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Talking About Detective Fiction
by
P.D. James
In a perfect marriage of author and subject, P. D. James—one of the most widely admired writers of detective fiction at work today—gives us a personal, lively, illuminating exploration of the human appetite for mystery and mayhem, and of those writers who have satisfied it.
P. D. James examines the genre from top to bottom, beginning with the mysteries at the hearts of such
Paperback, 160 pages
Published
2010
by Faber and Faber Ltd.
(first published 2009)
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Grand dame of mystery P.D. James offers a concise look at the genre which has captivated readers worldwide from the Victorians onwards. As an advocate and a practitioner of the art, James relates the history of the detective novel (as opposed to the thriller, cop drama, or noir) where the emphasis is on a rational solution to disorder and chaos; describes the allure of detective fiction; introduces its stars, both writers and characters; and considers the psychology and ethics concerned. This is...more
In a perfect marriage of author and subject, P. D. James—one of the most widely admired writers of detective fiction at work today—gives us a personal, lively, illuminating exploration of the human appetite for mystery and mayhem, and of those writers who have satisfied it.P. D. James examines the genre from top to bottom, beginning with the mysteries at the hearts of such novels as Charles Dickens's Bleak House and Wilkie Collins's The Woman in White, and bringing us into the present with such
...more
I'll confess, I read this book because I wanted to see what one of my favorite authors had to say about my other favorite authors. However, this book is not just insight on Agatha, Marjorie and Dorothy; P.D. James actually discusses the processes she used (and continues to use) to create her wonderful mysteries. Yes, she talks about Sherlock, Father Brown, Lord Peter, Albert Campion, Miss Marple, Morse and Hercule Poirot, but she also discusses the origins of detective fiction, the "hard boiled"...more
James, P. D. TALKING ABOUT DETECTIVE FICTION. (2009). ****.
Who would know more about detective fiction than this world-class author? It was a treat to read her views and analyses of the genre although she did stick pretty much to the English variety. Of Americans mentioned, there were Chandler, Hammett, and Paretsky. She also mentions in passing several other non-Brits, but does not delve into their works. She starts off with Wilke Collins, then goes on to Conan Doyle, then jumps into what is k...more
Who would know more about detective fiction than this world-class author? It was a treat to read her views and analyses of the genre although she did stick pretty much to the English variety. Of Americans mentioned, there were Chandler, Hammett, and Paretsky. She also mentions in passing several other non-Brits, but does not delve into their works. She starts off with Wilke Collins, then goes on to Conan Doyle, then jumps into what is k...more
I love PD James' very wordy detective stories. I can wallow in them as well-written novels with a mystery plot, or race through them as a regular mystery. She is a favourite and I only wish there were more of her novels about.
This book of James' thoughts about detective fiction is also very well written. I never felt the urge to put it down, but neither did I feel that I was getting much other than an afternoon's enjoyment out of it. I suppose it is difficult for most writers to explain how they...more
This book of James' thoughts about detective fiction is also very well written. I never felt the urge to put it down, but neither did I feel that I was getting much other than an afternoon's enjoyment out of it. I suppose it is difficult for most writers to explain how they...more
This short discussion of the mystery genre will interest any fan, but particularly those of the classic English mystery. (Newcomers be warned, there are plenty of spoilers.) The writing style is a bit on the fussy and formal side, with a fair bit of filler (so-and-so is great, will always be remembered, yadda yadda yadda), but with some dry wit that made me laugh aloud several times. Each chapter also opens with an entertaining cartoon.
