P. D. James
P. D. James
Phyllis Dorothy James, Baroness James of Holland Park, OBE, FRSA, FRSL, known as P. D. James, was an English crime writer. She rose to fame for her series of detective novels starring police commander and poet Adam Dalgliesh...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionNovelist
Date of Birth3 August 1920
kindness may firsts
Human kindness is like a defective tap, the first gush may be impressive but the stream soon dries up.
judgement may matter
It is always easy to question the judgement of others in matters of which we may be imperfectly informed.
expectations essentials may
A picnic may well be a metaphor for life. The essentials for happiness are the right company, moderate if sanguine expectations and a reasonable standard of physical sustenance and comfort, the whole being bedeviled by the belief that there is always something better to be had if only one presses on.
prejudice letters may
A letter is paradoxically the most revealing and the most deceptive of confessional revelations. We all have our inconsistencies, prejudices, irrationalities which, although strongly felt at the time, may be transitory. A letter captures the mood of the moment. The transitory becomes immutably fixed, part of the evidence for the prosecution or the defence.
war men may
Wars may be fought by decent men, but they're not won by them.
fear perfect may
Perfect love may cast our fear, but fear is remarkably potent in casting out love.
may superficial genuine
Charm is always genuine; it may be superficial but it isn't false.
may moments superficial
Charm is often despised but I can never see why. No one has it who isn't capable of genuinely liking others, at least at the actual moment of meeting and speaking. Charm is always genuine; it may be superficial but it isn't false.
new-experiences people mind
Open your mind to new experiences, particularly to the study of other people. Nothing that happens to a writer – however happy, however tragic – is ever wasted.
writing world language
We who write in English are fortunate to have the richest and most versatile language in the world. Respect it.
alzheimers tragedy disease
The great tragedy of Alzheimer's disease, and the reason why we dread it, is that it leaves us with no defence, not even against those who love us.
writing bad-writing discrimination
Read widely and with discrimination. Bad writing is contagious.
years literature care
Great literature cannot grow from a neglected or impoverished soil. Only if we actually tend or care will it transpire that every hundred years or so we might get a Middlemarch.
healthy development surveillance
A regime which combines perpetual surveillance with total indulgence is hardly conducive to healthy development.