P.D. JAMES aka
James, Phyllis Dorothy,James White, Phyllis Dorothy,White, Phyllis Dorothy James,Baroness James of Holland Park; Born August 3, 1920, in Oxford, England; married Ernest Conner Bantry White (a medical practitioner), August 8, 1941 (died, 1964); children: Clare, Jane
Awards:
First prize, Crime Writers Association contest, 1967, for short story, "Moment of Power"; Order of the British Empire, 1983; created Life Peer of United Kingdom (Baroness James of Holland Park), 1991; Diamond Dagger Award, Crime Writers Association for services to crime writing; Silver Dagger Awards, Crime Writers Association, for Shroud for a Nightingale and The Black Tower; Edgar Award, Mystery Writers of America, for Shroud for a Nightingale; Scroll Award, Mystery Writers of America, for An Unsuitable Job for a Woman; Litt.D., University of Buckingham, 1992; Doctor of Literature, University of London, 1993
P. D. James is best known for her Adam Dalgliesh mysteries. Readers who enjoy classic British mysteries but want a more realistic, contemporary story will enjoy James. She deftly explores modern-day murders prompted by old-fashioned motives. James delves into the psychological nuances of her characters and unflinchingly includes social issues and the effects of modern-day violence. Skillfully-constructed plots, intricately detailed settings, and elegant prose typify her briskly-paced reads. Start with: A Taste for Death
Death in Holy Orders (2001)
Scotland Yard Commander Adam Dalgliesh returns to work when powerful arms manufacturer Sir Alred Treeves receives an anonymous note telling him the death of his adopted son was not the accident it seemed and asks Dalgliesh to check it out. Dalgliesh, skeptical at first that Ronald, a seminary student at St. Anselm's in East Anglia, was murdered, visits the coast. He expects to find that the death (by suffocation in a pile of sand) was, though unpleasant, not murder. Yet after other visitors arrive at the theological college and two more deaths occur, Dalgliesh sets to work with his team of Piers Tarrant and Kate Miskin. Though Margaret Monroe, a former employee of the school, dies of a heart attack, the second death, of Matthew Crampton, an archdeacon who was trying to close the school, is obviously a brutal murder. Dalgliesh must determine if the deaths are connected, and if so, the reasons why.
Adam Dalgliesh series:
1. Cover her face (May 2001)
2. A mind to murder (Jan 1963)
3. Unnatural causes (Jun 1967)
4. Shroud for a nightingale (Jan 1971)
5.The black tower (Aug 1975)
6. Death of an expert witness (Oct 2001)
7. A taste for death (Nov 1986)
8. Devices and desires (May 2004)
9. Original sin (Feb 1995)
10. A certain justice (Dec 1997)
11. Death in holy orders (Apr 2001)
12. The murder room (Nov 2003)
13. The lighthouse (Nov 2005)
14.The private patient (Nov 2008)
Cordelia Gray
An unsuitable job for a woman (1972)
The skull beneath the skin(Jan 1983)
NoveList Read-alike List
NoveList/EBSCO Publishing © 2004
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Read-alikes:
Of all the Golden Age Mystery writers, Dorothy L. Sayers is perhaps the closest match for readers who enjoy James' work. Sayers' rich, stylish prose will please those who enjoy James' literate approach to the Mystery genre, and Sayers' sleuth, Lord Peter Wimsey, shares some of the same appeal characteristics as James' Dalgleish. ….
Ruth Rendell/Barbara Vine is the Mystery genre's other current "Queen of Crime." Like James, she is a writer fascinated with the psychology of her characters and their many motivations for becoming involved in murder. Offer readers who prefer traditional classic Mysteries featuring a series detective Rendell's first Chief Inspector Wexford Mystery, From Doon with Death. Those who enjoy James' interest in character psychology should try one of Vine's books, such as A Dark-Adapted Eye, in which a long-buried family secret surfaces with deadly results.
American Elizabeth George writes elegantly complex Mysteries featuring aristocratic Inspector Thomas Lynley. ... In addition, George, like James, is an author fascinated with geography, and each of her Mysteries has a richly detailed setting that lends depth to the story.
Minette Walters is another Mystery writer captivated by the psychology of crime, and though she can be darker and edgier than James, she shares the same powerful literary writing style and fascination with good and evil. ...
Another American who writes beautifully literate Mysteries set in England, Deborah Crombie offers readers the kind of cleverly constructed traditional plots and nicely detailed settings that appeal to readers of James. Crombie's first book, A Share in Death, introduces readers to Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid of Scotland Yard and Sergeant Gemma James. …
John Charles is a reference librarian and fiction selector for the Scottsdale(AZ) Public Library System and is the co-author of The Mystery Readers' Advisory: The Librarian's Clues to Murder and Mayhem (ALA 2002).
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Web Sites:
P. D. James; The Official Website: (includes Mystery Writing Lessons)
Salon Interview from February 26, 1998:
Includes recommended reads from P. D. James:
Author statement
'All fiction is an attempt to create order out of disorder and to make sense of personal experience. But the classical detective story does this within its own established conventions; a central mystery which is usually but not necessarily a murder, a closed circle of suspects, a detective, either professional or amateur, who comes in like an avenging deity to solve the crime, and a final solution which the reader should be able to arrive at himself by logical deduction from the clues. This apparent formula writing is capable of accommodating a remarkable variety of books and talents. Within the formal constraints of the detective novel I try to say something true about men and women under the stress of the ultimate crime and about the society in which they live.'
P. D. James
by John Charles
P. D. James is often hailed as an author who provides the link between the Golden Age of Mystery writing and today's contemporary crop of crime novels. Notable for the skillful construction of her plots, an interest in the psychology of her characters, the intricate details of her settings, and the elegance of her prose, James deftly explores modern-day murders prompted by old-fashioned motives, much to the delight of readers who enjoy classic British Mysteries. James transcends the Cozy sub-genre, however, as her interest in exploring the psychological nuances of her characters and her willingness, when necessary, unflinchingly to include social issues and the effects of violence in modern times also please Mystery lovers who like their books to reflect the world in which they live.
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As a Mystery writer James is primarily interested in working within the conventions of the classic British Mystery novels she herself grew up reading. From her first book many of these conventions are present, including the use of a closed circle of suspects, the idea that the crime is a puzzle to be solved, and other elements such as the country house setting, or some variation of it, frequently used by Golden Age Mystery writers. The skillful inclusion of these classic ingredients in most of James' books is one reason she remains a favorite with readers who prefer traditional Mysteries.
Setting is of particular importance in James' novels. ,,,James builds her literary locations with the precision of an architect, anchoring her stories with the kind of small details only someone familiar with the area would know. These beautifully realized settings encourage Mystery readers slowly to savor the beauty of James' writing, even as they try to puzzle out whodunit.
