Context

• J.B. Priestley wrote 'An Inspector Calls' in a single week, so it was impossible to find a theatre to host it at such short notice. Therefore, surprisingly, the play was first performed in Moscow and Leningrad, Russia, in 1945. It reached London in 1946, when it was performed at the New Theatre. It was then performed on Broadway In 1947. Since then, it has been performed and reproduced countless times. It has also been adapted for film, TV, and radio, such as the 2015 BBC adaptation starring David Thewlis.
• After its first London performances, the play was hugely successful. Many view it as Priestley's best work, and it has remained in the public eye ever since because of its popularity both with theatre troupes and with exam boards.
• An Inspector Calls


  • It can be seen as an example of a 'drawing room play' which were developed during the Victorian period and focused on events and actions that occurred in a drawing room
  • It fits the trend of detective thriller and serious drama, such as those by T.S. Eliot and George Bernard Shaw, in theatres
• The play fell out of fashion after the 1960s. Theatre had moved on with a new movement of Social Realist Theatre, which explored serious social issues within a contemporary (of the times) setting. 'An Inspector Calls', in contrast, was outdated, and many felt it was written for the rich and middle classes. Several revivals at the end of the century, though, brought the play back to life and back into popularity.
• Today, it is celebrated for Priestley's criticism of Capitalism and middle-class hypocrisy. Critics view it as an accurate reproduction of pre-World War I society as it fell apart.
• J.B. Priestley


  John Boynton Priestley, known as Jack, was born in 1894 in Bradford, Yorkshire
• J.B. Priestley


  • His mother died soon after his birth, leading his father to remarry four years later
  • His father was a headmaster and Priestley had a grammar school education
  • He left school at the age of 16 instead of going to university
  • He got practical work experience, becoming a junior clerk at a wool firm in the city, while writing at night
  • Eventually, he got articles published in local and London newspapers
• Yorkshire's culture


  • It influences a lot of Priestley's work
  • In Bradford, Priestley witnessed a lot of poverty amongst the working classes
  • The city was industrial, with its economy reliant on the wool and dyeing industries
  • The living conditions had improved since the 1840s, but many still lived in slums and impoverished conditions
  • Priestley took note of how the city's respectable folk behaved: he took them to be smug and hypocritical
• Socialist values


  • Priestley was raised surrounded by them
  • His father was a proud Socialist with many Socialist friends, and Priestley grew up surrounded by this group of people
  • His peers were intellectual and politically active
  • This cemented his own Socialist values while he was still relatively young
• Priestley's war experience


  • War broke out when he was 19, nearly 20
  • He volunteered for the army, and served for five years as a private, lance-corporal, and later an officer
  • While serving, he saw active front-line service in France, was buried alive by a German shell attack and was a victim of a gas attack
  • He survived physically unscathed, however, his experience at war haunted him forever
  • Many of his friends died, possibly leading to a feeling of survivor's guilt for Priestley
• Priestley: '"The British command specialised in throwing men away for nothing. The tradition of an officer class, defying both imagination and common sense, killed most of my friends as surely as if those cavalry generals had come out of the chateaux with polo mallets and beaten their brains out. Call this class prejudice if you like, so long as you remember … that I went into that war without any such prejudice, free of any class feeling. No doubt I came out of it with a chip on my shoulder; a big, heavy chip, probably some friend's thigh-bone".'
• After the war


  • Priestley studied Modern History and Political Science at Cambridge University before choosing to focus on his writing
  • He moved to London, and became a famous essayist, novelist, and radio broadcaster
  • He became a prominent Socialist, using his platform to speak out about class inequality and poverty in Britain
• Priestley's radio broadcasts during WWII

  • His show, the 'Postscripts', came on after the news
  • The main purpose of his show was to give his own personal reflections on the wartime conditions and to boost national morale
  • He called for a fairer, better society to emerge after the war
  • Before his show ended, he had used his broadcast to bring his listeners' attention to the issue of inequality in wartime Britain
• Priestley: '"We are floundering between two stools. One of them is our old acquaintance labelled 'Every man for himself, and the devil take the hindmost', which can't really represent us, or why should young men, for whom you and I have done little or nothing, tear up and down the sky in their Spitfires to protect us, or why should our whole community pledge itself to fight until Europe is freed? The other stool … has some lettering round it that hints that free men could combine, without losing what's essential to their free development, to see that each gives according to his ability, and receives according to his need."'
• Priestley's political involvement


  • In 1942, he became a co-founder of the Common Wealth Party, a Socialist political party
  • He was an influential figure in British politics, and his opinions and broadcasts shaped a lot of the political debate of the period
  • He helped Labour win the election in 1945 and contributed to the formation of the Welfare State
• Responsibility


  A key theme in Priestley's work was how the individual and the collective had responsibilities and duties
• Theories of time


