An Inspector Calls – The Story
by J. B. Priestley
Our story begins in 1912, in Brumley, an English manufacturing town where Arthur
Birling has convened a dinner for the engagement of his daughter, Sheila, to her
boyfriend, Gerald Croft. Arthur’s wife Sybil was rather reserved during the meal
while Eric, Sheila’s brother, drank heavily and appeared mildly upset. Once dinner
was almost over, Gerald gave Sheila her ring. Sheila and Sybil then left the room to
try on wedding clothes while Eric retired upstairs. Arthur and Gerald were left alone
at the dinner table and Arthur took this time as an opportunity to talk to Gerald
about his concerns.
Arthur soon confessed to his future son in law that he knew the Croft family considered themselves social superiors of
the Birlings, but that was something that would be remedied, as he expected a knighthood for his business successes.
Gerald promised to relay the news to his mother. Just then Eric returned, and Arthur began giving the two young men
advice about professional life. Arthur told them that men ought to look out for themselves and their families, and not fall
prey to socialist propaganda about the collective good. While Arthur went on about their future duties as heads of their
households, Edna, the maid, announced that an Inspector named Goole was at the door.
The Inspector, whom Arthur did not know despite his positions in local government, announced that a girl named Eva
Smith had recently passed after what seemed to be a suicide. The Inspector then asked Arthur if he knew anyone by that
name. Arthur initially denied knowing the deceased, but after seeing her picture, he admitted to employing Eva at his
factory, and firing her when she incited a failed strike for higher wages. Arthur added that he was not sorry for doing so,
even though he was sorry to hear of the girl’s death. You see, Arthur believed that his foremost obligation was to his
profits and not to his employees.
When Sheila returned to the room, the Inspector began interrogating her. From their conversation it is revealed that
Sheila got a girl fired from Milward’s, a local shop, for giving Sheila mean looks as she was trying on clothing. Sheila
regretted to discover that the person she incriminated was none other than Eva Smith, and that she and her father
Arthur were responsible, in part, for Eva’s poverty and suicide.
The Inspector then turned to Gerald and asked if he knew anyone named Daisy Renton. Sheila realised, from Gerald’s
expression, that Gerald knew this name. When all but Sheila and Gerald left the room, Sheila began accusing Gerald of
having had an affair with Daisy Renton the previous summer. Gerald admitted that this was true but begged Sheila to
hide this information from the Inspector. Sheila told Gerald that the Inspector probably already knows about Gerald’s
and Daisy’s affair.
The Inspector returned to the room to question Gerald further about Daisy Renton, and Gerald admitted to the affair in
front of Sheila and her parents, Arthur and Sybil. Gerald was embarrassed by his indiscretion, but insisted that he was
truly concerned about Daisy's fate. Sheila was shattered by Gerald’s betrayal and she wondered if she could ever forgive
Gerald or if she would have to end their relationship. Gerald, who was evidently overwhelmed, told the Inspector that he
needed to go for a walk.
The Inspector then moved on to Sybil, who, on being questioned, admitted that she, as director of a charity, refused
assistance to a pregnant woman. The Inspector revealed that the girl Sybil turned away was Eva Smith, or, as Gerald
knew her, Daisy Renton! The Inspector then added that Gerald was not the one who got Eva pregnant.
Sybil was not regretful about the way she had treated Eva as she was not married to the child’s father. Sybil actually
thought that Eva ought to have asked the child’s father for money and that he was the one who was actually to blame for
Eva’s tragic fate! At that moment Sheila and Arthur shouted at Sybil to stop talking and it was then that Sybil realized that
her son, Eric, was the father of the child, since Eva presented herself to the charity as “Mrs. Birling.” Sheila’s eyes
widened with fear and Eric, overwhelmed by everything that was going on, ran to his room.
After composing himself somewhat, Eric admitted to having an affair with Eva or Daisy, and to bad drinking habits which
made all the details of his relationship with Eva hazy. The Inspector then demonstrated that each member of the Birling
family, Gerald included, had played a part in Eva’s suicide, and that they should all consider themselves guilty. Before he
left, the Inspector told the family that people are supposed to look out for one another, and that society is actually “one
body.” The Inspector departed and the family was left dumbfounded. Sheila, was the only one wracked with guilt by what
had just unfolded, she wondered aloud whether the Inspector was actually a member of the police force.
