Books by Neil Hanson

Neil Hanson is the author of an acclaimed series of narrative histories: The Custom of the Sea; The Dreadful Judgement; The Confident Hope of a Miracle; The Unknown Soldier: The Story of the Missing of the Great War; and, most recently, First Blitz: The Secret German Plan to Firebomb London and Paris in 1918. They have been hailed by critics on four continents as "brilliant", "stunning", "haunting", "exceptional", "magnificent", "superlative", "unforgettable", "a triumph" and "a masterpiece", and led one critic and professor of history to compare him to "Siegfried Sassoon, Robert Graves and a dozen other immortals". He was appointed to a Fellowship of the Royal Literary Fund in 2007. Tom Priestley is the son of J.B. Priestley. He forged a highly successful career as a film editor having worked on such well-known movies as Deliverance, The Great Gatsby, Tess and 1984. He is president of the JB Priestley Society. Nicholas Hawkes is the son of Jacquetta Hawkes, J.B. Priestley's third wife. He has carried out first-hand research of his mother's and step father's correspondence and other archives relating to Priestley's 'postscripts' broadcasts. John Boynton Priestley (1894-1984) was pre-eminently a dramatist and a novelist. Many of his works have become 20th century literary classics, among them 'The Good Companions', 'Angel Pavement', 'Bright Day', 'An Inspector Calls' and 'Time and the Conways'. He was the most versatile writer of his time, producing essays, short stories, verse, literary criticism, social histories, travel books and film scripts, as well as an opera libretto and an autobiography. During the 1939 - 1945 world war, his short radio talks, the famous 'Postscripts' established Priestley as a wartime broadcaster second only to Winston Churchill in importance and influence. These broadcasts were listened to by millions of people. Priestley also played many roles as a political activist and commentator. He was a founder of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and a champion of public lending rights. In literary, social and political terms he was very much 'a man for all seasons'.