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England, 1947: Rationing and austerity seem to have fostered opportunism, escapism and confrontation within the Linden family.
Professor Linden wants only to continue teaching in a world that no longer seems to share his quiet ideals. His family urge him to retire from the fight, but the Professor is not so easily deterred...
Professor Linden wants only to continue teaching in a world that no longer seems to share his quiet ideals. His family urge him to retire from the fight, but the Professor is not so easily deterred...
196 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1947
3 people are currently reading
72 people want to read
About the author
J.B. Priestley
389 books292 followersJohn 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
July 18, 2017
From BBC Radio 4 Extra:
England, 1947: Rationing and austerity seem to have fostered opportunism, escapism and confrontation within the Linden family.
Professor Linden wants only to continue teaching in a world that no longer seems to share his quiet ideals. His family urge him to retire from the fight, but the Professor is not so easily deterred...
JB Priestley's stage play made its debut in 1947. Adapted for radio by Mollie Greenhalgh.
Starring Geoffrey Banks as Professor Linden, Kathleen Helme as Isabel, Christopher Godwin as Rex Linden, Carole Hayman as Dr Jean Linden, Joanna Wake as Marion de Saint Vaury, Penelope Reynolds as Dinah Linden and David Mahlowe as Alfred Lockhart.
Cellist: Rosalind Gonley
Directed at BBC Manchester by Kay Patrick.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1997.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08xgz68
England, 1947: Rationing and austerity seem to have fostered opportunism, escapism and confrontation within the Linden family.
Professor Linden wants only to continue teaching in a world that no longer seems to share his quiet ideals. His family urge him to retire from the fight, but the Professor is not so easily deterred...
JB Priestley's stage play made its debut in 1947. Adapted for radio by Mollie Greenhalgh.
Starring Geoffrey Banks as Professor Linden, Kathleen Helme as Isabel, Christopher Godwin as Rex Linden, Carole Hayman as Dr Jean Linden, Joanna Wake as Marion de Saint Vaury, Penelope Reynolds as Dinah Linden and David Mahlowe as Alfred Lockhart.
Cellist: Rosalind Gonley
Directed at BBC Manchester by Kay Patrick.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1997.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08xgz68
February 22, 2024
ENGLISH: This is the eighth time I've watched or read this play. This time I've watched it in the RTVE Estudio-1 archive. Priestley is one of my favorite modern playwrights.
Excellent description of the arrival of a history professor to the age of retirement, and his fight against the government of the university and his own family, all of which want him to retire immediately. The title is a word play between a type of tree ("tilo" in Spanish) and the fact that the professor is the trunk of the Linden family. In the Spanish translation, of course, the double meaning disappears.
For some reason, in the version of this play broadcast by TVE in Estudio-1, the age of the professor was reduced from 65 to 60, making the situation somewhat absurd.
ESPAÑOL: Esta es la octava vez que veo o leo esta obra. Esta vez la he visto en el archivo de Estudio-1. Priestley es uno de mis dramaturgos modernos preferidos.
Descripción excelente de la llegada de un profesor de historia a la edad de jubilación y su lucha contra el gobierno de la universidad y su propia familia, que quieren que se jubile de inmediato. El título es un juego de palabras entre un tipo de árbol ("tilo" en español) y el hecho de que el profesor es el tronco de la familia Linden. En la traducción al español, por supuesto, el doble sentido desaparece.
Por alguna razón, en la versión de esta obra retransmitida por TVE en Estudio-1, la edad del profesor se redujo de 65 a 60 años, haciendo la situación un tanto absurda.
Excellent description of the arrival of a history professor to the age of retirement, and his fight against the government of the university and his own family, all of which want him to retire immediately. The title is a word play between a type of tree ("tilo" in Spanish) and the fact that the professor is the trunk of the Linden family. In the Spanish translation, of course, the double meaning disappears.
