![]() The family being questioned were in the process of celebrating an engagement which is treated by the head of the household as more of ‘merger’ of two successful companies than a love-match, like a medieval political marriage arrangement. JB Priestley, novelist and playwright, was well known for his broadcasts on BBC radio during the Second World War Although the structure of the play mirrors the style of Agatha Christie’s Poirot, with all the suspects gathered together in one large house, this is more than a run-of-the-mill ‘Who Done it’.Īs the play’s story unfolds, we are shown a variance on the traditional deferential submissiveness of the inspector as a public servant, as he challenges the representatives of a privileged ruling class, in essence questioning them, not so much on the crime, as on their right to lord it over the rest of us. The playwright, JB Priestley, was a socialist and was already well enough known during the Second World War to be allowed to broadcast on the BBC and the political ideas he expressed – hopes of a new Britain after the War – are considered to have been a factor in Labour’s landslide victory in 1945.Īn Inspector calls was actually written in the 1940s, but it is set in 1912 at a time of increased labour movement activity, and this is a key element in the play. Few students, however, will be given insights into the elements of class politics than run through it. Andy Fenwick, Worcester Labour Party, reviews JB Priestley’s most famous playĪn Inspector Calls is a set play used by GCSE courses in English Literature, at least in schools in England. ![]()
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