About The Author: Few writers have left so indelible an impression on crime fiction as P. D. (Phyllis Dorothy) James, an author whose elegant, bestselling novels have found an appreciative audience among readers and critics alike. Jamess intricately plotted books are filled with macabre events and shocking twists and turns, yet they are so beautifully written and morally About The Author: Few writers have left so indelible an impression on crime fiction as P. D. (Phyllis Dorothy) James, an author whose elegant, bestselling novels have found an appreciative audience among readers and critics alike. Jamess intricately plotted books are filled with macabre events and shocking twists and turns, yet they are so beautifully written and morally complex that they cannot be dismissed as mere murder mysteries...although, in Jamess view, theres nothing mere about mysteries! In Jamess native Britain (home of Wilkie Collins, Graham Greene, and the redoubtable Agatha Christie), the mystery is a time-honored form that has never been considered inferior. James explained her feelings in a 1998 interview with Salon.com: It isnt easy to make this division and say: Thats genre fiction and its useless, and this is the so-called straight novel and we take it seriously. Novels are either good novels or theyre not good novels, and that is the dividing line for me. Although... read more Name: P. D. James Also Known As: Phyllis Dorothy James White (full name) Current Home: London, England Date of Birth: August 3, 1920 Place of Birth: Oxford, England Education: Attended the Cambridge High School for Girls from 1931 to 1937 and later took evening classes in hospital administration Awards: Grand Master Award from Mystery Writers of America, 1999; Diamond Dagger from British Crime Writers Association, 1987 Biography Few writers have left so indelible an impression on crime fiction as P. D. (Phyllis Dorothy) James, an author whose elegant, bestselling novels have found an appreciative audience among readers and critics alike. Jamess intricately plotted books are filled with macabre events and shocking twists and turns, yet they are so beautifully written and morally complex that they cannot be dismissed as mere murder mysteries...although, in Jamess view, theres nothing mere about mysteries! In Jamess native Britain (home of Wil