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Author photo. Photo by Alixe Buckerfield de la Roche, courtesy of <a href="http://www.faber.co.uk/">Faber Books</a>

Photo by Alixe Buckerfield de la Roche, courtesy of Faber Books

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P. D. James, pseudonym of Phyllis Dorothy James White, was born on August 3, 1920 in Oxford, England. During World War II, she served as a Red Cross nurse. She worked in administration for 19 years with the National Health Service. After the death of her husband in 1964, she took a Civil Service examination and became an administrator in the forensic science and criminal law divisions of the Department of Home Affairs. She spent 30 years in British Civil Service. She became Baroness James of Holland Park in 1991. Her first novel, Cover Her Face, was published in 1962. She wrote approximately 20 books during her lifetime including the Adam Dalgliesh Mystery series, the Cordelia Gray Mystery series, and Death Comes to Pemberley. She became a full-time writer in 1979. Three titles in the Adam Dalgliesh Mystery series received the Silver Dagger award--Shroud for a Nightingale, The Black Tower, and A Taste for Death. In 2000, she published her autobiography, Time to Be in Earnest. Her dystopian novel, The Children of Men, was adapted into a movie in 2006. She received the Diamond Dagger award for lifetime achievement. She died on November 27, 2014 at the age of 94. (Bowker Author Biography) P. D. James served in the forensic & criminal justice departments of Great Britain's Home Office until her retirement in 1979. She was made a Life Peer in 1991. Her detective novels include "Cover Her Face", "An Unsuitable Job for a Woman", "Death of an Expert Witness", "A Taste for Death", "Original Sin", & "A Certain Justice", many of which have been adapted for television. Her autobiography, "Time to be in Earnest", was published in 2000. (Publisher Provided) — biography from The Children of Men… (more)
The Children of Men 5,536 copies, 202 reviews
Death Comes to Pemberley 4,724 copies, 316 reviews
The Lighthouse 3,686 copies, 70 reviews
Death in Holy Orders 3,549 copies, 51 reviews
The Murder Room 3,392 copies, 64 reviews
Cover Her Face 3,132 copies, 84 reviews
Devices and Desires 3,004 copies, 41 reviews
A Certain Justice 2,991 copies, 37 reviews
A Taste for Death 2,991 copies, 37 reviews
The Private Patient 2,922 copies, 93 reviews
Original Sin 2,832 copies, 37 reviews
An Unsuitable Job for a Woman 2,493 copies, 53 reviews
Death of an Expert Witness 2,313 copies, 42 reviews
A Mind to Murder 2,193 copies, 52 reviews
The Black Tower 2,136 copies, 42 reviews
Shroud for a Nightingale 2,099 copies, 41 reviews
Unnatural Causes 2,031 copies, 41 reviews
The Skull Beneath the Skin 2,011 copies, 32 reviews
Innocent Blood 1,796 copies, 36 reviews
Talking About Detective Fiction 681 copies, 48 reviews
Sleep No More: Six Murderous Tales 491 copies, 23 reviews
A Suitable Job for a Woman 45 copies, 1 review
The Part-Time Job 28 copies, 4 reviews
The Victim [Short story] 27 copies, 1 review
Sightlines 16 copies, 1 review
América 9 copies
3x Adam Dalgliesh 3 copies, 1 review
Murder 1986 2 copies
The locals 1 copy
Doctor Thorne (Introduction, some editions) 1,978 copies, 60 reviews
English Country House Murders (Contributor) 459 copies, 11 reviews
The Victorian Chaise-Longue (Preface, some editions) 430 copies, 23 reviews
The Beast Must Die (Introduction, some editions) 408 copies, 19 reviews
Children of Men [2006 film] (Original novel) 386 copies, 4 reviews
The Oxford Book of English Detective Stories (Contributor) 385 copies, 5 reviews
800 Years of Women’s Letters (Foreword) 202 copies, 1 review
The Case of the Abominable Snowman (Introduction, some editions) 194 copies, 3 reviews
Masterpieces of Mystery and Suspense (Contributor) 181 copies, 2 reviews
The Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women (Contributor) 158 copies, 3 reviews
Dorothy L. Sayers: A Biography (Foreword) 121 copies, 2 reviews
The Folio Book of Christmas Crime Stories (Contributor) 115 copies, 1 review
A New Omnibus of Crime (Contributor) 93 copies, 2 reviews
The Mammoth Book of Great Detective Stories (Contributor) 79 copies, 1 review
A Classic Christmas Crime (Contributor) 75 copies, 2 reviews
The Detection Collection (Contributor) 72 copies, 6 reviews
Verdict of 13 (Contributor) 69 copies, 1 review
Autumn: A Spiritual Biography of the Season (Contributor) 56 copies, 2 reviews
The Penguin Classic Crime Omnibus (Contributor) 53 copies
Death Comes to Pemberley [2013 TV mini-series] (Original book) 51 copies, 1 review
65 Great Murder Mysteries (Contributor) 39 copies
The Vintage Book of Classic Crime (Contributor) 33 copies
Great Law and Order Stories (Contributor) 29 copies
Slightly Foxed 26: A Nightmare on Wheels (Contributor) 26 copies, 1 review
Crime Writers (Contributor) 21 copies
Future Crimes (Contributor) 21 copies, 1 review
The Verdict of Us All (Contributor) 21 copies
A Feast of Stories (Contributor) 15 copies, 1 review
The Man Who ... (Contributor) 13 copies, 1 review
The Body and the Arts (Contributor) 9 copies
Damas del crimen (Contributor) 9 copies, 1 review
Dangerous Ladies (Contributor) 8 copies
Writing Mystery and Crime Fiction (Contributor) 8 copies, 1 review
Devices and Desires [1991 TV mini series] (Writer) 7 copies, 1 review
John Creasey's Crime Collection, 1981 (Contributor) 6 copies, 1 review
Original Sin [1997 TV mini series] (Screenwriter) 5 copies
Best Detective Stories 1980 (Contributor) 3 copies
Du sang sous le sapin 2 copies, 1 review

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