Writing
P. D. James
Born August 3, 1920 · Oxford, Oxfordshire, England UK
Died November 27, 2014 · aged 94
Phyllis Dorothy James, Baroness James of Holland Park, OBE, FRSA, FRSL (August 3, 1920 – November 27, 2014), known professionally as P. D. James, was an English novelist and life peer. Her rise to fame came with her series of detective novels featuring the police commander and poet, Adam Dalgliesh. James was born in Oxford, the daughter of Sidney Victor James, a tax inspector, and his wife, Dorot…
Known For
Children of Men · 2006Children of Men
★ 7.62006
MovieScience FictionThriller
In 2027, in a chaotic world in which humans can no longer procreate, a former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea, where her child's birth may help scientists save the future of humankind.
The Murder Room · 2004The Murder Room
★ 6.52004
MovieCrimeDrama
London's Dupayne Museum is in danger of closing since one of the trustees feels that the money expended on preserving the past could be better spent addressing the problems of living people. One of the museum's collections concerns murders committed between the world wars. When a killing that reflects one of the cases on display occurs, history seems to be repeating itself.
A Mind to Murder · 1995A Mind to Murder
★ 6.31995
MovieMysteryCrime
Scotland Yard Commander Adam Dalgliesh has been on leave following the death on duty of a member of his team, DS Sarah Hillier. His superiors order him back to work to investigate the murder of the Director of the Steen Clinic, which specializes in psychiatric cases.
Presumption: The Life of Jane Austen · 1995Presumption: The Life of Jane Austen
★ 10.01995
MovieDocumentary
An Unsuitable Job for a Woman · 1982An Unsuitable Job for a Woman
★ 5.41982
MovieDramaMystery
After finding her boss, a private detective, has committed suicide and has left her his agency, Cordelia Gray is asked to investigate the suicide of the man's son. During the course of her investigation, Cordelia becomes obsessed with the young man's memory and his increasingly suspicious death.
Pride and Prejudice: From Page to Screen · 1995Pride and Prejudice: From Page to Screen
★ 10.01995
MovieDocumentary
A making of featurette about the translation of the classic Jane Austen-novel into a screenplay, filled with interviews with the director, the screenwriter, leading make up, costume and others.
Apostrophes · 1975Apostrophes
★ 8.51975
Series
Apostrophes was a live, weekly, literary, prime-time, talk show on French television created and hosted by Bernard Pivot. It ran for fifteen years (724 episodes) from January 10, 1975, to June 22, 1990, and was one of the most watched shows on French television (around 6 million regular viewers). It was broadcast on Friday nights on the channel France 2 (which was called "Antenne 2" from 1975 to 1992). The hourlong show was devoted to books, authors and literature. The format varied between one-on-one interviews with a single author and open discussions between four or five authors.
The South Bank Show · 1978The South Bank Show
★ 5.61978
SeriesDocumentary
The South Bank Show is a television arts magazine show produced by ITV between 1978 and 2010. A new series began on Sky Arts from 27 May 2012. Presented by Melvyn Bragg, the show aims to bring both high art and popular culture to a mass audience.
Movies
Children of Men · 2006Children of Men
★ 7.62006
MovieScience FictionThriller
In 2027, in a chaotic world in which humans can no longer procreate, a former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea, where her child's birth may help scientists save the future of humankind.
The Murder Room · 2004The Murder Room
★ 6.52004
MovieCrimeDrama
London's Dupayne Museum is in danger of closing since one of the trustees feels that the money expended on preserving the past could be better spent addressing the problems of living people. One of the museum's collections concerns murders committed between the world wars. When a killing that reflects one of the cases on display occurs, history seems to be repeating itself.
A Mind to Murder · 1995A Mind to Murder
★ 6.31995
MovieMysteryCrime
Scotland Yard Commander Adam Dalgliesh has been on leave following the death on duty of a member of his team, DS Sarah Hillier. His superiors order him back to work to investigate the murder of the Director of the Steen Clinic, which specializes in psychiatric cases.
Presumption: The Life of Jane Austen · 1995Presumption: The Life of Jane Austen
★ 10.01995
MovieDocumentary
An Unsuitable Job for a Woman · 1982An Unsuitable Job for a Woman
★ 5.41982
MovieDramaMystery
After finding her boss, a private detective, has committed suicide and has left her his agency, Cordelia Gray is asked to investigate the suicide of the man's son. During the course of her investigation, Cordelia becomes obsessed with the young man's memory and his increasingly suspicious death.