The family then began to puzzle this out, and when Gerald returned, he said that he had just spoken to a sergeant
outside who did not know of any Inspector with the name of Goole. Arthur then proclaimed that the family had probably
just been hoaxed, and that this was a good thing, since their misdeeds would not result in public scandal. Sheila resented
Arthur’s rationalisation of the family’s behaviour, and she shouted that they were all still guilty for Eva’s death, even if the
Inspector was not a genuine officer. Gerald, however, noted that no family member saw the picture of Eva at the same
time, and that the Inspector might have conflated the family’s stories by offering pictures of different women, and
changing the names from Eva Smith to Daisy Renton.
Sheila wondered whether this would excuse everyone’s behaviour, but it of course did not, as Gerald had still committed
an affair, Eric impregnated an unmarried girl, and Arthur and Sybil behaved uncharitably to young girls in need. Arthur
then called the hospital and confirmed that no self-inflicted deaths had been recorded for weeks. He then commented
resolutely that Inspector Goole had tricked the family and that there was nothing to fear. Sheila was concerned by her
father’s behaviour and told everyone that she was now worried that they were not actually thinking about the lessons
they were supposed to learn from this experience. Just then the phone rang and Arthur picked it up. After a brief call,
Arthur alerted the family that a girl had just been admitted to the hospital, that her death was caused by an apparent
suicide, and that a police inspector was now on his way to their house to begin an inquiry.
Exercise 1: Read the text again and answer the questions below:
1. Why was Arthur holding dinner?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
2. What did Arthur tell Gerald as soon as they were left alone?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
3. What advice did Arthur give to Gerald and Eric?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
4. How did Arthur know Eva Smith?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
5. How did Sheila know Eva Smith?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
6. Who was Daisy Renton and what was her connection to Gerald and Eva?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
7. How did Sybil know Eva Smith?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
8. How did Eric know Eva?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
9. Who did the Inspector say was guilty for Eva’s suicide?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
10. What did the Inspector say about society before he left?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
11. Why did Arthur proclaim that it was a good thing that they may have been hoaxed by a fake Inspector?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
12. What does Arthur learn after he answers the phone at the end of the story?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Exercise 2: Read the text and underline any unknown words, discuss the meaning of these words in class or look up
their definitions online.
Exercise 3: Mark the following statements as True or False according to the text:
True
False
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Arthur and his family were having dinner to celebrate his daughter’s engagement.
Eric and his mother were very cheerful and happy during dinner.
Arthur believed in working for the collective good.
Arthur initially denied knowing the deceased.
Gerald did not admit that he had an affair with Daisy Renton.
Daisy Renton was Eva Smith.
Sybil was unapologetic for the way she treated Eva when she asked for help.
In the end, the family is unsure whether the Inspector was a real police agent or just a hoaxer.
Exercise 4: Match the characters to their description:
1. Arthur Birling
A. The patriarch of the Birling family, who owns a profitable manufacturing
company. His business success allows the Birlings to live in upper-middle-class
comfort.
2. Edna
B. The matriarch of the Birling family. She serves on a charitable committee in town,
and busies herself with social events.
3. Eric Birling
C. Daughter of Arthur and Sybil. She is engaged to Gerald and believes, at the
beginning of the story/play, that her future lies bright before her.
4. Eva Smith/Daisy Renton
D. Son of Arthur and Sybil, and older brother of Sheila. He had a romantic
relationship with a woman, resulting in a child born out of wedlock.
5. Gerald Croft
E. Fiancé to Sheila, and son of another prominent manufacturing family. He is from
a more socially-elevated family. In the story it is revealed that he had an affair
6. Inspector Goole
with a woman who he thinks is Daisy Renton but is then revealed to be Eva
Smith.
F. A representative, supposedly, of the local police force, sent to investigate Eva
7. Sheila Birling
Smith/Daisy Renton’s suicide.
G. The Birlings’ maid.
8. Sybil Birling
H. The victim in the play, and its most mysterious character. Other characters claim
to know different girls of different names, who, the Inspector asserts, are all the
same person.
