J.B. Priestley was born in 1894 in Bradford, Yorkshire. His plays dominated the London stage from the 1930s to the 1950s with such classics as Dangerous Corner, Eden End, Laburnum Grove, I Have Been Here Before, Time and the Conways, When We Are Married, Johnson Over Jordan, They Came to a City, An Inspector Calls, The Linden Tree, Summer Day's Dream and The Glass Cage. His many novels include The Good Companions, Angel Pavement, Bright Day and Lost Empires. During the Second World War, he established a new reputation as a broadcaster and social commentator. He died in 1984.