For some reason, in the version of this play broadcast by TVE in Estudio-1, the age of the professor was reduced from 65 to 60, making the situation somewhat absurd.
ESPAÑOL: Esta es la octava vez que veo o leo esta obra. Esta vez la he visto en el archivo de Estudio-1. Priestley es uno de mis dramaturgos modernos preferidos.
Descripción excelente de la llegada de un profesor de historia a la edad de jubilación y su lucha contra el gobierno de la universidad y su propia familia, que quieren que se jubile de inmediato. El título es un juego de palabras entre un tipo de árbol ("tilo" en español) y el hecho de que el profesor es el tronco de la familia Linden. En la traducción al español, por supuesto, el doble sentido desaparece.
Por alguna razón, en la versión de esta obra retransmitida por TVE en Estudio-1, la edad del profesor se redujo de 65 a 60 años, haciendo la situación un tanto absurda.
August 1, 2024
A state-of-the-nation, family drama on the persistence of a humanism, balancing spirituality and science, that is under seige from the excesses of traditionalism and modernism.
September 17, 2025
Straf. Zoveel van theater houden en pas op je 66 Priestley ontdekken, en zeer waarderen. Ik dacht altijd dat ‘An inspector calls’ een whodunnit was, quod non.
Priestley’s obsessie met de magie van de tijd daargelaten gaat elk stuk van zijn hand over wat je met je leven doet, over sociale verantwoordelijkheid nemen voor je daden en de mensen rond je. Zoals Arthur Miller, maar dan Engelser.
In dit later stuk - in BBC radioversie - gaat het over een ouder wordend idealist in een (door wereldoorlogen) cynisch geworden wereld, verscheurd in de strijd tussen conservatisme en modernisme. Heel herkenbaar en actueler dan ooit.
Priestley’s obsessie met de magie van de tijd daargelaten gaat elk stuk van zijn hand over wat je met je leven doet, over sociale verantwoordelijkheid nemen voor je daden en de mensen rond je. Zoals Arthur Miller, maar dan Engelser.
In dit later stuk - in BBC radioversie - gaat het over een ouder wordend idealist in een (door wereldoorlogen) cynisch geworden wereld, verscheurd in de strijd tussen conservatisme en modernisme. Heel herkenbaar en actueler dan ooit.
January 31, 2022
I didn’t enjoy this as much as Inspector Calls . The theme of an ageing academic raging against administrators is as timeless as ever but it felt like a very dated play. Yes, we have sympathy for the main character as a man of integrity and no little wisdom but his is a patriarchal world and there’s little room for truly independent thought on the part of the female characters. Today, the Professor’s clinging on to principles could o so easily slip into harmful nostalgia.
February 4, 2024
entiendo que es intencional pero el último acto me deja super frio... además de que es un refrito de time and the conways que es bastante mejor... igualmente ganitas de ver la adaptación de estudio uno a ver como se las apañaron los guionistas del franquismo para camuflar el evidente mensaje filocomunista !
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September 4, 2022Excellent story by an author well versed in human nature and ordinary situations.. It begins to dawn on the Brits in 1947 they haven't really won the war. And the disagreements why Britain went to war are really just under the surface in the family disputes. The Professor wants to continue, so he is part of the Old Guard that believes in progress and enlightenment (one brilliant question he sets his student is compare the banking system with a named Shakespeare play). We see the country disintegrating emotionally and intellectually long before it actually did (can you imagine marxist brainwashed students of today even being able to process such a question?). Priestley is a master of uncovering how deep differences can never really be bridged, and how you really just cannot compromise. If you have a mission, you have a mission.
May 6, 2017
Next in the book group’s between-the-wars season comes another play by J B Priestley. In a provincial English university town in 1947, the family of a history professor gather for his 65th birthday, some of them keen for him to retire, some of them supporting his wish to work on. There is raw family division also on politics, religion and the meaning of life. Priestley’s preoccupation with time is a running theme: the characters complain how little there is of it, it is slipping away, it has altered their world for the worse; they have differing views on how to make best use of it. For me this was a more engaging and convincing play than ‘Time and the Conways’, which I also enjoyed. I look forward to the book group’s read through.
