James, P.D. (1920–)

British mystery writer. Name variations: Phyllis Dorothy James; Phyllis Dorothy James White; Baroness James of Holland Park. Born Phyllis Dorothy James, Aug 3, 1920, in Oxford, England; dau. of Sidney Victor James (Inland Revenue officer) and Dorothy May (Hone) James; educated at Cambridge Girls' High School, 1931–37; m. Ernest Connor Bantry White, 1941 (died 1964); children: 2 daughters.

Known as the "Queen of Crime," began work for National Health Service (1949); entered the Home Office (1968) and served 1st as a principal in the Police Department and later in the Criminal Policy Department; also served as a magistrate in London; published 1st book, Cover Her Face (1962), which featured Inspector Adam Dalgliesh, her most popular character, who also appears in A Mind to Murder (1963), Unnatural Causes (1967), Shroud for a Nightingale (1971), The Black Tower (1975), Death of an Expert Witness (1977) and Devices and Desires (1989); other famous literary creations include private detective Cordelia Gray, featured in An Unsuitable Job for a Woman (1972) and The Skull Beneath the Skin (1982), and Kate Miskin, detective inspector, who appears in A Taste for Death (1986) and A Certain Justice (1997); had greatest success with 8th novel, Innocent Blood (1980); became a member of House of Lords (Baroness James of Holland Park). Awarded OBE (Officer, Order of the British Empire, 1983); elected a fellow of Royal Society of Arts and associate fellow of Downing College, Cambridge (1985).

See also Women in World History.