An Inspector Calls
by J B Priestley
Social and Historical Context
In your coursework you will be required to
refer to the background to this play and to
Priestley himself.
Make notes as the PowerPoint
progresses…..
J B Priestley
Biography
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Born 13th September 1894 died 14th
August 1984.
Mother died in they year he was born.
Left school at 16 ‘to write’ and began work
in 1910 as a junior clerk at a wool firm.
Priestley stated that it was the period
1911-1914 that ‘set their stamp upon me’
(the time before the first world war).
Biography
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Priestley surrounded himself with ‘people
who read a great deal, cared a lot for the
arts and preferred real talk and hot
argument to social chit chat’.
He found himself having political
discussions with his father’s socialist
friends.
Capitalism
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Capitalism is an economic system where things are
owned by people or an individual and where people
have to work for money
People may sell or lend their property, and other people
may buy or borrow them. If one person wants to buy,
and another person wants to sell to them, they do not
need to get permission from higher power
It has the view that if you work hard you will be
rewarded
Everyone should pay their own tax
The poor should work harder to earn more
Traditionally represented through the conservative party
(Churchill)
Socialist principles
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In theory, this system results in the divide between classes
getting smaller, with the poorest of a nation's people getting
better taken care of while the richest make sacrifices in terms
of higher taxes and regulation of business
Where people work together to gain a fair standard of living
Traditional views of the labour party
The views of Priestly, Bernard Shaw & H G Wells
The view of living together and looking out for each other
Thinks people should share their wealth
Equal access to resources for all
An extreme of this would be where an authority enforces
sharing of wealth and does not allow people to own thing is
communism (not to be confused with it)
Back to Priestley…
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World war one broke out in 1914.
Priestley joined the infantry at age 20.
He left the army in 1919 after seeing active front
line service in France.
He narrowly escaped being killed when a
German shell exploded near him and was the
victim of a gas attack.
His experiences in the war affected his writing; “I
was lucky in that war and never ceased to be
aware of the fact.”
After the war…
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Priestley took a degree in Modern History
and Political Science at Cambridge
University.
In 1921 he completed his degree, married
and left for London with his wife.
He began his writing career with essays
and achieved success with novels and
plays
His work
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With the outbreak of WW2 in 1939,
Priestley continued writing and worked for
BBC radio. However, his programmes
were cancelled by the British Government
for being too critical of their actions in the
war.
The play, An Inspector Calls was written in
1945.
An Inspector Calls
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Was set in 1912 (before WW1) and first
performed in London in 1946.
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A thriller, An Inspector Calls has been
running in theatres ever since….
The Theatre
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Before WW2 theatres were very popular.
Since the introduction of cinemas, theatres had
been competing with musicals with lavish sets,
costumes and budgets.
With the coming of WW2, theatres opened and
closed erratically due to air raids.
Performances were relocated to the North or the
Midlands.
By 1944 the Old Vic Theatre Company had
returned to London and the play was first staged
in 1946.
The Play itself…..
Starter Task
Look at the following book covers and posters for
J. B. Priestley’s An Inspector Calls. Use them to
make predictions about:
 setting – both in time and place;
 plot – what happens;
 characters;
 themes;
 any other ideas.
The Play itself…
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A straightforward detective thriller……....or
is it?
First impressions of characters
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Using the stage directions at the beginning
of the play, along with the opening of the
play, create a table of first impressions of
the Birling family and Gerald.
Quiz Time!
1. The play was written in:
1946
1912
1945
2. The play is set in:
1946
1912
1945
3. How many acts are there in the play?
 One
 Two
 Three
4. The action of the play takes place in:
 a living room
 a dining room
 a bedroom
5. The first British performance of the play was in:
 1946
 1912
 1945
7. The play is set in the fictional, industrial city of:
Brumley
Bradford
Birmingham
8. The Birlings’ house is described as being:
in the city centre
in the suburbs
close to Mr. Birling’s factory
Explain what this suggests about the wealth and status of the
Birlings.
9. Mr. Birling is described as being ‘a prosperous manufacturer’. This
means that Mr. Birling:
is good at making things
is a successful and wealthy factory owner
is very wealthy
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10. What type of furniture adorns the room?
11. What kind of mood did Priestley want this furniture
to create?
12. Priestley specifies instructions with regard to
lighting. How is it meant to be before the arrival of the
Inspector?
13. How is it meant to change after the arrival of the
Inspector? What does this type of lighting remind you
of?
14. Make a list of props that hint at the upper middle
class status of the Birlings.
15. Which phrase in these opening stage directions
creates a sense of foreboding?