English Journey

English Journey is a work of non-fiction by J.B. Priestley published in 1934.

Commissioned by publisher Victor Gollancz to write a study of contemporary England, Priestley recounts his travels around England in 1933. He shares his observations on the social problems he witnesses, and appeals for democratic socialist change. English Journey was an influential work, inspiring George Orwell's The Road to Wigan Pier,[1] and "has even been credited with winning the 1945 election for the Labour Party".[2]

In a 1983 book of the same title, Beryl Bainbridge retraces Priestley's steps to capture the changes that half a century has brought to their shared native land.[3]

References

  1. ^ Marr, Andrew (2008). A History of Modern Britain. Macmillan. p. xxiii. ISBN 978-0-330-43983-1. 
  2. ^ Margaret Drabble In the Path of Priestley, The Guardian, Saturday January 26, 2008.
  3. ^ http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/b/beryl-bainbridge/english-journey.htm Entry for Bainbridge, English Journey

External links