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And She Is

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Samuel Johnson famously said that 'at 77 it is time to be in earnest' and P.D. James is. She has not been a diarist but for this book she forced herself to become one. The book consists of a year's worth of diary with flashbacks and memories of the past. Structuring an autobiography is far more difficult and far more problematic than it may at first appear. Her solution here is certainly novel. Superficially, the book is an account of a year's events--speeches, book tours, lunches, and so on, but ultimately it explores the key events and key individuals of her life, with all the tears and joys attached. She evokes a vivid sense of the war and what it was like to bear and protect infants then; she speaks of her beloved husband's struggles with mental illness, the fact that she was forced to support the family and do so by wending her way through a government career after taking what Americans would think of as a continuing ed program at the City University in London. She is so literate, so polished, and so well educated that it is hard to believe that she lacks a formal college education. Her success as a writer came relatively 'easily', though that is always a relative term. It came early, but it did not come without great labor. Time to Be in Earnest includes wonderful reflections on the craft of writing and the specific culture of crime writing and interesting anecdotes about such household names as Ruth Rendell and Iris Murdoch. Phyllis James/Baroness James knows everyone and speaks of them honestly and in detail. She also tells us about her cat (named for Johnson's cat, Hodge), which I found more interesting than I expected. I loved her comments on modern culture--on travel, on cell phones, on education, on political correctness, political personages (including the Blairs) and such unexpected pleasures as an account of what it is like to spend the night at Chatsworth. In all of these matters she is scrupulously honest and scrupulously frank. The impact on her of Johnson and of the Jane Austen of the letters as well as the novels is clear. This is a delightful book and you do not need to be a fan of P.D. James's crime fiction (she would say detective fiction) to enjoy it. It is a very English book in every way, but it is also pure Horatio Alger--relatively poor woman hungry for butter during the war becomes Baroness James of Holland Park and doesn't change a great deal in the process. I had the great pleasure of meeting her once and talking to her for a few minutes. She is absolutely the genuine article--kind, direct, real with a capital R and authentic with a capital A. The book conveys that, without any arrogance and without any pretense. Read it and love her.

Ms. James is better at fiction.	Customer Rating:
I've enjoyed all of P. D. James' fiction works, but found the fragment of autobiography interesting, but a bit tedious. The book is interesting in that her life is filled with drama, trials, and turmoil; tedious in the multiple social and literary events that are recited. I can only surmise that the author herself really was not interested in keeping the diary and found it tiresome.

Disappointing

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As a long-time fan of PD James, I was eager to read her fragment of an autobiography. Upon finishing it, I regretted reading it. This esteemed author reveals a bit too much about her extremely right-wing politics, her puzzling infatuation with rank and privilege, and her obsessive nature. I didn't count the number of speeches and signings she did in her 78th year, but the number would be staggering. She seems unable to refuse any request to be honored and fawned over. Of course, her obsessive nature is useful in crime fiction, I suppose. And her prose remains the model of clarity. I still love her work and will go on reading it, but I will have to make an effort to separate my negative impression of the woman.

A Time To Be

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As a fan of P.D. James' mysteries, reading her 'fragment of autobiography' served as an interesting chance to get to know the woman behind the words. "A Time To Be In Earnest" is a diary written for one year of the author's life: since the original intent was publication, there is a formality to it and it does lack the spontaneity of emotions of other diaries. Yet that does not diminish what is written within its pages, for it is a glimpse into the everyday life of a woman, a writer, a grandmother, a public image, etc... as she reflects on the past, present, and what the future may bring. P.D. James did not begin writing her novels until she was in her thirties - she was already married with two daughters and worked as a public servant. Her diary begins with a note to the reader about the task ahead. The title is taken from a quote by Samuel Johnson that reads, "At seventy-seven it is time to be in earnest" and so during her seventy-seventh year, James keeps this diary as a way to ward off the would-be writers of biographies and to help her remember certain events and moments in the face of oncoming age. Sometimes her entries focus on her early life, giving readers a brief biographical sketch of home and school, while other entries are forays into James' thoughts on current affairs, past crimes, and what it is like to be an author in demand. Also during this year, readers follow the author as she promotes her newly published book ("A Certain Justice") and travels throughout the world, allowing readers to into her insights on the places she visits. There is no doubt that P.D. James has led an extraordinary life, having experienced love, loss, and the shattering and numbing consequences of war. Her diary is, at times, like sitting down with an old friend (who happens to be a favorite author) and discussing books, history and the affairs of the day. Readers are drawn into her life, just as they are drawn into the characters she creates in her fiction. (An included positive for Jane Austen fans, is a talk that James gave on "Emma" and how it is a detective story, with James laying out the clues that Austen left for readers to find.) James may fancy herself a grandmother who happens to write detective stories, but I for one am glad that she continues to write, well into her eighties.

One of the most unique autobiographies you'll ever read

Customer Rating:

This has to be one of the most unique autobiographies I've ever read. The premise is brilliant. P.D. James takes one year of her life, at age 77, and as we follow her from activity to relative to meeting to book event, she also takes the time to reflect on the larger picture of her life and the people she has known for most of her life, providing historical details as a stream of conscious memory. Some of her life just isn't that interesting, but trying to manage two children and a marriage to a man who spent most of his adult life in asylums, as well as being made a Peeress of the Realm, and all of the publication minutae are pretty interesting. It is always fun to read the story of a life richly lived by an accomplished person.