Drama is one of the genres in literature, cinema and some other areas of art. It gained its distribution in the XVIII century. Until that time, tragedy was one of the most popular genres in art.
Dramatic works were created by many authors, both classical and more modern: Ostrovsky, Chekhov, Lessing, Becket. One of the famous playwrights is also John Priestley.
Writer Biography
The future author was born on September 13, 1894 in England, the city of Bradford, which is located in the county of West Yorkshire in the north of the country. John Priestley's father was a teacher.
After the end of the First World War, in which Priestley took part, he entered Cambridge University - one of the largest and oldest educational institutions in England. At university, John Priestley studied literature. In 1924, his first book was published entitled “Figures in Modern Literature”, later - the second work “English Comic Characters”. These were not fiction novels, but literary criticism and analysis of other people's works.
In 1929, John Priestley's new book, Good Comrades, was published (in some translations into Russian, Good Friends). This novel made the writer truly famous. A few years later, Priestley wrote the play Dangerous Turn. Subsequent works were published several times a year.
Priestley died on August 14, 1984 in Warwickshire, Stratford-upon-Avon. He lived 89 years.
Family and personal life of John Priestley
The writer has 3 marriages. The first of them ended tragically - the wife, from whom the playwright had two daughters, died of cancer in 1925. Priestley later married again, in his second marriage three children were born: two daughters and one son.
The third wife was Jacquette Hawks, whom John Priestley married in 1953, he lived with her until his death. Hawks was a famous archaeologist and writer. She died in 1996 and was buried next to her husband.
Bibliography
The authorship of John Boynton Priestley has more than 30 plays, about a dozen novels, as well as several essays and historical and literary works.
The playwright’s debut play in three acts entitled “Dangerous Turn” tells the story of a company of close friends who gathered one evening in the living room of one of the characters to spend time drinking and remembering a deceased friend. Among the characters - an honest and noble Robert and his wife Fred; her brother Gordon and his wife Betty; the young girl Owen, the cynical bachelor Stanton and the writer Miss Mockridge.
At first glance, these are warm, cozy, friendly gatherings, but at some point the name of the play reveals, which fully reflects its essence. Someone throws one careless phrase that spoils the rest of the evening.
Another famous play by John Priestley is Time and the Conway Family, which, in addition to numerous productions in theaters, was filmed in the Soviet Union in 1938. As the name implies, the main characters are Conway. The first act demonstrates a happy family, finally reunited after a long separation. Then, events that occur after 20 years are described, and it turns out that nothing was left of the former unity of the Conway.
The heroes of the novel “Good Comrades” are vagrant actors, each of which is unusual and interesting in its own way. This is a young dancer, a former school teacher, a talented young girl, a married couple and others. “Good comrades” is called a true English novel - a leisurely narrative, many details and descriptions, as well as characteristic humor.
Another prose work by Priestley that deserves special mention is the novel Angel Street, published in 1931. The duration of the action is the 20-30s. As soon as the First World War ended, the USA, Great Britain, and almost the rest of the world are going through a difficult period in their history. One day a man named Mr. Golspie appears in London with the firm intention to completely change this city.
Despite the duration of the action, the novel does not at all give away the dullness and gloom of those years. As in "Good comrades", the characters of "Angel Street" are vivid, elaborate and memorable.
Production and adaptation of works
Based on the plays of John Priestley, performances were repeatedly staged at major theaters not only in Great Britain, but also throughout the world. For example, “Dangerous Turn” could be seen in the Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) State Comedy Theater. The St. Petersburg Fairytale Theater often hosts the performance "Green Blood", based on the story of John Priestley "Sogll."
Many plays and novels became scripts for feature films, most of which were shot by Soviet directors (Mad Gold, Inspector Gull, Time and the Conway Family, and others).
Writer Awards
Despite the popularity of his work among readers, John Priestley was awarded only one prize in his entire literary career. In 1929, he won the James Tate Black Memorial Prize for the novel Good Comrades.