Editing P. D. James

{{short description|English crime writer}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}
{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->
| honorific_prefix = [[The Right Honourable]]
| name = The Baroness James of Holland&nbsp;Park
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|OBE|FRSA|FRSL}}
| image = PD James Cologne.JPG
| caption = James in 2013
| pseudonym = P. D. James
| birth_name = Phyllis Dorothy James
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1920|8|3}}
| birth_place = [[Oxford]], England
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2014|11|27|1920|8| 3}}
| death_place = Oxford, England
| occupation = Novelist
| spouse = {{marriage|Ernest Connor Bantry White<!-- , an Army doctor -->|1941|1964|end=his death}}
| children = 2 <!-- daughters, Clare (b. 1942) and Jane (b. 1944) -->
| period =
| genre = {{flatlist|
* [[Crime fiction]]
* [[Thriller (genre)|thriller]]
* [[dystopian fiction]]
}}
| subject =
| movement =
| module = {{Listen |embed= yes |filename= PD James BBC Radio4 Front Row 3 June 2013 b0211jrx.flac |title= PD James's voice |type= speech |description= from the BBC programme ''[[Front Row (radio programme)|Front Row]]'', 3 June 2013.<ref>{{cite episode | title = PD James |series= Front Row |series-link= Front Row (radio programme) | url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0211jrx |station= [[BBC Radio 4]] |date= 3 June 2013 |access-date= 18 January 2014 }}</ref>}}
}}
[[File:58 Holland Park Avenue.jpg|thumb|58 Holland Park Avenue, London W11 where PD James lived from 1984-2012]]
'''Phyllis Dorothy James White, Baroness James of Holland Park''' (3 August 1920&nbsp;– 27 November 2014), known professionally as '''P. D. James''', was an English novelist and [[life peer]]. Her rise to fame came with her series of detective novels featuring the police commander and poet, [[Adam Dalgliesh]].<ref>{{Citation | title = House of Lords | contribution-url = http://www.parliament.uk/directories/house_of_lords_information_office/alphabetical_list_of_members.cfm#J | place = UK | publisher = Parliament | contribution = Alphabetical List of Members}}.</ref>

