Jenny Villiers

1947 novel by J. B. Priestley

Jenny Villiers: A Story of the Theatre
First edition
AuthorJ. B. Priestley
IllustratorM. Elaine Hancock
LanguageEnglish
GenreGhost story
PublisherWilliam Heinemann
Publication date
3 January 1947
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Media typePrint (Hardcover)
PagesIV + 190pp
OCLC8306303

Jenny Villiers: A Story of the Theatre is a short novel by J. B. Priestley, first published in 1947.[1]

A successful but dispirited playwright is supervising the rehearsals of his new play, The Glass Door, at an old theatre in North England. The actors are irritated by his cynical attitude, but when left alone in the darkened green room he experiences visions of a 19th-century tragedy which alter his outlook on his profession.

In 1978 it was reprinted by Stein and Day, in a collection of works by Priestley entitled My Three Favorite Novels. The others were Angel Pavement and Bright Day.


Main characters

1946

  • Martin Cheveril, a 50-year-old playwright
  • Pauline Fraser, a 45-year-old actress
  • Mr Otley, the manager
  • Ann Seward, an aspiring 23-year-old actress

1846

  • Jenny Villiers, a 24-year-old actress
  • Julian Napier, a young actor
  • Walter Kettle, a stagehand

Priestley's play of the same title was performed by the Bristol Old Vic in 1946.

  1. ^ Kritzwiser, K.M. (16 February 1948). "Time and Mr. Priestly: "Jenny Villiers"". The Leader-Post.
  • v
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J. B. Priestley
Novels
  • Adam in Moonshine (1927)
  • Benighted (1927)
  • Farthing Hall (1929 with Hugh Walpole)
  • The Good Companions (1929)
  • Angel Pavement (1930)
  • Faraway (1932)
  • I'll Tell You Everything (1932 with Gerald Bullett)
  • Wonder Hero (1933)
  • They Walk in the City: The Lovers in the Stone Forest (1936)
  • The Doomsday Men (1938)
  • Let the People Sing (1939)
  • Blackout in Gretley (1942)
  • Daylight on Saturday (1943)
  • Three Men in New Suits (1945)
  • Bright Day (1946)
  • Jenny Villiers (1947)
  • Festival at Farbridge (1951)
  • Low Notes on a High Level (1954)
  • The Magicians (1954)
  • Saturn Over the Water (1961)
  • The Shapes of Sleep (1962)
  • Sir Michael & Sir George (1964)
  • Lost Empires (1965)
  • Salt Is Leaving (1966)
  • It's an Old Country (1967)
  • London End (1968)
  • Out Of Town (1968)
  • Snoggle (1971)
  • Found, Lost, Found (1976)
Short stories
  • "The Town Major of Miracourt" (1930)
Short story collections
  • The Other Place (1953)
  • The Carfitt Crisis (1974)
Plays
Poetry
  • The Chapman of Rhymes (1918)
Screenplays
Non-fiction
  • Brief Diversions (1922)
  • Papers from Lilliput (1922)
  • Open House (1927)
  • Self-selected Essays (1932)
  • English Journey (1934)
  • Midnight on the Desert (1937 autobiography)
  • We Live In Two Worlds (1937 documentary)
  • Rain Upon Godshill (1939 autobiography)
  • British Women Go To War (1943)
  • Margin Released (1962 autobiography)
  • Man and Time (1964)
  • The Edwardians (1970)
  • Over The Long High Wall (1972)
  • Particular Pleasures (1975)
  • Instead Of The Trees (1977 autobiography)
Film and TV adaptations
  • The Old Dark House (1932 film)
  • The Good Companions (1933 film)
  • An Inspector Calls (1954 film)
  • Angel Pavement (1957 TV series)
  • The Good Companions (1957 film)
  • The Old Dark House (1963 film)
  • Out of the Unknown: "Level Seven" (1966 sci-fi series)
  • Angel Pavement (1967 TV series)
  • An Inspector Calls (1982 film)
  • Lost Empires (1986)
  • An Inspector Calls (2015 film)
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