July 11, 2014
Deals with socialism, education, religion, family relationships. Some cracking characters. I especially liked Jean and Mrs Cotton.
May 11, 2024
The Linden Tree is a comparatively straightforward J B Priestley play in which an ordinary bourgeois family is not pitted against bizarre abstract forces. There are no weird cyclical time patterns. Nobody has a nightmare vision of a future they cannot prevent. No ghoulish inspector appears to draw a callous family’s attention to their part in a young woman’s suicide.
Instead everything takes place on a level of realism. Personally I miss the more unusual elements found in the other plays in my selection of J B Priestley works, the other three of which I have recently reviewed.
What we have instead is the Linden family. There is no tree, so I assume the title refers to the family tree. Professor Linden holds the chair in the Modern History department of the University of Burmanley (a combination of Manchester and Burnley, perhaps?). However he may not hold it for long, as a trendy Vice-Chancellor is trying to remove the dead wood.
Personally his wife cannot wait, as she loathes living in Burmanley, but the Professor is not giving up without a fight. This is set against the background of a visit from Linden’s children.
Marion has married a French Catholic and converted. Jean has become a socialist. Both speak mostly in the banal slogans of their beliefs, which is sadly only too true of the way I hear deeply religious and strongly political people speak.
Priestley is a little more sympathetic towards Jean, as he had socialist leanings. However the last word is left to the Professor, who wants a more spiritual element to remain in life (the argument of Marion), rather than the socialist model that cheerfully seeks to reduce human individuality to the level of insects or machines.
There is also a selfish son, Rex. He does not wish to fight for any cause but wants only to make money through dealing on the market, and then enjoying his life in cases the world collapses. Like the Professor, Priestley does not share Rex’s worldview, but he is anxious to try to understand it.
A fourth sibling is younger than the others. Dinah is more appealing and fresh-faced, and still holds onto a positive attitude. Only the old and the young carry hope for the future, Priestley believes.
This seems to reflect Priestley’s view of life too. He believes in the progressive peaceful revolution of a socialist Labour government, but he also harks back sadly to the pre-war period when life was simpler and the family was much happier.
While this is a decent enough play, its main problem is that the stakes hardly seem worth fighting over. Linden’s stance to hold on to his job at the University of Burmanley seems more like obstinacy than a serious upholding of principles. It separates him from his wife and family. It causes him stress and leads to a pay decrease.
If Linden was teaching some values worth having, I could understand it better. However we only see two of his students. Neither are very bright, and both agree that they could manage perfectly well without him if he retired next week.
Perhaps that is not too surprising. We only see two of his tuition sessions with the two students. Neither of them lasts more than five minutes, and he does not really attempt to teach them anything much.
Certainly Linden’s stance allows him to stay ‘in the real world’, rather than opt for the escapism of his family members. I am just not convinced that there is any real heroism in his choices.
Instead everything takes place on a level of realism. Personally I miss the more unusual elements found in the other plays in my selection of J B Priestley works, the other three of which I have recently reviewed.
What we have instead is the Linden family. There is no tree, so I assume the title refers to the family tree. Professor Linden holds the chair in the Modern History department of the University of Burmanley (a combination of Manchester and Burnley, perhaps?). However he may not hold it for long, as a trendy Vice-Chancellor is trying to remove the dead wood.
Personally his wife cannot wait, as she loathes living in Burmanley, but the Professor is not giving up without a fight. This is set against the background of a visit from Linden’s children.
Marion has married a French Catholic and converted. Jean has become a socialist. Both speak mostly in the banal slogans of their beliefs, which is sadly only too true of the way I hear deeply religious and strongly political people speak.
