J. B. Priestley
J. B. Priestley
John Boynton Priestley, OM, was an English author, novelist, playwright, scriptwriter, social commentator, man of letters and broadcaster...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionWriter
Date of Birth13 September 1894
age mystery existence
The greatest writers of this age... are aware of the mystery of our existence.
age advertising perfect-life
Living in an age of advertisement, we are perpetually disillusioned.
age delight youth
One of the delights known to age, and beyond the grasp of youth, is that of Not Going.
respect age youth
There was no respect for youth when I was young, and now that I am old, there is no respect for age, I missed it coming and going.
birthday perfect age
Living in an age of advertisement, we are perpetually disillusioned. The perfect life is spread before us every day, but it changes and withers at a touch.
delight nobody realize relief reporting reports school thank
As we read the school reports on our children, we realize a sense of relief that can rise to delight that thank Heaven nobody is reporting in this fashion on us.
society
Like its politicians and its war, society has the teenagers it deserves.
excesses
We pay when old for the excesses of youth.
advice
Be yourself is about the worst advice you can give to some people.
bacon coffee deeds empire hope radio simply smell suffer time title trip wake
We plan, we toil, we suffer in the hope of what? A camel-load of idol's eyes? The title deeds of Radio City? The empire of Asia? A trip to the moon? No, no, no, no. Simply to wake just in time to smell coffee and bacon and eggs.
begun elaborate less means whisper
Already we Viewers, when not viewing, have begun to whisper to one another that the more we elaborate our means of communication, the less we communicate.
began came defeat glory hell holiday learn war
Our great-grandchildren, when they learn how we began this war by snatching glory out of defeat . . . may also learn how the little holiday steamers made an excursion to hell and came back glorious.
book writing years
A novelist who writes nothing for 10 years finds his reputation rising. Because I keep on producing books they say there must be something wrong with this fellow.
intelligent men people
There can be no doubt that smoking nowadays is largely a miserable automatic business. People use tobacco without ever taking an intelligent interest in it. They do not experiment, compare, fit the tobacco to the occasion. A man should always be pleasantly conscious of the fact that he is smoking.