  • Priestley was also fascinated by them, and developed his own theory on how time worked
  • Many of his plays looked at the effects of an individual's actions over a passage of time - just like what we see in 'An Inspector Calls'
• Although it wasn't written or set in the Victorian Era, we can still see the influence of the Victorian culture in Priestley's portrayal of 1910's society. In fact, many believe the play demonstrates the destructive impact of Victorian values, and advocates for their removal from our modern culture.
• Charity/Philanthropy in Victorian culture

  • Before Queen Victoria's reign, England had something called the 'Poor Law' which provided help for the poor by offering them money and support
  • This was reformed by Victoria, who believed the poor should work to earn their help, leading to the establishment of workhouses
• The 'deserving poor' in Victorian culture

  • The Victorians believed the poor had to be judged for their worth, and only the 'moral' poor could be helped
  • Those who offered charity were seen as socially and morally superior, while the poor were expected to practice self-help
• 'Fallen women' in Victorian culture

  • Women who society believed had lost their innocence and fallen from the grace of God, such as prostitutes, mistresses, and adulterers, were condemned and ostracised by society
  • There was a romantic ideal surrounding the way men treated these women, with an effort by middle class philanthropists to 'rescue' them, which was often based on sexual exploitation and lust
• Hierarchy and repression in Victorian culture

  • The Victorians were obsessed with strict rules and hierarchy, with everyone's role determined by age, gender, wealth, and heritage
  • This led to a great deal of hypocrisy, as the upper classes often lived a double life, taking part in 'sinful' activities that they would condemn by day
• Both World War I and World War II would change the economic, political, and social landscape of Britain irreversibly.
• Impact of the World Wars on the class system

  • War was a unifying event, as everyone experienced the same conditions regardless of class
  • Conscription meant that every man, no matter his class, was forced to fight, and many rich families lost their wealth and estates
  • There was less difference between the classes, and fewer upper class people altogether
• Attitudes towards war, particularly in WWI

  When Britain first went to war in 1914, the decision was met with a lot of optimism and enthusiasm, with many men volunteering to enlist and a common saying of 'Over By Christmas'
• Everyone, rich or poor, experienced the same black outs, bombing raids, rations, and fears. Wealth meant little when the country was at war, meaning the upper classes experienced the same conditions as their poorer peers
• Conscription (mandatory enlistment to the army) meant that every man, no matter his class, was forced to fight. Many rich families lost their fathers, brothers, and sons, along with the lower classes. Many rich families also lost their wealth, and many estates were also lost. Not only was there less difference between the classes: there were fewer upper class people altogether
• Jingoism


  The whole movement of optimism and enthusiasm towards war, particularly during the First World War
• When Britain first went to war in 1914, the decision was met with a lot of optimism and enthusiasm. Many men, even underage boys, volunteered to enlist. A common saying was 'Over By Christmas', as people believed the war would be over quickly. Men who did not enlist were often publicly shamed for it
• The First World War was the first major war to be mechanised - guns, bombs, grenades, and other ammunition made the war much more deadly. Gas attacks were a new horror. Poets writing from the battlefronts recorded the gruesome reality of war
• The Second World War brought another sense of unification and teamwork to the country. Bombing raids meant the conflict felt much closer than it had during the First World War. The evacuation of children from the cities into the countryside meant lower class and upper class families mixed, bringing awareness to the extreme poverty that still existed in cities. Rationing brought everyone to the same level, and created a sense of sharing and cooperation. Similarly, during blackouts and bombing raids, families would come together and help each other if needed. Everyone was at equal risk
• Laissez-faire


  A policy of non-intervention by the government in economic affairs
• Rationing and evacuation were both examples of how the government took measures to protect its people
• During the war, a social policy expert called William Beveridge was asked to investigate social security. This would help the government reform their social policies and recover from the impact of war
• Problems identified by Beveridge that stopped people from improving their lives

  • Poverty
  • Lack of education
  • Poor housing
  • Unemployment
  • Poor health care provision
• Beveridge also recommended several measures the government could take, including benefits for the unemployed, family allowances, pensions, grants, and the National Health Service
• The Great Depression


  The worst economic event since industrialisation
• The Wall Street Crash refers to when America's stock markets crashed in 1929. The country experienced an economic boom after the end of World War One, so everyone had money to spend. A lot of this money went into stocks, so the stock market expanded rapidly. However, these high stock prices didn't match the state of the rest of the country. Wages were low, unemployment was high, and production had declined. Many consumers were in debt. Eventually, people panicked and started selling their stocks at ridiculous prices, and the market crashed
• The crash caused a worldwide recession. Consumer spending and investment decreased. Industrial output decreased. Unemployment rose. Banks failed. Money lost its value. Famously, in Germany, people carried their money in wheelbarrows
• Like the war, the Great Depression meant that people of all classes experienced the same dire circumstances. Everyone suffered. The upper classes in Britain learnt what it was like to work and not be paid fairly