Exercise 5: Fill in the gaps
Calls, humoured, domestic, personality, studied, reputation, spokesman, experimented, novelist, born, age, achieved
J. B. Priestley
J. B. Priestley was a British 1._____________, playwright, and essayist, noted for his varied output and his ability for
shrewd characterization. Priestly was 2._____________ on Sept. 13, 1894, in Bradford, England. As a young man,
Priestley served in the infantry in World War I (1914–19) and then 3._____________ English literature at Trinity College
at Cambridge. He thereafter worked as a journalist and first established a 4._____________ with the essays collected in
The English Comic Characters (1925) and The English Novel (1927). He 5._____________ enormous popular success with
The Good Companions (1929), a picaresque novel about a group of traveling performers. Priestley was also a prolific
dramatist, and he achieved early successes on the stage with such robust, good-6._____________ comedies such as
Laburnum Grove (1933). Influenced by the time theories of John William Dunne, he 7._____________ with
expressionistic psychological drama, writing plays such as I Have Been Here Before (1937) and Johnson over Jordan
(1939). He also used time distortion as the basis for a mystery drama with moral overtones, An Inspector
8._____________ (1946). Many of his plays featured skilful characterizations of ordinary people in 9._____________
settings. Priestley’s large literary output of more than 120 books was complemented by his status as a commentator and
literary 10._____________ for his countrymen, a role he sustained through his forceful and engaging public
11._____________. Priestley refused both a knighthood and a peerage, but he accepted the Order of Merit in 1977. J. B.
Priestley died on August 14, 1984, near Stratford-upon-Avon at the 12._____________ of 90 years old.
ANSWER KEY
Exercise 1:
1. Arthur was hosting a dinner to celebrate the engagement of his daughter, Sheila, to her boyfriend, Gerald Croft.
2. Arthur confessed to Gerald that he knew the Croft family considered themselves social superiors of the Birlings, but
that was something that would be remedied.
3. Arthur told them that men ought to look out for themselves and their families, and not fall prey to socialist
propaganda about the collective good.
4. Arthur had employed Eva at his factory, but fired her when she incited a failed strike for higher wages.
5. Sheila got a Eva fired from Milward’s, a local shop, for giving Sheila mean looks as she was trying on clothing.
6. Daisy Renton was a former affair of Gerald’s, Daisy is revealed to be Eva Smith herself.
7. Sibyl refused to assist Eva Smith when she was pregnant and asked for her help as a charity director.
8. Eric was Eva’s lover and the father of the child she was carrying.
9. The Inspector demonstrated that each member of the Birling family, Gerald included, had played a part in Eva’s
suicide, and that therefore they should all consider themselves guilty.
10. The Inspector said that people are supposed look out for one another, and that society is actually “one body.”
11. Arthur considered having been hoaxed a good thing, since the misdeeds of his family would not result in a public
scandal.
12. Arthur learns that a girl had just been admitted to the hospital, that her death was caused by an apparent suicide,
and that a police inspector was now on his way to their house to begin an inquiry.
Exercise 2: Discuss in class
Exercise 3:
1. T
2. F
3. F
4. T
5.
6.
7.
8.
F
T
T
T
Exercise 4: Match the characters to their description:
1. Arthur Birling - A
5. Gerald Croft - E
2. Edna - G
6. Inspector Goole - F
3. Eric Birling - D
7. Sheila Birling - C
4. Eva Smith/Daisy Renton - H
8. Sybil Birling - B
Exercise 5:
J. B. Priestley
J. B. Priestley was a British 1.novelist, playwright, and essayist, noted for his varied output and his ability for shrewd
characterization. Priestly was 2.born on Sept. 13, 1894, in Bradford, England. As a young man, Priestley served in the
infantry in World War I (1914–19) and then 3.studied English literature at Trinity College at Cambridge. He thereafter
worked as a journalist and first established a 4.reputation with the essays collected in The English Comic Characters
(1925) and The English Novel (1927). He 5.achieved enormous popular success with The Good Companions (1929), a
picaresque novel about a group of traveling performers. Priestley was also a prolific dramatist, and he achieved early
successes on the stage with such robust, good-6.humoured comedies such as Laburnum Grove (1933). Influenced by the
time theories of John William Dunne, he 7.experimented with expressionistic psychological drama, writing plays such as I
Have Been Here Before (1937) and Johnson over Jordan (1939). He also used time distortion as the basis for a mystery
drama with moral overtones, An Inspector 8.Calls (1946). Many of his plays featured skilful characterizations of ordinary
people in 9.domestic settings. Priestley’s large literary output of more than 120 books was complemented by his status
as a commentator and literary 10.spokesman for his countrymen, a role he sustained through his forceful and engaging
public 11.personality. Priestley refused both a knighthood and a peerage, but he accepted the Order of Merit in 1977. J.
B. Priestley died on August 14, 1984, near Stratford-upon-Avon at the 12.age of 90 years old.