An Inspector Calls

An Inspector Calls (written 1945, set in 1912) is a three-act drama by J.B. Priestley. The entire play takes place in the dining room of the Birling family home in the fictional industrial city of Brumley, in the North Midlands, on a single evening in spring 1912. The prosperous manufacturer Arthur Birling is celebrating his daughter Sheila's engagement to Gerald Croft, son of a rival industrialist. The evening is interrupted by the arrival of Inspector Goole, who announces that a young woman named Eva Smith has died in the Infirmary after swallowing disinfectant.

The central movement

The Inspector methodically reveals that every member of the family, and Gerald, played a part in Eva Smith's downfall. Birling sacked her for asking for higher wages. Sheila had her dismissed from a shop out of jealous spite. Gerald kept her as his mistress then abandoned her. Eric got her pregnant, gave her stolen money, and Mrs Birling's charity committee refused her final appeal for help. Each revelation strips away the family's complacency and exposes their selfishness, hypocrisy and class prejudice.

Why it matters for the exam

For OxfordAQA Paper 1 Section B (closed book, drama), you must analyse how Priestley uses the Inspector as a dramatic device, the significance of the 1912 setting for a 1945 audience, and how the play's structure builds tension. The play's examination of social responsibility, class, gender and generational conflict makes it rich territory for essay questions on character, theme and dramatic technique.