Notesale: Turn your study into money

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Life of J
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Priestly
J
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Priestly (John Boynton Priestly) was born in Bradford, Yorkshire in
September 1894
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After his time at school Priestly (aged 16) briefly worked as a clerk in a wool
office before joining the British Army at the start of the First World War; he
served on the Western Front and took part in the Battle of Loos
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In 1919 Priestly went to Cambridge University to study and then moved to
London to be a writer
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Much of his writing includes his strong
political beliefs and his hatred of lies and hypocrisy
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In 1942 Priestly helped to set up the Common Wealth Party, a new political
party which believed in public ownership of land and a stronger emphasis on
democracy
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He thought it
was essential that we all contribute to society rather than just take from it
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During the Second World War Priestly had a weekly slot on BBC Radio but
eventually his broadcasts were cancelled, probably due to his criticism of the
government of the time
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It is possible that his broadcasts
helped influence people to accept his ideas and, in turn, contributed to the
Labour Party’s win in the 1945 General Election
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Having lived through two of them, Priestly believed that wars should be
avoided and the only way this could happen would be by countries having
greater respect for one another and so Priestly was involved in the early
movement for United Nations

Written in 1945 but set in 1912
In 1912, when the play is set, the ruling classes saw no need
for change; they were keen to stay in power
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J
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Priestley’s intention in writing ‘An Inspector Calls’ was to make sure that
Britain did not repeat the social mistakes of it’s past
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Throughout his life, he had been an active socialist, making his message clear
through his writings and speeches
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An Inspector Calls is set in 1912
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Priestly deliberately
set his play in 1912 because the date represented an era
when everything was different from the time he was writing
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But by 1945 most of those class and
gender divisions were gone
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Through this play, he encourages
people to seize the opportunity the end of the war had given
them to build a better, more caring society

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