Her full name is Phyllis Dorothy James (born 3 August 1920). She is Baroness James of Holland Park, OBE, FRSA, FRSL. P. D. James is an English crime writer and life peer in the House of Lords. Her novels about Adam Dalgliesh, her iconic policeman and detective, has made her famous and loved all over the world. In 2008, she was inducted into the International Crime Writing Hall of Fame.
James worked in government service until her retirement in 1979. She is an Anglican and a Lay Patron of the Prayer Book Society. Many of her books take place in settings where her work experiences add depth to the plots and descriptions.
James began her writing career in the mid-1950s. Her first novel, Cover Her Face, featuring the investigator and poet Adam Dalgliesh of New Scotland Yard, was published in 1962.
In addition to the books about Adam Dalgliesh (see books), she has also written several other novels:
Cordelia Gray:
- An Unsuitable Job for a Woman (1972)
- The Skull Beneath the Skin (1982)
Other novels:
- The Maul and the Pear Tree: The Ratcliffe Highway Murders, 1811
(1971)
- The Children of Men
(1992)
- Time to Be in Earnest: A Fragment of Autobiography
(2000)
- Talking About Detective Fiction
(2009)
Honors
She has received a long list of honors. Some of them are:
- Officer of the Order of the British Empire, 1983
- Life peerage, Baroness James of Holland Park (of Southwold in the County of Suffolk), 1991
- Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
- Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts
- President of the Society of Authors 1997–
- Doctor of Letters honoris causa (University of Buckingham, 1992; University of Hertfordshire, 1994; University of Glasgow, 1995; University of Durham, 1998; University of Portsmouth, 1999)
- Doctor of Literature honoris causa, University of London, 1993
- Doctor of the University, Essex, 1996
- Associate Fellow of Downing College, Cambridge, 1986; Honorary Fellow, 2000
Prizes and awards
- 1971 Best Novel Award, Mystery Writers of America: Shroud for a Nightingale
- 1971 Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Macallan Silver Dagger for Fiction: Shroud for a Nightingale
- 1973 Best Novel Award, Mystery Writers of America: An Unsuitable Job for a Woman
- 1975 CWA Macallan Silver Dagger for Fiction: The Black Tower
- 1986 CWA Macallan Silver Dagger for Fiction: A Taste for Death
- 1986 Mystery Writers of America Best Novel Award: A Taste for Death
- 1987 CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger (lifetime achievement award)
- 1992 Deo Gloria Award: The Children of Men
- 1999 Grandmaster Award, Mystery Writers of America
- 2005 British Book Awards Crime Thriller of the Year (shortlist): The Murder Room
