My play ‘Fire and Blood’ is now available on Amazon as a paperback or ebook. It’s a sequel to J B Priestley’s ‘An Inspector Calls’, which I taught for many years for GCSE English Literature.
I actually wrote it in 2018/19 but have only just got round to publishing it on Amazon KDP! The excellent cover was designed by my old colleague James Collins, now Head of Art at the Harvey Grammar School.
The title comes from the apocalyptic closing speech made by the enigmatic Inspector Goole before he exits, an admonitory speech which is widely judged to be a prediction of the coming Great War. I always had a strong suspicion what each of the Birlings and Gerald Croft would do in the war and my play explores these ideas. Like Priestley’s play, it has three Acts (and attempts to echo some elements of his perennial favourite, although neither Eva Smith nor Goole feature – at least not directly).
My next task is to try and market it to secondary schools… I have included an extensive glossary and some questions and tasks for students. Please get in touch if this of interest to you.
From Amazon:
Fire and Blood: A Play in Three Acts
By Matthew Dickens
“We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other.”
Taking its title from the chilling prophecy in J.B. Priestley’s An Inspector Calls, Fire and Blood returns to the Birling family four years after the Inspector’s visit. It is now 1915, and the “fire and blood and anguish” he foretold has arrived in the form of the Great War .
The Story
The play opens in Brumley on December 23rd, 1915. The Birlings are attempting to maintain their social standing and “business as usual” attitude despite the global conflict. Arthur Birling continues to prioritise profit and “efficiencies,” while Sybil Birling manages charitable teas for wounded soldiers—always careful to distinguish between the needs of “men” and “officers”.
However, the war has scattered the family. Eric is a junior lieutenant struggling with the trauma of the trenches and a growing disillusionment with his father’s hollow patriotism. Sheila has defied her parents to become a VAD nurse in France, where she seeks the redemption and purpose she lacked in her former life. Gerald Croft, now a Captain on the Staff, remains as polished and opportunistic as ever, moving between the safety of French chateaux and the Birling’s drawing room.
As the conflict intensifies and the Somme offensive looms, the past and present collide. Sheila finds a new path with a wounded soldier, John Smith, while Eric’s return home leads to a violent confrontation that reveals the family’s moral rot has only deepened under the pressure of war.
Key Themes
- The Reckoning of Class: The play examines how the rigid class structures of 1912 Brumley are challenged by the shared suffering of the trenches and the field hospital.
- Patriotism vs. Reality: Dickens contrasts Arthur Birling’s “hardworking businessman” patriotism with the grim, unheroic reality of the soldiers’ experiences.
- Forgiveness and Responsibility: Picking up the central theme of Priestley’s work, the play asks if the characters can truly learn responsibility or if they are doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past.
Experience the powerful conclusion to the Birling family saga. Will they learn the lesson of responsibility, or will they be consumed by the fire and blood?