An Inspector Calls

Priestley's 1945 play, set in 1912, in which a family is questioned about a young woman's death. Socialism in a drawing room.

What it is

A three-act play in which an inspector arrives at a prosperous family's engagement dinner and establishes that each of them contributed to the death of Eva Smith.

Commonly set as the modern text.

Where it applies

English Literature, usually an essay question with a choice, closed book.

How it works

The date gap is the whole design. Written in 1945, set in 1912 — so Birling's confident predictions that there will be no war and that the Titanic is unsinkable are heard by an audience who has lived through two wars. He is discredited before the plot starts.

The Inspector is not a policeman and the play never explains him. His function is moral rather than procedural.

The generational split is the argument: Sheila and Eric change, Birling and Mrs Birling do not, and the ending punishes exactly that.

How to use it in your work

Dramatic irony around Birling is the easiest strong point in the play, but say what it DOES: it tells the audience whose worldview the play is dismantling before anyone else speaks.

Treat the Inspector's final speech as the thesis and test it against the ending. The phone call reopens everything, which asks whether anyone has actually learned anything.

Handle context as a comparison of two moments rather than a history lesson: 1912 attitudes on a 1945 stage, with the welfare state being built outside the theatre.

Where to get help

Your teacher, first — set texts vary by board and by school, and yours is the one that counts. Your board's past papers and examiners' reports are free online and say plainly what separates the bands.