Postscripts

by J.B. Priestley

A collection of some of the Sunday evening 'fireside chats' that J.B. Priestley broadcast during the early period of the second World War. They have passed into folklore as a slice of social history, and everyone back then knew that they were stopped because Priestley threatened to outshine Prime Misiter Winston Churchill. JBP was accused of being rather left-wing in what he said, but he was just talkuing to ordinary people about the sort of things ordinary people wanted to hear discussed! Significantly, this book of his Postscripts was published because of public demand to see his talks in print! KF
See also All England Listened, and The Story of J.B. Priestley's Postscripts.

Genres: Essays

100 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1940

About the author

John Boynton Priestley was an English writer. He was the son of a schoolmaster, and after schooling he worked for a time in the local wool trade. Following the outbreak of the Great War in 1914, Priestley joined the British Army, and was sent to France - in 1915 taking part in the Battle of Loos. After being wounded in 1917 Priestley returned to England for six months; then, after going back to the Western Front he suffered the consequences of a German gas attack, and, treated at Rouen, he was declared unfit for active service and was transferred to the Entertainers Section of the British Army.

When Priestley left the army he studied at Cambridge University, where he completed a degree in Modern History and Political Science. Subsequently he found work as theatre reviewer with the Daily News, and also contributed to the Spectator, the Challenge and Nineteenth Century. His earliest books included The English Comic Characters (1925), The English Novel (1927), and English Humour (1928). His breakthrough came with the immensely popular novel The Good Companions, published in 1929, and Angel Pavement followed in 1930. He emerged, too, as a successful dramatist with such plays as Dangerous Corner (1932), Time and the Conways (1937), When We Are Married (1938) and An Inspector Calls (1947).
The publication of English Journey in 1934 emphasised Priestley's concern for social problems and the welfare of ordinary people.
During the Second World War Priestley became a popular and influential broadcaster with his famous Postscripts that followed the nine o'clock news BBC Radio on Sunday evenings. Starting on 5th June 1940, Priestley built up such a following that after a few months it was estimated that around 40 per cent of the adult population in Britain was listening to the programme.
Some members of the Conservative Party, including Winston Churchill, expressed concern that Priestley might be expressing left-wing views on the programme, and, to his dismay, Priestley was dropped after his talk on 20th October 1940.
After the war Priestley continued his writing, and his work invariably provoked thought, and his views were always expressed in his blunt Yorkshire style.
His prolific output continued right up to his final years, and to the end he remained the great literary all-rounder. His favourite among his books was for many years the novel Bright Day, though he later said he had come to prefer The Image Men.
It should not be overlooked that Priestley was an outstanding essayist, and many of his short pieces best capture his passions and his great talent and his mastery of the English language. He set a fine example for any would-be author.

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have been listening to the reading of Priestley's radio addresses being replayed on BBC Radio4extra and have been struck again by how fascinating they are. So I have taken down my copy and looked again at them in the printed form. A series of Sunday evening talks he gave over the months of June 1940 to his voluntarily stepping down from the microphone at Broadcasting House in the October of the same year. They are talks in which he seeks to encourage (and that in the deepest sense of that word) the frightened and confused British public as all around them dark and seemingly impenetrable clouds are gathering. The dismal atmosphere of the retreat from Dunkirk, the collapse of France and the understandable expectation that the Nazis would sweep across the channel and snuff out the resistance of Britain was the backdrop to these extraordinary monologues. In them Priestley addresses ordinary people and tells them what stars they are...though of course he is a little more impassioned...but even with the passion he is not bombastic or colonel blimplike beyond the inevitable partisan nature of nations at war. He patronizes women a little perhaps by the standards of today but in the context of 1940's society he is impressive. They are a little nugget of poignant camaraderie at a time when all seemed lost and all through this time Priestley beaconed out his courage and hope and humour.

In the introduction to the book, written by Priestley for their publication in this form in December of 1940,( and it has to be remembred that at this time the US had still not been attacked and therefore were uninvolved in the war and I am very aware I write this reveiw on the 70th anniversary), Britain was still very vulnerable and yet Priestley wrote this

' Sunday after Sunday, during those strange months when first the world wonderered if each week would see the end of us, then afterwards drew a long breath of relief and admiration, as then common folk of this island rose to meet the challenge and not only saved what we have that is good but began to dream of something much better '.

In reading those words ' began to dream of something much better ' I do wonder, looking at how we seem sometimes just to move our battlefields to further shores or deserts whether we might not have lost sight of the admirable qualities of justice and defending of the vulnerable and voiceless that Priestley took so seriously.

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

This little book is the transcripts of the talks Priestley gave on the radio in 1940, talks that did much to help the country in the darkest days of world war two. They still stand up in their printed form over seventy years on, Priestley concentrating on the little things gave the country hope in the present and the future when it needed it most. as an historical document it's a fascinating glimpse into the times and much of it is still relevant today.

[Alex Perry · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book gives the text of a series of radio broadcasts made by Priestly during World War Two. Though much is made of Churchill's wartime speeches, there were other people with other politics who also inspired the nation during this difficult time. Priestly was one of many socialist voices who gave a vision of a more progressive future - a peace worth fighting for!

[Bill Lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent little volume that for all its position in time and war, 1940, has extraordinary resonance with today. Moving, inspiring and informative. The insights into civilian life during wartime and aspirations for a democratic future only serve to re-enforce how little we have travelled in 70 years. Should be a school text.