{"id":2113,"date":"2013-06-07T07:04:00","date_gmt":"2013-06-07T11:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/?p=2113"},"modified":"2013-06-04T01:25:46","modified_gmt":"2013-06-04T05:25:46","slug":"pd-james","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/pd-james\/","title":{"rendered":"The Mysteries of PD James"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>PD James, , or Phyllis Dorothy James White,\u00a0is brilliant at writing complex mysteries that read more like novels than straight who-done-it.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/PDJames.gif\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"2114\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/pd-james\/pdjames\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/PDJames.gif?fit=65%2C100&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"65,100\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-title=\"PDJames\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/PDJames.gif?fit=65%2C100&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-2114\" alt=\"James book\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/PDJames.gif?resize=65%2C100\" width=\"65\" height=\"100\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/PDJames.gif?w=65&amp;ssl=1 65w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/PDJames.gif?resize=62%2C96&amp;ssl=1 62w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 65px) 100vw, 65px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>More than that, though, she\u2019s an honest woman who has a strong sense of fair play. Yet she still has no compunction in using only part of her own name to deceive sexist people.<\/p>\n<p>I love that her official website at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.randomhouse.com\/features\/pdjames\/\">http:\/\/www.randomhouse.com\/features\/pdjames\/<\/a> includes hints for writing. The wonderful woman not only assumes we\u2019ll all try to copy her eventually, but she seems to believe we can.<\/p>\n<p>Her British sensibility seems to shine in every point she makes, especially the paragraph in which she describes her working habits:<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I get up early, make tea and settle down to about two hours writing. I have no special room, require only a comfortable chair, table or desk at the right height, and sufficient space for my dictionary and research material. I do, however, need to be completely alone. When my secretary arrives I dictate to her what I have written. She puts it on the computer and prints it out for editing and correcting.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Her best character by far is Commander Adam Dalgliesh, a police officer poet who seems to fall in love with everyone around him. I don\u2019t like any of her other mysteries.<\/p>\n<p>Her books include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;\">The Private Patient, November 2009\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;\">The Lighthouse, October 2006<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;\">The Children Of Men, May 2006 \u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;\">A Taste For Death, November 2005\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;\">The Murder Room, November 2004\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;\">Devices And Desires, May 2004<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;\">Death In Holy Orders, April 2001\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;\">Original Sin, January 1995<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;\">Skull Beneath the Skin, 1982<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;\">Innocent Blood, 1980<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;\">Death of an Expert Witness, 1977<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;\">The Black Tower, 1975<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;\">An Unsuitable Job for a Woman, 1972<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;\">Maul and the Pear Tree, (co-author) 1971<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;\">Shroud for a Nightingale, 1971<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;\">Unnatural Causes, 1967<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;\">A Mind to Murder, 1963<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;\">Cover Her Face, 1962<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>PD James, , or Phyllis Dorothy James White,\u00a0is brilliant at writing complex mysteries that read more like novels than straight who-done-it. More than that, though, she\u2019s an honest woman who has a strong sense of fair play. Yet she still has no compunction in using only part of her own name to deceive sexist people. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_wp_convertkit_post_meta":{"form":"-1","landing_page":"0","tag":"0","restrict_content":"0"},"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[71],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-great-mysteries","post-wrapper","thrv_wrapper"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2buQs-y5","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":423,"url":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/the-felse-family-mystery-series-by-ellis-peters\/","url_meta":{"origin":2113,"position":0},"title":"The Felse Family Mystery Series by Ellis Peters","author":"Tracey Arial","date":"May 15, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"And supposing there\u2019s nothing whatever official or approved about this murder?\u2019 demanded Dominic. \u201cSupposing it\u2019s a completely private act, and the police are just as interested in catching the criminal as you are. You think it\u2019ll make no difference to their chances, our keeping back nine-tenths of the facts?\u201d This\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Great Mysteries&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Great Mysteries","link":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/category\/writing\/great-mysteries\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Book Cover","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/DominicFelse-630x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":516,"url":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/joanne-flukes-hannah-swensen-series-an-easy-reading-way-to-tie-food-and-mystery-passions-together\/","url_meta":{"origin":2113,"position":1},"title":"Joanne Fluke\u2019s Hannah Swensen Series an Easy-Reading Way to Tie Food and Mystery Passions Together","author":"Tracey Arial","date":"May 29, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Hannah walked closer, peered inside, and made a face. It was one of the lemon pies she\u2019d baked on Friday. Only one piece had been eaten and the rest was crawling with an endless line of small black ants that were industriously carting away the sweet pastry. \u2018You\u2019re right, Mother.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Great Mysteries&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Great Mysteries","link":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/category\/writing\/great-mysteries\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Joanne Fluke's 4th book","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Flukecover.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2171,"url":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/louisepennyinspectorgamache\/","url_meta":{"origin":2113,"position":2},"title":"Everyone loves Louise Penny\u2019s Inspector Gamache","author":"Tracey Arial","date":"June 14, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"It\u2019s been only eight years since Chief Inspector Armand Gamache was introduced to mystery fans, but he already feels like one of the family. Louise Penny\u2019s fictional super sleuth first appears on the first page of Louise Penny\u2019s Still Life. Seven books later, it\u2019s still the most concise version of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Great Mysteries&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Great Mysteries","link":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/category\/writing\/great-mysteries\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"LouisePennysmall","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/LouisePennysmall.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":18625,"url":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/detention-adventure-mystery\/","url_meta":{"origin":2113,"position":3},"title":"Funny Friday: Detention Adventure Mystery Trailer","author":"Tracey Arial","date":"March 9, 2018","format":"video","excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Humour&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Humour","link":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/category\/cultural-identity\/humour\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/FunnyFriday-e1546613652267.jpg?fit=200%2C200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":355,"url":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/the-lord-peter-wimsey-mystery-series-by-dorothy-leigh-sayers-fleming\/","url_meta":{"origin":2113,"position":4},"title":"The Lord Peter Wimsey Mystery Series, by Dorothy Leigh Sayers Fleming","author":"Tracey Arial","date":"May 4, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"My favourite mystery series of all time is the Lord Peter Wimsey stories by Dorothy Sayers. I also enjoy her short stories about the crafty salesman, Montague Egg. Despite the irritating class structure, a slightly misogynist air (chapter titles range from \u201cA use for spinsters,\u201d to \u201cLord Peter Turns a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Great Mysteries&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Great Mysteries","link":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/category\/writing\/great-mysteries\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Book cover","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Sayers-181x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2238,"url":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/home-renovation-mysteries\/","url_meta":{"origin":2113,"position":5},"title":"Home Renovation Tips Integral Part of Entertaining Mystery Series","author":"Tracey Arial","date":"June 21, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Life in a small Maine town, the life and death risks taken by people who work on the sea and the challenges of raising a teenager whose father used to abuse you,\u00a0are just some of the insights readers get by reading Sarah Graves\u2019 Home Repair is Homicide mystery series. More\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Great Mysteries&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Great Mysteries","link":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/category\/writing\/great-mysteries\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"HomeRepairMystery","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/SarahGravesMysteries.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2113"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2113\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2117,"href":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2113\/revisions\/2117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}