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To understand the context [context: The factors surrounding a text which help us to understand it; the background events which help to explain something. ] of the play, it's helpful to know a little about J B Priestley's life and his political views during the early 20th century - a time of great global change. He wrote An Inspector Calls after the First World War and like much of his work contains controversial, politically charged messages. Keen to pioneer a new 'morality' in politics, Priestley’s chief concerns involved social inequality in Britain and the need for nuclear disarmament.
J B Priestley
J B Priestley
John Boynton Priestley was born in Yorkshire in 1894. He knew early on that he wanted to become a writer, but decided against going to university as he thought he would get a better feel for the world around him away from academia [academia: An academic community, usually a university. ]. Instead, he became a junior clerk with a local wool firm at the age of 16.
When the First World War broke out, Priestley joined the infantry and only just escaped death on a number of occasions. After the war, he gained a degree from Cambridge University, then moved to London to work as a freelance writer. He wrote successful articles and essays, then published the first of many novels, The Good Companions, in 1929. He wrote his first play in 1932 and went on to write 50 more. Much of his writing was ground-breaking and controversial. He included new ideas about possible parallel universes and strong political messages.
During the Second World War he broadcast a massively popular weekly radio programme which was attacked by the Conservatives as being too left-wing. The programme was eventually cancelled by the BBC for being too critical of the Government.
He continued to write into the 1970s, and died in 1984.
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