The Good Companions The Good Companions The Good Companions is a novel by the English author J. B. Priestley. Written in 1929 (in Deal, Kent), it focuses on the trials and tribulations of a concert party in England between World War I and World War II. It is arguably Priestley's most famous novel, and the work which established him as a national figure. It won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and was adapted twice into film. The novel is written in picaresque style, and opens with the middle aged, discontented Jess Oakroyd in the fictional Yorkshire town of Bruddersford. He opts to
The Good Companions Canada and the other performers carry on with their life on the road. "The Good Companions" was an instant hit on publication, but was not particularly well regarded by critics. Despite this, it remained popular for over forty years. It then fell out of favour, not only because the novel was written from a (rather old fashioned) middle class perspective but also because it deals with a phenomenon (a travelling music hall troupe) which no longer exists. Nonetheless, Priestley's ear for dialectal foibles is keen, and many of his constructions (e.g. 'Unkerlathur' for 'Uncle Arthur') are acutely observed. More recently