== Life and career ==
James was born in [[Oxford]], the daughter of Sidney Victor James, a tax inspector, and his wife, Dorothy Mary James.<ref>
*dedication page of ''Time To Be in Earnest'', 1999
*{{cite web |title=P D James |url=https://www.civilservant.org.uk/women-pd_james.html |website=UK Civil Service |access-date=13 November 2021 |quote=P D James was born in 1920 in Walton Street, Oxford}}</ref> She was educated at the [[Ludlow College|British School]]<ref>
*{{cite web |title='Century of Change 1900-2000: Memories of Ludlow Grammar School, Ludlow Girls' High School, Ludlow College', 2000 - 2002 |url=https://archivesearch.lib.cam.ac.uk/repositories/19/archival_objects/376807 |website=Personal Papers of P D James, 1877 - 2017 |publisher=[[Girton College]] Archive |access-date=13 November 2021}}
*{{cite web |last1=Webb |first1=Richard |title=St Laurence's C of E Primary School |url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1168439 |website=Geograph |publisher=geograph.org.uk |access-date=13 November 2021 |language=en |quote=In 1972 St Laurence's C of E Primary School closed. It merged with the former British School on Old Street and Ludlow had just one primary school. This is the site of the shared sports field of the two schools.}}
*{{cite web |last1=James |first1=P. D. |title=I'll never forget my first love |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/authors/pd-james-never-forget-first-love/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/authors/pd-james-never-forget-first-love/ |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |website=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |access-date=13 November 2021 |date=1 August 2020}}{{cbignore}}
*{{cite web |last1=Symons |first1=Julian |author1-link=Julian Symons |title=THE QUEEN OF CRIME: P.D. JAMES: Book Review |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/97/12/07/home/james-queen.html |website=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=13 November 2021 |quote=When I was a child, at Ludlow in Shropshire, I saw children going to school without coats or shoes. There was real poverty in a lot of homes.}}
*{{cite news |last1=Wallace |first1=David |title=Letter: PD James, a Shropshire lass |url=https://www.theguardian.com/global/2014/dec/02/letter-pd-james |access-date=13 November 2021 |work=[[the Guardian]] |date=2 December 2014 |language=en |quote=We used to explore all the paths around the castle, all around the hill. Down below there was the river Teme and the water meadows. I can remember very, very clearly the school I went to, and the names of some of the children come right back to me. The British school, it was called, and the earliest poem I learned there was called Mamble.}}
*{{cite web |title=Remembering P.D. James |url=https://prayerbook.ca/remembering-p-d-james/ |website=The Prayer Book Society of Canada |date=6 February 2015 |access-date=13 November 2021 |quote=Later, at a church school in Ludlow, Shropshire, she was required to learn the Collect each week.}}
*{{cite web |title=Desert Island Discs: P D James |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00947h9 |website=BBC Radio 4 |publisher=BBC |access-date=13 November 2021 |date=2002 |quote=Sue Lawley's castaway is crime writer and conservative life peer P D James.}}
*{{cite web |title=Desert Island Discs: P D James |url=https://archive.org/details/wvv8ykpcx9y3gzhdzxyjaossvw70bxxbkjvcbojt <!-- https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p009mk60 https://archive.org/details/podcast_desert-island-discs-archive-1_p-d-james_1000353685420  --> |website=BBC Radio 4 |publisher=BBC |access-date=13 November 2021 |date=1982 |quote=Roy Plomley's castaway is writer P D James.}}
*{{cite web |title=P D James |url=https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/p-d-james/id435713106?i=1000093690178 |website=Desert Island Discs: Archive 2000-2005 |publisher=Apple Podcasts |access-date=13 November 2021 |quote=Phyllis attended an old-fashioned grammar school where she enjoyed English lessons}}
*https://4degreesbrewing.com/hill-70-info/corporal-acton/
*https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/a/A13533016
*https://www.ludlowsoldiersww1.co.uk/page.php?n=Rogers,%20William%20Ernest
</ref> in [[Ludlow]] and [[Long Road Sixth Form College|Cambridge High School for Girls]].<ref>
*{{cite web|url=http://www.faber.co.uk/author/p-d-james/ |title=Faber & Faber: P. D. James |publisher=Faber.co.uk |date=22 September 2008 |access-date=20 May 2010}}
*{{cite web |title=About |url=https://pdjames.co.uk/about/ |website=P. D. James |access-date=13 November 2021}}</ref> Her mother was committed to a mental hospital when James was in her mid-teens.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Slade |first1=Douglas |title=PD James dead: Remembering the first lady of crime |url=https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/life/541110/Best-selling-detective-novelist-PD-James-died-aged-94 |access-date=13 November 2021 |work=Express.co.uk |date=28 November 2014 |language=en |quote=The family moved to Ludlow, Shropshire, for her primary school years and then to Cambridge, where she went to the County High School for Girls.  When she was in her mid-teens her mother was committed to a mental hospital.}}</ref>

She had to leave school at the age of sixteen to work to take care of her younger siblings, sister Monica, and brother Edward, because her family did not have much money and her father did not believe in higher education for girls.{{Citation needed|date=September 2015}} She worked in a tax office in Ely for three years and later found a job as an [[assistant stage manager]] for the Festival Theatre in Cambridge.<ref name="Time To Be in Earnest, p. 20">''Time To Be in Earnest'', p. 20</ref> She married Ernest Connor Bantry White (called "Connor"), an army doctor, on 8 August 1941.<ref name="Time To Be in Earnest, p. 20"/> They had two daughters, Clare and Jane.<ref name = ODNB>{{cite ODNB|title = James, Phyllis Dorothy, Baroness James of Holland Park (1920–2014), crime novelist and public servant|last = Kemp|first = Peter|doi = 10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.108124|date = 2018}}</ref>

White returned from the [[Second World War]] mentally ill and was institutionalised. With her daughters being mostly cared for by Connor's parents,<ref>''Time To Be in Earnest'', p. 113, p.115, p. 179, and p. 226</ref> James studied hospital administration, and from 1949 to 1968 worked for a hospital board in London.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/books/2001/mar/03/crime.pdjames Emma Brockes, ''The Guardian'' profile: P D James – "Murder She Wrote", 3 March 2001. Accessed 20 January 2013]</ref> She began writing in the mid-1950s, using her maiden name ("My genes are James genes").<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.randomhouse.com/features/pdjames/guardian.html|title=P.D. James: About the Author P.D. James|work=randomhouse.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media|url=https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thesundayedition/the-sunday-edition-december-30-2018-1.4462999|title=The Sunday Edition - December 30, 2018|date=30 December 2018|last=Enright|first=Michael|type=Radio interview|language=en|publisher=CBC|orig-year=2014|time=26:30}}</ref>

