Mr. J. B. Priestley, critic, essayist, story-teller, broadcaster, novelist and playwright, has the rare distinction, for an English writer, of being well known all over the world. He has the power to entertain in an exceptional degree, and his plays in particular are the work of a man who provokes thought. He was born in Bradford, Yorkshire, in 1894, and ever since his first appearance as an author in 1919, he has poured out a succession of books of very diverse kinds. At first it was as an essayist that he won recognition, a recent example of his skill in this field being his William Hazlitt in the present series. Then, gradually changing over to fiction, he achieved resounding success in 1929 with his long, episodic and robust novel The Good Companions. From 1932 onwards he became more and more engaged in the drama, experimenting ceaselessly and with unflagging vigour. Mr. Ivor Brown, from his long and intimate knowledge of the stage, is particularly suited to write an appreciation of Priestley the man of the theatre. His study includes other aspects of Mr. Priestley's achievements, but it is for his assessment of his plays that it has especial value. In 1951, Mr. Brown edited The Priestley Companion, which included many-sided riches chosen from Mr. Priestley's work. Mr. Brown is himself an author of originality and distinction, and was from 1942 to 1948 editor of the Observer.