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
confusing identity senses
Absolute nakedness was intrusive, confusing to the senses. Paradoxically, it both revealed and diminished identity.
dream writing style
Don't just plan to write - write. It is only by writing, not dreaming about it, that we develop our own style.
funny-friendship war forgiving
We English are good at forgiving our enemies; it releases us from the obligation of liking our friends.
writing world language
We who write in English are fortunate to have the richest and most versatile language in the world. Respect it.
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.
realization might peculiar
Unnatural death always provoked a peculiar unease, an uncomfortable realization that there were still some things that might not be susceptible to bureaucratic control.
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.
rejection infanticide
Authors always take rejection badly. They equate it with infanticide.
nothing-but-the-truth oath swear
you'd like the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. That must be the most futile oath anyone ever swears.
letters spontaneous individual
No literary form is more revealing, more spontaneous or more individual than a letter.
judgement may matter
It is always easy to question the judgement of others in matters of which we may be imperfectly informed.
love-always
Love, always love. Perhaps that’s what we’re all looking for.
raw-materials crafts increase
Increase your word power. Words are the raw material of our craft.
kindness may firsts
Human kindness is like a defective tap, the first gush may be impressive but the stream soon dries up.