Her first novel, ''[[Cover Her Face]]'', featuring the investigator and poet [[Adam Dalgliesh]] of [[Scotland Yard|New Scotland Yard]], was published in 1962.<ref name=Salon>{{cite news|last= Reese|first=Jennifer|url=http://www.salon.com/books/int/1998/02/cov_si_26int2.html|title=The Salon Interview – P.D. James – The Art of Murder|work=[[Salon.com|Salon]]|date=26 February 1998|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605024339/http://www.salon.com/books/int/1998/02/cov_si_26int.html|archive-date=5 June 2011}}</ref> Dalgliesh's last name comes from a teacher of English at Cambridge High School and his first name is that of Miss Dalgliesh's father.<ref>''Time To Be in Earnest'', p. 48</ref> Many of James's mystery novels take place against the backdrop of UK bureaucracies, such as the criminal justice system and the [[National Health Service]], in which she worked for decades starting in the 1940s. Two years after the publication of ''Cover Her Face'', James's husband died on 5 August 1964.<ref name="Time To Be in Earnest, p. 115">''Time To Be in Earnest'', p. 115</ref> Prior to his death, James had not felt able to change her job: "He [Connor] would periodically discharge himself from hospital, sometimes at very short notice, and I never knew quite what I would have to face when I returned home from the office. It was not a propitious time to look for promotion or for a new job, which would only impose additional strain. But now [after Connor's death] I felt the strong need to look for a change of direction."<ref>''A Time To Be in Earnest'', p. 115</ref> She applied for the grade of Principal in the Home Civil Service<ref name="Time To Be in Earnest, p. 115"/> and held positions as a civil servant within several sections of the [[Home Office]], including the criminal section. She worked in government service until her retirement in 1979.<ref name = ODNB/>

On 7 February 1991, James was created a [[life peer]] as '''Baroness James of Holland Park''', of [[Southwold]] in the [[County of Suffolk]].<ref name="ReferenceA">{{London Gazette |issue=52448 |date=13 February 1991 |page=2255}}</ref> She sat in the [[House of Lords]] as a [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]]. She was an [[Anglicanism|Anglican]] and a lay patron of the [[Prayer Book Society (England)|Prayer Book Society]]. Her 2001 work, ''[[Death in Holy Orders]]'', displays her familiarity with the inner workings of church hierarchy.<ref>"Why I am still an Anglican", Continuum, 2006, p. 16.</ref> Her later novels were often set in a community closed in some way, such as a publishing house, barristers' chambers, a theological college, an island or a private clinic. ''[[Talking About Detective Fiction]]'' was published in 2009. Over her writing career, James also wrote many essays and short stories for [[Periodical literature|periodicals]] and [[Anthology|anthologies]], which have yet to be collected. She said in 2011 that ''The Private Patient'' was the final Dalgliesh novel.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2011/nov/04/pd-james-life-in-writing|title=A life in writing: PD James|author=Sarah Crown|work=The Guardian|date=4 November 2011}}</ref> However, at the time of her death, she had been planning another Dalgliesh novel, set in Southwold.<ref name = ODNB/>

As guest editor of [[BBC Radio 4]]'s ''[[Today (BBC Radio 4)|Today]]'' programme in December 2009, James conducted an interview with the Director General of the BBC, [[Mark Thompson (television executive)|Mark Thompson]], in which she seemed critical of some of his decisions. Regular ''Today'' presenter [[Evan Davis]] commented that "She shouldn't be guest editing; she should be permanently presenting the programme."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/dec/31/bbc-mark-thompson-pd-james|title=BBC director general Mark Thompson thrown by PD James's detective work|author=John Plunkett|work=The Guardian|date=31 December 2009}}</ref> In 2008, she was inducted into the International Crime Writing Hall of Fame at the inaugural [[ITV3]] Crime Thriller Awards.<ref>{{cite web|author= Allen, Katie|title= Rankin and P D James pick up ITV3 awards|url= http://www.thebookseller.com/news/68347-rankin-and-p-d-james-pick-up-itv3-awards.html|work= theBookseller.com|date= 6 October 2008|access-date= 6 October 2008|url-status= dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090409070859/http://www.thebookseller.com/news/68347-rankin-and-p-d-james-pick-up-itv3-awards.html|archive-date= 9 April 2009}}</ref>