My main problem with the book was that in every area in whic...more
My main problem with the book was that in every area in whic...more
My review
When you are looking for a new read, do you often find yourself heading towards the mystery section? Are you interested in history? "Talking about Detective Fiction" by P.D. James (who wrote the Adam Dalgliesh mysteries) covers the highlights of the history of the English detective novel, from its beginnings in the 1700s and 1800s to recent mystery fiction, including the Inspector Morse novels. James analyses the novels in light of the social history that influenced the time in which th...more
When you are looking for a new read, do you often find yourself heading towards the mystery section? Are you interested in history? "Talking about Detective Fiction" by P.D. James (who wrote the Adam Dalgliesh mysteries) covers the highlights of the history of the English detective novel, from its beginnings in the 1700s and 1800s to recent mystery fiction, including the Inspector Morse novels. James analyses the novels in light of the social history that influenced the time in which th...more
Borrowed overview from publisher notes:
In this book P.D. James "reviews everything "detective-fiction" from Charles Dickens’s Bleak House and Wilkie Collins’s The Woman in White,...to the present with such writers as Colin Dexter and Henning Mankell. Along the way she writes about Arthur Conan Doyle, Dorothy L. Sayers, Agatha Christie (“arch-breaker of rules”), Josephine Tey, Dashiell Hammett, and Peter Lovesey, among many others... She clarifies their individual styles, compares British and Ame...more
In this book P.D. James "reviews everything "detective-fiction" from Charles Dickens’s Bleak House and Wilkie Collins’s The Woman in White,...to the present with such writers as Colin Dexter and Henning Mankell. Along the way she writes about Arthur Conan Doyle, Dorothy L. Sayers, Agatha Christie (“arch-breaker of rules”), Josephine Tey, Dashiell Hammett, and Peter Lovesey, among many others... She clarifies their individual styles, compares British and Ame...more
Feb 08, 2010
Bookmarks Magazine
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
mar-apr-2010
In Talking About Detective Fiction, P. D. James writes with good-natured authority (and a large dose of humility, given her status in those circles) about the writers who have shaped the detective novel in all its variations. Informative, readable, and a suitable paean to the genre, the book is a good starting point for any detective reader's wish list. Think of it as a mash-up of a breezy academic treatise and Nancy Pearl's invaluable Book Lust. Geared toward both casual fans and aficionados, J...more
P.D. James give a concise history of the detective genre, and you can tell she knows her stuff, from Wilkie Collin's "The Moonstone" to contemporary crime fiction characters such as Ian Rankin's Rebus. While others have written histories of mysteries, with James we get her viewpoint -- and she's certainly not shy about expressing her own opinions. Of Agatha Christie, she writes that "perhaps her greatest strength was that she never overstepped the limits of her talent" -- but she's also generous...more
I usually object to the term 'nice' being applied to a book but in this instance I will make an exception. This was a nice and accurate study of the history of the British detective novel written by somebody who is not only highly thought of in the field of detective fiction but most importantly a real fan of the genre.
I have never read a single novel from the pen of P.D. James (Cover Her Face is on the horizon now) but I can see why she is so popular in the detective story market, her passion f...more
I have never read a single novel from the pen of P.D. James (Cover Her Face is on the horizon now) but I can see why she is so popular in the detective story market, her passion f...more
Starts out strong but peters out. Still, a good read for those hooked on detective fiction. Cartoons that start each chapter are great.
Best Bits and Tidbits:
-- Detective fiction writers with successful careers in other fields: G.D.H. Cole (1889-1959) and his wife, Margaret, were both economists
-- On Agatha Christie: "Above all she is a literary conjuror who places her pasteboard characters face downwards and shuffles them with practiced cunning. Game after game we are confident that this time w...more
Best Bits and Tidbits:
-- Detective fiction writers with successful careers in other fields: G.D.H. Cole (1889-1959) and his wife, Margaret, were both economists
-- On Agatha Christie: "Above all she is a literary conjuror who places her pasteboard characters face downwards and shuffles them with practiced cunning. Game after game we are confident that this time w...more
P.D. James' Talking About Detective Fiction is, as I anticipated, something of a history of detective fiction, but a very personal one, focusing mostly on British books and highlighting those authors and books that James' regards as particularly influential and those that she has most enjoyed. It makes for interesting reading for crime fiction fans generally but, of course, especially for fans of James' own work for the insight that it offers into her writing process and into the books that shap...more
I started reading P. D. James a few years ago after I watched a television show on Agatha Christie. While I enjoyed the old Tommy and Tuppence series, I never could get into the books. James give me a reason why, and so I picked up one of her books and liked it.
This book is not a mystery but is about mysteries. It is well written; in fact, it is warmly written. James traces the development of the genre in a quick but asute way. She covers Wilkie Collins, Arthur Conon-Doyle, Nagio Marsh, Christie...more
This book is not a mystery but is about mysteries. It is well written; in fact, it is warmly written. James traces the development of the genre in a quick but asute way. She covers Wilkie Collins, Arthur Conon-Doyle, Nagio Marsh, Christie...more
Even though I dressed up as Miss Marple one Halloween, (Tom found it mildly disturbing that the change wasn't that great.) and I spend a fair amount of time watching MM and Poirot on public TV, I haven't been much of a mystery fan. This book may have changed that. PD James offers a wonderfully accessible overview and history of the detective mystery genre from the Golden Age (late 19th Century to mid-20th) to the present. She introduced me to a whole new set of writers, giving me a sense of thei...more
A few days back I was looking for some light, breezy reading and when I looked at my bookshelves, ‘Talking about Detective Fiction’ by P.D.James leapt at me. So I took the book down from the shelf and read it. It was a fast read, and I finished reading it yesterday. Here is what I think.
