ENGLISH 383: Women Mystery Writers

PD James on Mystery Writing



I. On the Writing of Mystery Novels

  1. "I've tried to use the well-worn conventions of the mysteryand subvert them, stretch them, use them to say something true about my characters, about men and women and the society in which they live. The mystery is an artificial form, but then all fiction is an artificial form. All fiction is the rearrangement of the author's compulsions, visions, ideas in what the writer hopes is a compelling and logical form. (From: The Salon Interview: P.D. James, The Art of Murder)

  2. "I guess there are psychological reasons for [writing mystery novels] which I don't entirely understand, but I love structure in the novel. It's not surprising that overwhelmingly my favorite novelist is Jane Austen -- structure is tremendously important to her. I love the idea of bringing order out of disorder, which is what the mystery is about. I like the way in which it affirms the sanctity of human life and exorcises irrational guilts. (From: The Salon Interview: P.D. James, The Art of Murder)

  3. "Yes, I suppose [her extensive planning of a book is] largely because of the kind of mystery that I write, which is complex, most often with lots of characters. And I change the viewpoint continuously, entering into each of their minds in different chapters, into all of their lives, and I find that I need to plot and plan in very great detail before I begin writing, with timetables, schedules, outlines of rooms and places. I do a great deal of preparation, but beyond that, I don't have any set routine, except that I like to write in the mornings (From: Marion Long, A Certain Writer: PD James, HomeArts Interview)

  4. "It's been one characteristic of the modern mystery -- think of the cozy mysteries between the wars, think of Agatha Christie -- that justice is always done. The murder might take place in this little village but the place never really loses its essential peace and innocence. The vicar may find the body on the study floor, but it doesn't really interfere with his Sunday sermon and then in the choir room Miss Marple discovers the culprit. Murder isn't like that. In real life, it's perfectly possible over and over again for the police to know perfectly well who did it but not to be able to bring anyone to court because they haven't got the evidence." (From: The Salon Interview: P.D. James, The Art of Murder)

II On Her Motivations for Writing Mystery Novels

  1. "The greatest mystery of all is the human heart, and that is the mystery with which all good novelists, I think, are concerned. I'm always interested in what makes people the sort of people they are. (From: Marion Long, A Certain Writer: PD James, HomeArts Interview)

  2. "it's really creating the solution, bringing order out of chaos, exploring character, and exploring the characters as they suffer the trauma of the criminal act, that really fascinates me, more than the violence itself. (From: Marion Long, A Certain Writer: PD James" HomeArts Interview)

  3. "But I do try to treat murder and death realistically. The moment when the body is found is always a moment of great horror in my books, particularly for the person who finds the body, and I try to describe it through the eyes of that person. I don't want to trivialize it. You know, that was one of the accusations against the detective story, that it trivialized suffering and death. I think that was greatly overstated, but, in any event, when I am dealing with the death of a human being I want to show the horror, and the grief, and the terrible effects on other people. One of the fascinations of the mystery for a novelist lies in describing people under the trauma of this unique and contaminating crime. Because when murder takes place, all the privacies are stripped away, both for the victim and for all the suspects. (From: Marion Long, A Certain Writer: PD James, HomeArts Interview)

III. On Adam Dalgleish

  1. Well, [Adam Dalgleish] wasn't based on any single male human being that I know. I suppose he is somewhat of an imagined ideal. I wanted him to be a good policeman; I didn't want him to be sentimentalized. I also wanted him to be a somewhat complex human being, so I made him a poet. I sometimes feel, when I'm describing him, that he would more likely have been a musician, really, but I didn't know enough about music, so I had to give him an art form that I knew something about. I was very flattered when the head of the murder squad at the Yard some years ago said "He's a good cop." So I feel that I've at least succeeded in that. I wanted him to be courageous without being foolish, compassionate without being sentimental. I wanted him to be highly intelligent. But I think he has a slight splinter of ice in the heart. I don't think I'd like to work for him, but I have a great admiration for him." (From: Marion Long, A Certain Writer: PD James, HomeArts Interview)

Critics on PD James