In August 2014, James was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to ''[[The Guardian]]'' opposing [[Scottish independence]] in the run-up to September's [[2014 Scottish independence referendum|referendum on that issue]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/aug/07/celebrities-open-letter-scotland-independence-full-text |title=Celebrities' open letter to Scotland – full text and list of signatories &#124; Politics |work=theguardian.com |date=2014-08-07 |access-date=2014-08-26}}</ref>

James' main home was her house at 58 [[Holland Park Avenue]], in the area from which she took her title; she also owned homes in Oxford and Southwold.<ref name = ODNB/>
[[File:58 Holland Park Avenue, London W11.jpg|thumb|Blue plaque at 58 Holland Park Avenue]]

James died from cancer at her home in Oxford on 27 November 2014, aged 94.<ref name = ODNB/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-30232569|title=PD James, crime novelist, dies aged 94|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|date=27 November 2014|website=BBC News|access-date=27 November 2014}}</ref> She is survived by her two daughters, Clare and Jane, five grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.<ref name="PD James obituary">{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/nov/27/pd-james | title=PD James obituary | newspaper=The Guardian | date=27 November 2014 | access-date=27 November 2014 | author=Reynolds, Stanley}}</ref>

== Film and television ==
During the 1980s and 1990s, many of James's mystery novels were adapted for television by [[Anglia Television]] for the [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] network in the UK. These productions have been broadcast in other countries, including the US on the [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]] network. [[Roy Marsden]] played Adam Dalgliesh. According to James in conversation with Bill Link on 3&nbsp;May 2001 at the Writer's Guild Theatre, Los Angeles, Marsden "is not my idea of Dalgliesh, but I would be very surprised if he were."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.writersblocpresents.com/archives/james/james.htm|title=P.D. James with Bill Link|website=Writers Bloc|date=2001-05-03|access-date=2014-11-27}}</ref> The BBC adapted ''[[Death in Holy Orders]]'' in 2003, and ''[[The Murder Room]]'' in 2004, both as one-off dramas starring [[Martin Shaw]] as Dalgliesh. In ''[[Dalgliesh (TV series)|Dalgliesh]]'' (2021), [[Bertie Carvel]] starred as the titular, enigmatic detective–poet. Six episodes, shown as three two-parters, premiered on [[Acorn TV]] on 1 November 2021 in the United States followed by a [[Channel 5 (British TV channel)|Channel 5]] premiere on 4 November in the United Kingdom. A further six episodes started to air on Channel 5 in April 2023.

Her novel ''[[The Children of Men]]'' (1992) was the basis for the feature film ''[[Children of Men]]'' (2006), directed by [[Alfonso Cuarón]] and starring [[Clive Owen]], [[Julianne Moore]] and [[Michael Caine]].<ref name="Children of Men">[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0206634/ Children of Men] at IMDB</ref> Despite substantial changes from the book, James was reportedly pleased with the adaptation and proud to be associated with the film.<ref name="iwgblog">{{cite web|title=P. D. James Pleased With Film Version of Children of Men|work=internetwritingjournal.com|url=http://www.internetwritingjournal.com/cgi-bin/iwjblog.pl?id=108071|date=8 January 2007|access-date=20 May 2008}}</ref>

A three-episode adaptation of her novel ''[[Death Comes to Pemberley]]'', written by Juliette Towhidi, was made into the TV series ''[[Death Comes to Pemberley (TV series)|Death Comes to Pemberley]]'' by Origin Pictures for [[BBC One]]. It was first shown in the UK over three nights from 26 December 2013 as part of the BBC's Christmas schedule and stars [[Anna Maxwell Martin]] as Elizabeth, [[Matthew Rhys]] as Mr Darcy, [[Jenna Coleman]] as Lydia and [[Matthew Goode]] as Wickham.

== Books ==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break|width=33%}}

=== Novels ===
'''Adam Dalgliesh mysteries'''
#''[[Cover Her Face]]'' (1962)
#''[[A Mind to Murder]]'' (1963)
#''[[Unnatural Causes (detective novel)|Unnatural Causes]]'' (1967)
#''[[Shroud for a Nightingale]]'' (1971)
#''[[The Black Tower (James novel)|The Black Tower]]'' (1975)
#''[[Death of an Expert Witness]]'' (1977)
#''[[A Taste for Death (P. D. James novel)|A Taste for Death]]'' (1986)
#''[[Devices and Desires]]'' (1989)
#''[[Original Sin (James novel)|Original Sin]]'' (1994)
#''[[A Certain Justice]]'' (1997)
#''[[Death in Holy Orders]]'' (2001)
#''[[The Murder Room]]'' (2003)
#''[[The Lighthouse (James novel)|The Lighthouse]]'' (2005)
#''[[The Private Patient]]'' (2008)

