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J. B. Priestley

An Inspector Calls and Other Plays (Penguin Modern Classics) Paperback – 29 Mar. 2001

by J B Priestley (Author)

2,968 ratings

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'We don't live alone ... We are responsible for each other'

A policeman interrupts a rich family's dinner to question them about the suicide of a young working-class girl. As their guilty secrets are gradually revealed over the course of the evening, 'An Inspector Calls', J. B. Priestley's most famous play, shows us the terrible consequences of poverty and inequality. The other powerful plays in this collection - 'Time and the Conways', 'I Have Been Here Before' and 'The Linden Tree' - explore time, fate, free will and the effects of war.

'A vastly talented and exceptionally versatile and wise writer' Iris Murdoch

'Priestley was volcanic, fertile ... and never dull' Anthony Burgess

If you enjoyed An Inspector Calls, you might like Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, also available in Penguin Modern Classics.

ISBN-10

014118535X
ISBN-13

978-0141185354
Publisher

Penguin Classics
Publication date

29 Mar. 2001
Language

English
Dimensions

13 x 1.8 x 19.7 cm
Print length

304 pages
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Product description

About the Author

J.B. Priestley, the son of a schoolmaster, was born in Bradford in 1894. After leaving Belle Vue High School, he spent some time as a junior clerk in a wool office. (A lively account of his life at this period may be found in his volume of reminiscences, Margin Released.) He joined the army in 1914, and in 1919, on receiving an ox-officers’ grant, went to Trinity Hall, Cambridge. In 1922, after refusing several academic posts, and having already published one book and contributed critical articles and essays to various reviews, he went to London. There he soon made a reputation as an essayist and critic. he began writing novels, and with his third and fourth novels, The Good Companions and Angel Pavement, he scored a great success and established an international reputation. This was enlarged by the plays he wrote in the 1930s and 1940s, some of these, notably Dangerous Corner, Time and the Conways and An Inspector Calls, having been translated and produced all over the world. During the Second World War he was exceedingly popular as a broadcaster. Since the war his most important novels have been Bright Day, Festival at Farbridge, Lost Empires and The Image Men, and his more ambitious literary and social criticism can be found in Literature and Western Man, Man and Time and Journey Down a Rainbow, which he wrote with his wife, Jacquetta Hawkes, a distinguished archaeologist and a well-established writer herself. It was in this last book that Priestley coined the term ‘Admass’, now in common use. Among his latest books are Victoria’s Heydey (1972), Over the Long High Wall (1972), The English (1973), Outcries and Asides, a collection of essays (1974), A Visit to New Zealand (1974), The Carfitt Crisis (1975), Particular Pleasures (1975), Found, Lost, Found, or the English Way of Life (1976), The Happy Dream (1976), English Humour (1976) and an autobiography, Instead of the Trees (1977). In 1977 J. B. Priestley received the Order of merit. He died in 1984.

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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Classics (29 Mar. 2001)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 014118535X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0141185354
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 13 x 1.8 x 19.7 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 900 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 3 in York Notes for GCSE
- 6 in Drama (Books)

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2,968 ratings

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The booktrail

Brilliantly clever play which stands the test of time.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 30 July 2020

Verified Purchase

I'm rereading all the books I've loved from my school days at the moment. This book is still studied in schools I think and I'm not surprised as there's so much discussion to come from it. A lot of questions you can ask yourself, about yourself and how you treat others. It's very apt in this modern day too which is why I think it's stood the test of time.

An inspector arrives unannounced at a society house. A girl has committed suicide and he talks to the family one by one, but in the same claustrophobic room, to find out what happened to her and why. Oh when the story unravels and we see how each member of the family have secrets about this girl to spill, then this is like watching lambs to the slaughter. It will also make you think about yourself and how you interact in the world. Every action has consequences - seeing these characters interactions crash into each other, smack them in the face and then pull the rug from under the only one standing, it's delicious to see.

That ending! I still remember how thrilled I was to write about this in my GSCE exam. I could waffle on about this for ages (which was good then as it got my word count up hehe)

Recommended - (book, stage play, two TV adaptations) I've read and seen them all.

7 people found this helpful

Helpful

Thought provoking

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 September 2021

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Priestly was fascinated by the subject of time, and that is the theme of the plays included here - and do note that they are written as plays rather than novels, so have stage directions and other features novels lack. The most famous is, deservedly, "An Inspector Calls", which was made into a film with the incomparable Alistair Sim as the eponymous policeman. All go into the intriguing subject of what people might do differently if they could have their time over again, and are definitely thought-provoking.

One person found this helpful

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StanthemanRetoma

Very good

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 27 October 2017

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Bought to read myself so I could help my son with his GCSE English - great little collection and good value. WATCH OUT FOR SIMILAR TITLED STUFF THAT IS NOT PRIESTLEY'S WORK!

17 people found this helpful

Helpful

Classic book but you know that!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 February 2019

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Set in an English industrial city, a young girl commits suicide and an eminent family is subject to a routine investigation in connection with the death. During the course of questioning by the investigator, all members of the group seem to have links to the girl's tragic death. As the evening progresses and under intense scrutiny of the inspector the closely knit family and friends start to show their true colours Wait for the surprise at the end! A satisfying read but one should take into context the era in which this book was written.

4 people found this helpful

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j.e. Rubio

A glimse of a different world

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 19 August 2020

Verified Purchase

I have been a great admirer of j b priestley since at the age of fifteen I was taken to a performace of Time and the Conways. These ideas of time - bases on the works of a methematician, Ouspenski - show in all of thes e plays. What makes this exceptional is that these abtract ideas are shown in the happenings of norma, everyday people. GREAT.

2 people found this helpful

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Ken Walker

Good classic plays

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 May 2019

Verified Purchase

I'm only used to reading books. with plays of course you have to read what the author is saying the actors are doing,or their mood etc. even when they are not in dialogue. I got used to it quicker than I thought I would and in some ways it added to the enjoyment. I knew some of the plays from TV versions in the 1950's and enjoyed re visiting them in this way

4 people found this helpful

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BAZZ

POWERFUL PLAYS BY A VERY, VERY FINE WRITER

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 24 March 2021

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AN INSPECTOR CALLS as well as the other plays: TIME AND THE CONWAYS; I HAVE BEEN HERE BEFORE; THE LINDEN TREE; are all equally powerful and the characters and story-line remain in one's mind long, long after one has read them- or seen the play in performance on stage.

One person found this helpful

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brilliant play

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 September 2019

Verified Purchase

I have read the title play for the first time after seeing the 1954 Alastair Sim film version at the weekend. It's a brilliant taut piece of drama, and the twists are excellent, with the author's social conscience shining through the words of the title character. I can quite see why this is so often studied in schools. I read the first act of Time and the Conways but it didn't strike me as of the same quality and depth.

2 people found this helpful

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