P. D. James, a very popular British novelist, just died a few days ago. Since I did a post stating that I prefer non-fiction books, I now must tell you that there are many writers of fiction that I admire and this is one of them!
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| image from Wikipedia ...first UK edition. |
This was her last novel and you might recognize the title. It was filmed as a TV movie and shown on Masterpiece Theatre just recently. The story is a continuation of Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" and you might guess that it involves a murder mystery!
"Cover Her Face" was the first novel published by P.D. James in 1962. (It was her first "Adam Dalgliesh novel...another TV series you should remember from Masterpiece Theatre!) When I read that title, I found that interesting since I knew that phrase from Agatha Christie's excellent story, "Sleeping Murder: Miss Marple's Last Case". The line is this:
"Cover her face, mine eyes dazzle. She died young.".
Interesting...it seems that Agatha Christie wrote her story first, in the 1940's but did not want it published until after her death. You may read more details about it just here.
Agatha Christie is also another one of the best fiction writers! I love her books and stories. Yes, I know I told you to read non-fiction books, and I still want you to...but you have my permission to read works of fiction, as long as you check with me to make sure that they are the crème de la crème of books, okay? (And I love it...the computer put that little accent over crème for me...ha!...it did it again!) And please, I HOPE you know I am teasing you about getting my permission to read any book, I am JUST KIDDING, I hope you all enjoy reading as much as I do...my eyes won't allow me to read as much as I would like!
"The Mystery of Agatha Christie" by Gwen Robyns is a biography of Agatha Christie that I read once and really enjoyed. I see that P. D. James has her autobiography under the title "Time To Be In Earnest". Both of these books are ones that I would like to read. Agatha Christie and P. D. James were both excellent writers and I highly recommend their books! And you can find them in the FICTION category!
Although, you might notice I still managed in get in a few plugs for a biography and an autobiography.
Thanks to all who left such sweet comments on my last post about Christopher's birthday! He was very pleased to read them and asked me to pass along his appreciation. Thank you all very much.
One of the novels by P. D. James is "The Lighthouse" and that is why I have chosen the photo above for you. It is the lighthouse at Beachy Head in Eastbourne, England. It is another Adam Dalgliesh mystery, and I want to read that one too!
I have never read any PD James for some reason, one day! I have read a lot of Agatha Christie though and love her books, they are good aren't they! xx
ReplyDeleteYes, I love Agatha Christie too! And they can make them into such great TV shows too, can't they? I love David Suchet as Poirot, don't you?
DeleteI like your choice of Authors. I've read many books by them too. I did watch the Masterpiece Theater presentation of Death at Pemberly and enjoyed it . Now I'll be looking for the book called the Lighthouse. Sounds good ! Thank you for the suggestion. I do a lot of reading and am always on the lookout for a good book.
ReplyDeleteI am not surprised that you like my choice of authors, you have such good taste! LOL!
DeleteGrandpa has read and collected every book and story by Christie, and he passed the collection to Bigger Girl! Maybe i'll give him some P. D. James for Christmas, as he loves mysteries and is always reading one (or more).
ReplyDeleteI am sure that he will love the books by P.D. James also! How lucky for Bigger Girl to get those Agatha Christie books, that would be something to cherish.
DeleteI was saddened when I heard that P.D. James died. I love mysteries so these two authors are a must-read for anyone who read this genre. I started reading Agatha Christie when I was a kid. I too would like to read P.D.'s autobiography, another genre that I read as a child.
ReplyDeleteI loved biographies as a child also! I think I read every one that they had in the library when I was 8 years old, still remember them too!
DeleteI'm sorry to hear this. I had only read Death Comes to Pemberley and thought she did a good job. I was glad Masterpiece Theater did the production.
ReplyDeleteYes, it was good, wasn't it? Apparently, P.D. James loved Jane Austen and re-read her books every year. I love that!
Delete"Death Come to Pemberley" is presently being shown on TV here...the first episode was shown only a couple of days before P. D. James' death.
ReplyDeleteIt's sad that is her last book but I am grateful that she left us so many.
DeleteI've enjoyed many TV plays and films by both writers but haven't read any of their books yet. Publishing 85 books in her lifetime though (A.C.) is an incredible achievement and so many of them are famous works. Ten little Indians (1965 film and 1945 version) are two of my favourites I always watch if they are repeated on television.
ReplyDeleteThat one I mentioned...A Sleeping Murder...that is one that has that quote that I gave you, it is very memorable and I think, very well written.
Delete"And Then There Was None" was the re-title for "Ten Little Indians". And I have read that many think that story was one of her best.
I happened to catch a short feature on the news about P.D. James the day (or the day after) she'd died. A remarkable woman, and excellent writer indeed!
ReplyDeleteRegarding Agatha Christie, I still have this book about her and her world, which I have reviewed here:
http://librarianwithsecrets.blogspot.de/2011/05/read-in-2011-12-world-of-agatha.html
Hey, I just read your review of the book about Agatha Christie and maybe it is just me but the book seems to be a bit ...well, disrespectful of Agatha Christie, but maybe that is just me!
DeleteI found it a very honest account, not disrespectful. Agatha Christie was an imperfect human being just like the rest of us, and the book tries to show her many different facets, and "her in her world", the way the world was then.
DeleteMaybe my review gave the wrong impression.
I would most likely read the book and enjoy it. Very often, I will notice that authors will look at someone from another time period and compare them to modern times and that does not seem fair to me. As you say, if she is written about in an honest, straightforward manner, then I know I would like the book. I am SO picky about my non-fiction! :-)
DeleteDespite being such an avid reader, I've never read anything from PD James. I'm going to have to look into this! But Agatha Christie...oh my... I've been reading her books since I was a teen. Love her stories! And my older daughter is a huge fan, too. It's wonderful to see the next generation enjoying books.
ReplyDeleteKay, I LOVE your header! It's beautiful. Look at all that colour!
Hello Martha!
DeleteIf you love Agatha Christie, I feel certain that you will also like P.D. James.
Let me know if you do, and it will really tickle me!
And my header photo was from September, from the seafront at Eastbourne, those flowers are called The Carpet Gardens and they have planted them there since at least the early 1900's....I have a postcard from that time, and the flower beds are the same plantings!
I taped "Death Comes to Pemberley" but I haven't watched it yet. Saving it for a treat when I need one! About 30 years ago I went on a major Agatha Christie kick and read about 20 gazillion of her mystery novels. A real binge! Poirot is still one of my fave detectives.
ReplyDeleteHi Kay! I've been reading your recent posts, because when I get behind, I want to make sure that I haven't missed one. They are always fresh and original. First belated birthday greetings to Christopher. I know he is one of the loves of your life! And thank Richard for the lovely photos of Stone Mountain ~ if he took them. I always get shivers when I see that beautiful monadnock rising up. I read all kinds of things, fiction and non-fiction. I went through a real Agatha Christie phase ~ also a Perry Mason phase, but I haven't read a good mystery in a bit. I should dive into one. I can stay up for hours at night reading. I missed that P. D. James had died. I miss a lot of things because I forget to check the news. Have a wonderful Sunday! Hugs!
ReplyDeleteI just put the book on hold for my Kindle from our library. Thank you very much for the recommendation. I've read all of Austen's book so this will be fun.
ReplyDeleteI've never read P.D. James' books so this will be interesting, but I do love Agatha Christie.
ReplyDelete