'''Cordelia Gray mysteries'''
#''[[An Unsuitable Job for a Woman]]'' (1972)
#''[[The Skull Beneath the Skin]]'' (1982)

'''Miscellaneous novels'''
*''[[Innocent Blood (novel)|Innocent Blood]]'' (1980)
*''[[The Children of Men]]'' (1992)
*''[[Death Comes to Pemberley]]'' (2011)

{{col-break|width=33%}}

===Omnibus editions===
*''Crime Times Three'' (1979), later reprinted as ''Three Complete Novels'' (1988), comprising ''Cover Her Face'', ''A Mind to Murder'', and ''Shroud for a Nightingale''
*''Murder in Triplicate'' (1980), later reprinted as ''In Murderous Company'' (1988), comprising ''Unnatural Causes'', ''An Unsuitable Job for a Woman'', and ''The Black Tower''
*''Omnibus'' (1982), comprising ''Unnatural Causes'', ''Shroud for a Nightingale'' and ''An Unsuitable Job for a Woman''
*''Trilogy of Death'' (1984), comprising ''Innocent Blood'', ''An Unsuitable Job for a Woman'', and ''The Skull Beneath the Skin''
*''A Dalgliesh Trilogy'' (1989), comprising ''Shroud for a Nightingale'', ''The Black Tower'', and ''Death of an Expert Witness''
*''A Second Dalgliesh Trilogy'' (1993), comprising ''A Mind to Murder'', ''A Taste for Death'', and ''Devices and Desires''
*''Deadly Pleasures'' (1996), comprising ''The Black Tower'', ''Death of an Expert Witness'', and ''The Skull Beneath the Skin''
*''An Adam Dalgliesh Omnibus'' (2008), comprising ''A Taste for Death'', ''Devices and Desires'', and ''Original Sin''

=== Nonfiction ===
*''[[The Maul and the Pear Tree|The Maul and the Pear Tree: The Ratcliffe Highway Murders, 1811]]'' (1971), with Thomas A. Critchley
*''Time to Be in Earnest: A Fragment of Autobiography'' Faber & Faber, London 1999 {{ISBN|0-571-20396-5|}}
*''[[Talking About Detective Fiction]]'' (2009)
{{col-end}}

==Short stories==
*"Moment of Power" (1968), first published in ''Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, July 1968'' (collected as "A Very Commonplace Murder" in ''The Mistletoe Murder and Other Stories'', 2016)
*"The Victim" (1973), first published in ''Winter's Crimes 5'', ed. Virginia Whitaker (collected in ''Sleep No More: Six Murderous Tales'', 2017)
*"Murder, 1986" (1975), first published in ''Ellery Queen's Masters of Mystery''
*"A Very Desirable Residence" (1976), first published in ''Winter's Crimes 8'', ed. Hilary Watson (collected in ''Sleep No More: Six Murderous Tales'', 2017)
*"Great-Aunt Ellie's Flypapers" (1979), first published in ''Verdict of Thirteen'', ed. Julian Symons (collected as "The Boxdale Inheritance" in ''The Mistletoe Murder and Other Stories'', 2016)
*"The Girl Who Loved Graveyards" (1983), first published in ''Winter's Crimes 15'', ed. George Hardinge, later reprinted as "Memories Don't Die", in ''Redbook'', July 1984 (collected in ''Sleep No More: Six Murderous Tales'', 2017)
*"The Murder of Santa Claus" (1984), first published in ''Great Detectives'', ed. D. W. McCullough (collected in ''Sleep No More: Six Murderous Tales'', 2017)
*"The Mistletoe Murder" (1991), first published in ''The Spectator'' (collected in ''The Mistletoe Murder and Other Stories'', 2016)
*"The Man Who Was 80" (1992), first published in ''The Illustrated London News'', 1 November 1992, and ''The Man Who'', later revised as "Mr. Maybrick's Birthday" c. 2005 (collected as "Mr. Millcroft's Birthday" in ''Sleep No More: Six Murderous Tales'', 2017)
*"The Part-time Job" (2005), first published in ''The Detection Collection'', ed. Simon Brett
*"Hearing Ghote" (2006), first published in ''The Verdict of Us All'', ed. Peter Lovesey. An earlier version of the story ("The Yo-Yo") written in 1996 was later published in ''Sleep No More: Six Murderous Tales'' in 2017.
*"The Twelve Clues of Christmas" (collected in ''The Mistletoe Murder and Other Stories'', 2016)

== TV and film adaptations ==

=== Adam Dalgliesh series ===
* ''[[Death of an Expert Witness#Television version|Death of an Expert Witness]]'' (1983)
* ''[[Shroud for a Nightingale#Adaptation|Shroud for a Nightingale]]'' (1984)
* ''[[Cover Her Face#Adaptations|Cover Her Face]]'' (1985)
* ''[[The Black Tower (miniseries)|The Black Tower]]'' (1985)
* ''[[A Taste for Death (James novel)#Adaptations|A Taste For Death]]'' (1988)
* ''[[Devices and Desires#Adaptations|Devices and Desires]]'' (1991)
* ''[[Unnatural Causes (1993 film)|Unnatural Causes]]'' (1993)
* ''[[A Mind to Murder]]'' (1995)
* ''[[Original Sin (James novel)#Adaptations|Original Sin]]'' (1997)
* ''[[A Certain Justice#Adaptations|A Certain Justice]]'' (1998)
* ''[[Death in Holy Orders#Dramatisation|Death in Holy Orders]]'' (2003)
* ''[[The Murder Room#Adaptations|The Murder Room]]'' (2005)
* ''[[Dalgliesh (TV series)|Dalgliesh]]'' (2021)

=== Other adaptations ===
* ''[[An Unsuitable Job for a Woman#Film, TV or theatrical adaptations|An Unsuitable Job for a Woman]]'' (1982, 1997–1998, 1999–2001)
* ''[[Children of Men]]'' (feature film)<ref name="Children of Men" /> (2006)
* ''[[Death Comes to Pemberley (TV series)|Death Comes to Pemberley]]'' (2011)

== Selected awards and honours ==

=== Honours ===
* [[Officer of the Order of the British Empire]], 1983<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=49375 |date=11 June 1983 |page=10 |supp=y}}</ref>
* Associate Fellow of [[Downing College, Cambridge]], 1986<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/features/desert-island-discs/castaway/df3d41fe |title= P D James on Desert Island Discs |date=27 October 2002 |publisher=[[BBC]]}}</ref>
* [[Life peer]]age, '''Baroness James of Holland Park''', of [[Southwold]] in the County of Suffolk, 7 February 1991<ref name="ReferenceA"/>
* [[Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature]]<ref name=GuardianObituary>{{cite news |last=Reynolds |first=Stanley |date=27 November 2014 |title=PD James obituary |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/nov/27/pd-james |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |location=[[London]]}}</ref>
* [[Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts]]<ref name=GuardianObituary />
* President of the [[Society of Authors]] 1997–2013<ref>{{cite news |last=Flood |first=Alison |date=25 March 2013 |title=Philip Pullman to be Society of Authors' new president |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/mar/25/philip-pullman-society-of-authors-new-president |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |location=[[London]]}}</ref>

'''Honorary doctorates'''
* [[University of Buckingham]], 1992<ref name=BritishCouncil>{{cite web |url=http://literature.britishcouncil.org/p-d-james |title= Baroness James of Holland Park P. D. James |access-date=27 November 2014 |publisher=[[British Council]]}}</ref>
* [[University of Hertfordshire]], 1994<ref name=BritishCouncil />
* [[University of Glasgow]], 1995<ref name=BritishCouncil />
* [[University of Essex]], 1996<ref name=BritishCouncil />
* [[University of Durham]], 1998<ref name=BritishCouncil />
* [[University of Portsmouth]], 1999<ref name=BritishCouncil />
* [[University of London]], 1993<ref name=BritishCouncil />

'''Honorary fellowships'''
* [[St Hilda's College, Oxford]], 1996<ref name=BritishCouncil />
* [[Girton College, Cambridge]], 2000<ref name=BritishCouncil />
* [[Downing College, Cambridge]], 2000<ref>{{Citation | last = Stafford | first = Sandra | title = The puzzle beneath the prize| journal = The Downing College Magazine | volume = 19 | year = 2008 | pages = 4–6 | url = http://www.downingcambridge.com/document.doc?id=18}}</ref>
* [[Kellogg College, Oxford]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.contemporarywriters.com/authors/?p=auth193|title=Baroness James of Holland Park P. D. James - British Council Literature|author=British Council|work=contemporarywriters.com}}</ref>
* [[Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge]], 2012