Priestley is a little more sympathetic towards Jean, as he had socialist leanings. However the last word is left to the Professor, who wants a more spiritual element to remain in life (the argument of Marion), rather than the socialist model that cheerfully seeks to reduce human individuality to the level of insects or machines.
There is also a selfish son, Rex. He does not wish to fight for any cause but wants only to make money through dealing on the market, and then enjoying his life in cases the world collapses. Like the Professor, Priestley does not share Rex’s worldview, but he is anxious to try to understand it.
A fourth sibling is younger than the others. Dinah is more appealing and fresh-faced, and still holds onto a positive attitude. Only the old and the young carry hope for the future, Priestley believes.
This seems to reflect Priestley’s view of life too. He believes in the progressive peaceful revolution of a socialist Labour government, but he also harks back sadly to the pre-war period when life was simpler and the family was much happier.
While this is a decent enough play, its main problem is that the stakes hardly seem worth fighting over. Linden’s stance to hold on to his job at the University of Burmanley seems more like obstinacy than a serious upholding of principles. It separates him from his wife and family. It causes him stress and leads to a pay decrease.
If Linden was teaching some values worth having, I could understand it better. However we only see two of his students. Neither are very bright, and both agree that they could manage perfectly well without him if he retired next week.
Perhaps that is not too surprising. We only see two of his tuition sessions with the two students. Neither of them lasts more than five minutes, and he does not really attempt to teach them anything much.
Certainly Linden’s stance allows him to stay ‘in the real world’, rather than opt for the escapism of his family members. I am just not convinced that there is any real heroism in his choices.
October 14, 2024
this is my fourth priestley play, and this one stands out among the others as less... everything.
i was expecting a plot twist, some kind of supernatural undertone, or a larger underlying message like the others i've read. just more.?
still great, distict characters however a somewhat dull play, in my opinion.
still, i was kind of given an image in my mind whilst reading- a warm, spring day in 1947, the smell of chesnut (i dont know how i got this), horses stomping on gravel outside, and the feeling of listening to a family's conversation. i love getting this type of feeling from classics, and it's a feeling not specific to this play. this play was boring. (maybe because i haven't reached the age of relatability to this play's message)
i was expecting a plot twist, some kind of supernatural undertone, or a larger underlying message like the others i've read. just more.?
still great, distict characters however a somewhat dull play, in my opinion.
still, i was kind of given an image in my mind whilst reading- a warm, spring day in 1947, the smell of chesnut (i dont know how i got this), horses stomping on gravel outside, and the feeling of listening to a family's conversation. i love getting this type of feeling from classics, and it's a feeling not specific to this play. this play was boring. (maybe because i haven't reached the age of relatability to this play's message)
January 5, 2026
You know this isn't really that different to his other work that I've read recently, but something about this one really got to me. Same sort of setting, same sort of arguments and themes, but the character work here is a real step up. They feel like real complicated painful people, with careful time taken to humanise even characters who initially seem like plot devices. In the end I found it quite moving.
September 6, 2022
Very much of its time, written in 1947, a history professor struggles against the view that he should retire following his 65th birthday. All his family attend his birthday party and most have opinions contrary to his own.
September 4, 2020
Good. I didn't enjoy it as much as An Inspector calls
May 31, 2022
I liked the writing style but I didn’t really see the point in this play.
September 12, 2022
This is a well-made play in every sense of that expression.
April 17, 2023
Very boring and disengaging. There’s not much going on.
July 1, 2024
Rex: ... There isn't much time. There isn't much time.
January 16, 2026
Charming and interesting, but it doesn't feel to me like it ever really gets going. The drama (such as it is) is quite muted.
July 14, 2023
It’s tempting to say this didn’t have a plot, but I’d argue this is like a micro-plot stretched out into a play. It was an enjoyable read, but I came out of it not feeling a whole lot. I just felt bad for Professor Linden and Dinah… I was expecting the whole time some sort of plot twist but I didn’t get anything…
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews