A policeman interrupts a rich family’s dinner to question them about the suicide of a young working-class girl. As their guilty secrets are gradually revealed over the course of the evening, ‘An Inspector Calls’, J. B. Priestley’s most famous play, shows us the terrible consequences of poverty and inequality. The other powerful plays in this collection – ‘Time and the Conways’, ‘I Have Been Here Before’ and ‘The Linden Tree’ – explore time, fate, free will and the effects of war.

‘A vastly talented and exceptionally versatile and wise writer’ Iris Murdoch

‘Priestley was volcanic, fertile … and never dull’ Anthony Burgess

If you enjoyed An Inspector Calls, you might like Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, also available in Penguin Modern Classics.

Arthur Birling, a prosperous manufacturer, is holding a family dinner party to celebrate his daughter’s engagement. Into this cosy scene intrudes the harsh figure of a police inspector investigating the suicide of a young working-class woman. Under interrogation, every member of the family turns out to have a shameful secret which links them with her death.  

• Schools edition of An Inspector Calls
• For  students aged 14-16
• Suitable for students studying for GCSE English Literature qualifications from Pearson Edexcel, AQA,  OCR and Eduqas

The Heinemann Plays series offers contemporary drama and classic plays in durable classroom editions.

“An excellent, easy to use edition of a modern classic. Arrived promptly ready for the start of the new term; could not fault the product or service.”

E Hughes, English Teacher at Abertillery Comprehensive 15 July 2014