=== Awards ===
* 1971 Best Novel Award, [[Mystery Writers of America]] (runner-up): ''Shroud for a Nightingale''
* 1972 [[Crime Writers' Association]] (CWA) Macallan Silver Dagger for Fiction: ''Shroud for a Nightingale''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://thecwa.co.uk/the-daggers/winners-archive/?awardsyear=1972&dagger=0&accolade=0 |title= The Dagger Awards Winners Archive – 1972 |access-date=27 November 2014 |publisher=[[Crime Writers' Association]]}}</ref>
* 1973 Best Novel Award, Mystery Writers of America (runner-up): ''An Unsuitable Job for a Woman''<ref name=BritishCouncil />
* 1976 CWA Macallan Silver Dagger for Fiction: ''The Black Tower''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://thecwa.co.uk/the-daggers/winners-archive/?awardsyear=1976&dagger=0&accolade=0 |title= The Dagger Awards Winners Archive – 1976 |access-date=27 November 2014 |publisher=[[Crime Writers' Association]]}}</ref>
* 1986 Mystery Writers of America Best Novel Award (runner-up): ''A Taste for Death''<ref name=BritishCouncil />
* 1987 CWA Macallan Silver Dagger for Fiction: ''A Taste for Death''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://thecwa.co.uk/the-daggers/winners-archive/?awardsyear=1987&dagger=0&accolade=0 |title= The Dagger Awards Winners Archive – 1987 |access-date=27 November 2014 |publisher=[[Crime Writers' Association]]}}</ref>
* 1987 CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger (lifetime achievement award)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://thedaggers.co.uk/in/cartier/index.html |title=The Cartier Diamond Dagger |access-date=27 November 2014 |publisher=[[Crime Writers' Association]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141204224613/http://thedaggers.co.uk/in/cartier/index.html |archive-date=4 December 2014 }}</ref>
* 1992 Deo Gloria Award: ''The Children of Men''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.deo-gloria.co.uk/projects_archive.php |title=Deo Gloria Book Awards |access-date=27 November 2014 |publisher=[[Deo Gloria Trust]]}}</ref>
* 1992 The Best Translated Crime Fiction of the Year in Japan, ''[[Kono Mystery ga Sugoi!#1992|Kono Mystery ga Sugoi! 1992]]'': ''Devices and Desires''
* 1999 Grandmaster Award, Mystery Writers of America<ref name=BritishCouncil />
* 2002 WH Smith Literary Award (shortlist): ''Death in Holy Orders''<ref name=BritishCouncil />
* 2005 British Book Awards Crime Thriller of the Year (shortlist): ''The Murder Room''<ref name=BritishCouncil />
* 2010 Best Critical Nonfiction Anthony Award for ''Talking About Detective Fiction''<ref name=BritishCouncil />
* 2010 [[Nick Clarke Award]] for interview with [[Director-General of the BBC]] [[Mark Thompson (television executive)|Mark Thompson]] whilst guest editor of ''[[Today (BBC Radio 4)|Today]]'' radio programme.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.newstatesman.com/broadcast/2010/10/bbc-radio-interview-award|title=PD James wins BBC's Nick Clarke Award for journalism|work=New Statesman |location=UK|date=12 October 2010}}</ref>

{{Infobox COA wide
|image = [[File:Coronet of a British Baron.svg|centre|120px]][[File:James of Holland Park Lozenge.png|centre|200px]]
|escutcheon = Vert, between two oak trees eradicated Or a bend sinister wavy Argent, thereon another Azure charged with a quill pen Argent, the quill Or, a chief Azure issuant thereon a representation of Southwold Lighthouse proper.
|supporters = On either side a tabby cat salient guardant Proper wearing a collar Vert, edged, buckled and studded Or, reposing the exterior paw upon an open book, the pages lettered Proper edged Or and bound Gules each upright on a set of two closed books edged Or, their spines outward, one bound Vert lying on top of the other Azure.
|motto = Gratus Erga Deum Beatitudine Vitae<ref>{{cite book|title=Debrett's Peerage |date=2003 |page=861}}</ref>}}

