A Bradford boy

John Boynton Priestley was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, and, although he had long since been resident elsewhere, on his death (1929), about a touring theatrical company. ‘Part of me is still Bradford, can never leave it,' he wrote later. His output was vast. There were 26 novels and 39 plays, as well as essays and travelogues. (1930) was a realist novel of London life; (1934) was a blunt, but atmospheric account of his travels through the country's rural and urban areas during the Depression era. It included a return to Bradford, which he described as being ‘on the edge of some of the most enchanting countryside in England'. A statue of the writer (), characteristically with pipe in hand, was unveiled in the city in 1986. Fittingly for this great communicator, it is situated outside the National Science and Media Museum.