J.B. Priestley

This was the first biography of J.B. Priestley which spanned the whole of his life, from his birth in 1894 to his death in August 1984; and Vincent Brome captures the essence of this man and writer of many parts. Priestley was essentially a man of his time, a literary all-rounder, possibly the last of his kind, whose reputation probably suffered because he filled so many different roles --the essayist, novelist, historian, dramatist, biographer, political observer, broadcaster, etc. He started out in Bradford in the old West Riding of Yorkshire, the son of a schoolmaster, his first job being in the local wool trade, and he went on to become the worldly and wise man of letters --to some always the bluff Yorkshireman, to others the persistent grumbler. He was, of course, a man who loved his country and cared for it enough to criticise the aspects of English life that hurt him; but he was a man, too, blessed with a touch of magic and wonder, and he enriched many lives with his writings.