What I think
In ‘Talking about Detective Fiction’ P.D.James gives an overview of British detective fiction in the past one hundred and fifty years. The key operative word here is ‘British’. She begins with how it...more
What I think
In ‘Talking about Detective Fiction’ P.D.James gives an overview of British detective fiction in the past one hundred and fifty years. The key operative word here is ‘British’. She begins with how it...more
1 like · like · see review
The one thing we all sustain and let grow in literature and movies is the the suffering of others. This explains why crime fiction is a raging genre at any point in time. I am no exclusion to this occurrence and relish a good thriller whether it be in on the pages or on the screen. Once, a good many years ago I tried my hand at P.D. James's work Death in the holy orders and I could not get beyond a few pages. Maybe it was the serial hero or something I could not fathom, I shelved the book.
The...more
The...more
One of the problems with reading a book like this is that now I have a whole list of great crime fiction novels going back to the Golden Age on my to-read list. Damn Baroness James, damn her!
Otherwise, this is a lively little volume that examines the author's genre in a literate and often gently acerbic style. Of 221B Baker Street, she writes, "We also learn that the sitting room was Sherlock Holmes's office and the place where he received his visitors, which meant that Watson had to be banished...more
Otherwise, this is a lively little volume that examines the author's genre in a literate and often gently acerbic style. Of 221B Baker Street, she writes, "We also learn that the sitting room was Sherlock Holmes's office and the place where he received his visitors, which meant that Watson had to be banished...more
I enjoyed reading this little book as it was as if I were reading about friends - the authors of mystery books I've enjoyed reading since the early 80s. I'd read mysteries before then, but not in any sort of organized or directed fashion. Then, in one of the local newspaper's Sunday magazine, I found an article about the 100 best detective fiction, and the hunt was on. I was a young mother with very little income at the time, and the library had always been my friend. It was this article that in...more
I love P.D. James' novels and so I read this anticipating some real insights into writing detective fiction. I was very disappointed by it, but then I realised that I was probably expecting more than the writer set out to deliver. It is just 'talking about' the subject - nothing more profound. What disappointed me most was that the chapters were simply a pass through the history of the detective novel - she concentrates on the 'classic' books and talks about Agatha Christie, Sherlock Holmes, Dor...more
This book makes a valuable, if somewhat incomplete, survey of the mystery genre. I think it's most suited to readers like me, who enjoy a good detective story, but don't have a particularly good sense of the genre's history and scope, and could use a little help finding more stories that they will enjoy. It's particularly ideal for readers who enjoy British mysteries, and particularly those of the "Golden Age" of detective fiction (roughly the period between the two world wars). James devotes a...more
This is a short book discussing detective fiction as a genre by P. D. James, a contemporary master of crime fiction, and author of novels featuring the New Scotland Yard detective Adam Dalgliesh.
This book focuses mostly on British crime fiction, the only American authors discussed in depth being Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler. James briefly traces the history of detective fiction, but has an in-depth discussion of crime writing during the Golden Age of detective fiction, the years betwee...more
This book focuses mostly on British crime fiction, the only American authors discussed in depth being Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler. James briefly traces the history of detective fiction, but has an in-depth discussion of crime writing during the Golden Age of detective fiction, the years betwee...more
Talking about Detective Fiction was written as a charitable contribution to the Bodleian Library at Oxford University by P D James, so that should be warning that it contains nothing abrasively controversial. It sounds like one-half of a fireside chat about detective fiction, Golden Age murder mysteries in particular; a review of the genre, not a textbook with footnotes.
The book clearly targets mystery storywriters and readers. It contains, for example, a chapter called “Critics and Aficionados...more
The book clearly targets mystery storywriters and readers. It contains, for example, a chapter called “Critics and Aficionados...more
Feb 01, 2013
Jennifer
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
non-fiction,
library-loan
I am glad for PD James that she got this ticked off her To Do list and freed herself from a sense of obligation you somehow feel that someone of her age and history should not have to suffer. But I can't say I truly enjoyed the experience of reading it and that I am not rather disappointed by it. The book was written to raise funds for the Bodleian library and it is a slim volume by a deservedly well-respected crime writer and paid up member of the Great and the Good of Great Britain.