== Interviews ==
* {{cite journal| url=http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/1627/the-art-of-fiction-no-141-p-d-james| title=P. D. James, The Art of Fiction No. 141| author= Shusha Guppy| date=Summer 1995| journal=The Paris Review | volume=Summer 1995| issue=135}}
* [https://www.theguardian.com/books/2001/mar/04/crime.pdjames ''The Guardian'', 4-3-01]. Accessed 2010-09-15
* [https://www.heraldscotland.com/default_content/12759916.grisly-end/ "A grisly end"], ''The Sunday Herald'', 12 September 2008
* [https://www.cbc.ca/radio/writersandcompany/p-d-james-at-100-the-thrills-and-mysteries-of-her-life-as-a-crime-writer-1.5668963 CBC Radio hour-long interview by Eleanor Wachtel, 2000]. Accessed 2 Aug. 2020
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100228161708/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/article968777.ece ''The Globe and Mail'' (Canada), 30-1-09]. Accessed 2010-09-15
* [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/authorinterviews/7894385/PD-James-interview-I-have-lived-a-very-happy-and-fulfilled-life.html ''The Daily Telegraph'' newspaper (U.K.), 21-7-10]. Accessed 2010-09-15
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080906181945/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/pd-james-heroine-with-a-taste-for-life-911842.html ''The Independent'' newspaper (U.K.), 29-9-08]. Accessed 2010-09-15
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110522044647/http://spectator.org/archives/2010/01/04/death-by-interview/print ''The American Spectator'' magazine (U.S.), 4-1-10]. Accessed 2010-09-15
* [https://soundcloud.com/faberbooks/p-d-james-death-comes-to Extended audio discussion on Death Comes to Pemberley for the Faber website. Recorded October 2011.]
* [http://vimeo.com/31252065 Video interview discussing Death Comes to Pemberley. Filmed October 2011.]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* Gidez, Richard B. ''P. D. James''. Twayne's English Authors Series. New York: Twayne, 1986.
* Hubly, Erlene. "Adam Dalgliesh: Byronic Hero." ''Clues: A Journal of Detection'' 3: 40–46.
* [[S. T. Joshi|Joshi, S. T.]] "P. D. James: The Empress's New Clothes." In ''Varieties of Crime Fiction'' (Wildside Press, 2019) {{ISBN|978-1-4794-4546-2}}.
* Knight, Stephen. "The Golden Age". In ''The Cambridge Companion to Crime Fiction'' ed. by Martin Priestman, pp 77–94. (Cambridge University Press, 2003).
* Kotker, Joan G. "PD James's Adam Dalgliesh Series." in ''In the Beginning: First Novels in Mystery Series'' (1995): 139+
* Sharkey, Jo Ann. ''Theology in suspense: how the detective fiction of PD James provokes theological thought.'' (PhD Dissertation, University of St Andrews, 2011). [http://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/bitstream/10023/3156/6/JoAnnSharkeyMPhilThesis.pdf online; with long bibliography]
* Siebenheller, Norma. ''P. D. James''. (New York: Ungar, 1981).
* {{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Amanda |title=A suitable job for this woman |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_boston-phoenix_1982-11-09_11_45/page/3/mode/1up |access-date=October 1, 2024 |work=The Boston Phoenix |date=November 9, 1982}}
* Smyer, Richard L. "P.D. James: Crime and the Human Condition". ''Clues'' 3 (Spring/Summer 1982): 49–61.
* Wood, Ralph C. "A Case for P.D. James as a Christian Novelist". ''Theology Today'' 59.4 (January 2003): 583–595.
* Young, Laurel A. ''P. D. James: A Companion to the Mystery Fiction''. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2017. {{ISBN|978-0-7864-9791-1}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* [https://literature.britishcouncil.org/writer/p-d-james The British Council's Contemporary Writers]. Accessed 2016-08-03
* [http://www.faber.co.uk/author/p-d-james/ Faber and Faber (U.K.), publisher]. Accessed 2010-09-15
* [http://www.randomhouse.com/features/pdjames/ Random House (U.S.), publisher]. Accessed 2010-09-15
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100427082807/http://www.penguin.co.uk/nf/Author/AuthorPage/0,,1000016100,00.html Penguin Books (U.K.), publisher]. Accessed 2010-09-15
* {{IMDb name|nm0416807|P. D. James}}
* {{NPG name}}
* [https://rsliterature.org/fellow/p-d-james-baroness-james-of-holland-park-obe-jp-3/ "P.D. James (Baroness James of Holland Park OBE JP)"], Fellows Remembered, The Royal Society of Literature.

{{P. D. James}}
{{USC Scripter Awards — Film}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:James, P. D.}}
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