1953, when he married the archaeologist Jacquetta Hawkes, who has collaborated in his "Dragon’s Mouth" work. This last marriage was childless though.

Priestley and Jacquetta lived in a spectacular home in Stratford, which they called "Kissing Tree House".

JB Priestley - Wikipedia

Whilst Priestley was writing his theatre reviews, he also began to write books and critical writing. The critical writings; "The English Comic Characters" (1925), "The English Novel" (1927), "English Humour" (1928) all found acclaim cementing his reputation within the literary community.
His novels of the same time drew upon his early experiences in Bradford. With the publication of novels such as the "Good Companions" (1929), Priestley found both a public following, and also a reputation of comic rationalist. "Good Companions" was a success in the United States as well as England, and Priestley found himself picking up his first award; the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction. His follow up novel, "Angel Pavement" (1930) was another success, and soon Priestley found himself a national figure.

Priestley though became concerned about social problems affecting the country. The best display of this can be seen "English Journey" (1934), where Priestley retold accounts of his travels through England.

Though Priestley continued to write novels, he soon found himself drawn to plays and dramas. He adapted "Good Companions" into a 1931 play, before writing his first theatre play, "Dangerous Corner" (1932). "Dangerous Corner" proved to be a resounding success, receiving critical acclaim that ensured a successful run in the West End. The West End success enabled Priestley to form his own theatrical company, for which he wrote more plays of all genres.

His best known play came almost fifteen years later, when "An Inspector Calls" (1946) was written. Again it received critical acclaim to such an extent that it was also adapted into a 1954 film with Alastair Sim.

Priestley was a prolific writer. In his sixty year writing career he produced some one hundred and twenty novels, essays and plays. Many of his works displayed his political views, with numerous references to socialism. In the latter years of his life though his writing dropped off to the production of novels and non-fiction work.

During the Second World War Priestley’s writing took a back seat to a new career as a radio presenter. The BBC programme, Postscripts’, was broadcast every Sunday evening and soon an estimated forty percent of the adult population was listening in. Whilst the programme went out from the summer of 1940 through until the early part of 1941, it was shelved. Members of the Conservative Party complained that Priestley was expressing left-wing views.

The cancellation of his programme did not stop Priestley expressing his political views. Priestley chaired the 1941 Committee’, a group of British politicians, writers and other people of influence pushing for more efficiency in the war effort. The Committee called for the public control of railways, mines and docks.

In 1942 many of the Committee’s members went onto form the Common Wealth Party. Again Priestley was the co-founder and chairman. The new political party pushed for Common Ownership, Vital Democracy and Morality in Politics. Priestley though soon stepped down from the position after a disagreement with one of the other co-founders, Richard Acland. Priestley could not reconcile himself with the politics of Acland.

Following the war, Priestley became more obviously political. In 1946 and 1947, Priestley acted as the British delegate to the UNESCO conferences. By the latter part of the 1950′s Priestley was writing articles that favoured a unilateral nuclear disarmament programme. His point of view proved to be very popular with the readers of the "New Statesman". As a result of the support, Priestley and Kingsley Martin, the editor of the "New Statesman", formed the CND, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.

Priestley received relatively few honours in his lifetime, although he was especially proud of being made a Freeman of his native Bradford in 1973. Four years later he also received the Order of Merit, the highest civilian honour of Great Britain.

Priestley passed away on the 14th August 1984, at the age of eighty-nine, at his home in Stratford.
Priestley is best remembered for his literary work. His political work during the Second World War and afterwards though should not be ignored.

Copyright - First Published 10th March 2008