I somehow f...more
I somehow f...more
3.5 stars.
I was somewhat disappointed that James focused almost exclusively on British authors, but I really enjoyed the book overall. While I had heard and read several of the authors she talks about, I plan to pick up books by several new-to-me authors she mentions.
I particularly liked the line near the end of ch 7 that may explain the appeal of mysteries:
"...there can be no doubt that the detective story produces a reassuring relief form the tensions and responsibilities of daily life....And...more
I was somewhat disappointed that James focused almost exclusively on British authors, but I really enjoyed the book overall. While I had heard and read several of the authors she talks about, I plan to pick up books by several new-to-me authors she mentions.
I particularly liked the line near the end of ch 7 that may explain the appeal of mysteries:
"...there can be no doubt that the detective story produces a reassuring relief form the tensions and responsibilities of daily life....And...more
The focus is mostly on English writers. But that’s okay. Who is better qualified to comment on the subject?
P. D. James displays her astute judgment and sense of humor in this all-too-short assessment of the genre. She discusses the subject from its very beginnings, on to the classic era, from there to the present and, finally, the future.
Some readers may be surprised to find she isn’t overly fond of Agatha Christie and laments Christie having eclipsed some of her contemporaries James considers b...more
P. D. James displays her astute judgment and sense of humor in this all-too-short assessment of the genre. She discusses the subject from its very beginnings, on to the classic era, from there to the present and, finally, the future.
Some readers may be surprised to find she isn’t overly fond of Agatha Christie and laments Christie having eclipsed some of her contemporaries James considers b...more
If you are interested in learning about detective fiction this is a good place to start. You may have to go no further. P. D. James, whose novels I have enjoyed reading, has written an informative, if not comprehensive, short book about detective fiction. Starting with references to the earliest examples of the genre in books like Charles Dicken's Bleak House, she discusses writers and their works including Conan Doyle, Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie, Dashiell Hammett and others. She discusses...more
Jan 10, 2010
Jim Coughenour
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
no one, not even her fans
Shelves:
literary-criticism
I'm sorry to say that this book is as dull as its title. I've read almost everything James has written – most recently The Private Patient, with the usual Jamesian cast of cultured hyper-constipated characters. This book is a rather dutiful, altogether unnecessary survey of (almost exclusively British) detective fiction. It's Wikipedia with a cream tea.
What I really wanted, I realized, was her take on her contemporaries – Gossiping About Detective Fiction. Surely she's possessed of juicy insight...more
What I really wanted, I realized, was her take on her contemporaries – Gossiping About Detective Fiction. Surely she's possessed of juicy insight...more
2 likes · like · see review
A love letter to the genre that she enjoyed her entire life, Talking About Detective Fiction celebrates the mystery novel, all of its conventions, and more than a few of its great writers.
I never understood the addiction that some can have to this genre before, but James points out that mysteries explicitly affirm that there is a sense reason to the world. Without clear causality, there is no mystery novel.
Which is probably why I rarely read them. James' allusions to a tragic autobiography piqu...more
I never understood the addiction that some can have to this genre before, but James points out that mysteries explicitly affirm that there is a sense reason to the world. Without clear causality, there is no mystery novel.
Which is probably why I rarely read them. James' allusions to a tragic autobiography piqu...more
This is a remarkable little book, about the development of the English detective story, and its descendant genres, like the police procedural. It’s a grandmistress of her craft laying out her basic tools, and describing the uses to which each one has been put by her predecessors. It’s a brilliant contrasting and examination of the works of Christie and Sayers.
Highly recommended to librarians attempting to develop their readers’ advisory skills in this subgenre. Also of interest to devotees seeki...more
Highly recommended to librarians attempting to develop their readers’ advisory skills in this subgenre. Also of interest to devotees seeki...more
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P. D. James is the author of twenty books, most of which have been filmed and broadcast on television in the United States and other countries. She spent thirty years in various departments of the British Civil Service, including the Police and Criminal Law Department of Great Britain's Home Office. She has served as a magistrate and as a governor of the BBC. In 2000 she...more
More about P.D. James...
P. D. James is the author of twenty books, most of which have been filmed and broadcast on television in the United States and other countries. She spent thirty years in various departments of the British Civil Service, including the Police and Criminal Law Department of Great Britain's Home Office. She has served as a magistrate and as a governor of the BBC. In 2000 she...more
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