Happy 90th birthday to P.D. James!
Whenever I read a P.D. James mystery novel, at some point I always find myself thinking about James herself. I begin to wonder especially how many of James’ personal perspectives are expressed in her most famous character Adam Dalgliesh.
It’s not always an admiring curiosity I’m feeling because I find the poet-policeman himself (don’t shoot me, Dalgliesh lovers) somewhat prim and grayish in personality, even as the plots themselves – and especially the other characters — are particularly engaging.
Today, James is celebrating her 90th birthday. For the occasion, she sat for a video interview with the Guardian. And what a special treat it is for James fans to hear the Baroness herself talk about her life and her work (“PD James: ‘Some people find conventions liberating'” interviewed by Sarah Crown, Aug 3, 2010). Thank you, Guardian!
In the brief interview, the overlap between the author personally and her star creation Dalgliesh are discussed, along with other interesting questions. I especially applauded James’ comments about how women are treated (abused) in present day crime fiction.
Most important, of course, is there another Dalgliesh book on the way? James answers that too — sort of.