Pride and Prejudice: From Page to Screen · 1995Pride and Prejudice: From Page to Screen
★ 10.01995
MovieDocumentary
A making of featurette about the translation of the classic Jane Austen-novel into a screenplay, filled with interviews with the director, the screenwriter, leading make up, costume and others.
TV Shows
Apostrophes · 1975Apostrophes
★ 8.51975
Series
Apostrophes was a live, weekly, literary, prime-time, talk show on French television created and hosted by Bernard Pivot. It ran for fifteen years (724 episodes) from January 10, 1975, to June 22, 1990, and was one of the most watched shows on French television (around 6 million regular viewers). It was broadcast on Friday nights on the channel France 2 (which was called "Antenne 2" from 1975 to 1992). The hourlong show was devoted to books, authors and literature. The format varied between one-on-one interviews with a single author and open discussions between four or five authors.
The South Bank Show · 1978The South Bank Show
★ 5.61978
SeriesDocumentary
The South Bank Show is a television arts magazine show produced by ITV between 1978 and 2010. A new series began on Sky Arts from 27 May 2012. Presented by Melvyn Bragg, the show aims to bring both high art and popular culture to a mass audience.
Dalgliesh · 2021Dalgliesh
★ 6.82021
SeriesCrimeDrama
A recent widower and acclaimed poet, enigmatic Inspector Adam Dalgliesh employs his exceptional empathy and insight to plumb the darker depths of the human psyche while investigating complex crimes in 1970s England.
Prisoners of Gravity · 1989Prisoners of Gravity
★ 5.91989
SeriesDocumentary
Prisoners of Gravity was a Canadian public broadcasting television news magazine program that explored speculative fiction — science fiction, fantasy, horror, comic books — and its relation to various thematic and social issues. Produced by TVOntario, the show was the brainchild of former comic retail manager Mark Askwith and writer Daniel Richler, and was hosted by Rick Green. The series aired 139 episodes over 5 seasons from 1989 to 1994.
Dalgliesh · 1983Dalgliesh
★ 6.91983
SeriesCrimeDrama
Centred on the cases of P. D. James' gentleman detective Adam Dalgliesh. In addition to his career as a policeman, Dalgliesh is also a published poet and an intensely private man.
The Big Questions · 2007The Big Questions
★ 6.72007
Series
Nicky Campbell hosts a series of moral, ethical and religious debates.
Shroud for a Nightingale · 1984Shroud for a Nightingale
★ 6.41984
SeriesMystery
When a nursing student with a penchant for petty extortion is fatally poisoned during a routine procedure, Commander Dalgliesh and Inspector Massingham must find out
Death Comes to Pemberley · 2013Death Comes to Pemberley
★ 6.92013
SeriesDramaMystery
A British television drama based on P. D. James' novel of the same name, a murder mystery sequel to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Six years after the union of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, Lydia Wickham barges into Pemberley screaming that her husband has been murdered.
An Unsuitable Job for a Woman · 1997An Unsuitable Job for a Woman
★ 7.51997
SeriesDrama
Cordelia Gray inherits a struggling detective agency after her boss's suicide. Her assistant Edith Sparshott aids her as she navigates the dark underbelly of crime, uncovering clues in complex cases.
A Taste for Death · 1988A Taste for Death
★ 5.41988
SeriesMysteryDrama
Sir Paul Berowne - a prominent Government Minister - turns to his old friend Adam Dalgleish following a series of threatening letters delivered to his London home. The minister's wife is in an adulterous affair with a prominent surgeon and she makes no secret of it. Berowne's only daughter is involved in left-wing politics and rejects her conservative father. Adding to his woes, his own mother favoured her son who was killed in an IRA terrorist ambush over Paul. The informal investigation has barely began when Dalgliesh is faced with a series of bizarre deaths that turn the case into an urgent assignment.
—DumbeBlonde
Death of an Expert Witness · 1983Death of an Expert Witness
★ 6.51983
SeriesMysteryDrama
When Dr. Edwin Lorrimer, a forensic scientist working at a private laboratory is found killed, Detective Superintendent Adam Dalgliesh is sent to investigate. Dalgliesh had been in the area a few months previously investigating the murder of a young woman found in an abandoned car. There are several suspects: Lorrimer's subordinate, Clifford Bradley, who despises him; the new head of the laboratory, Maxim Howarth, who is jealous of his sister's relationship with him; a colleague, Paul Middlemass, who had a fight with Lorrimer. There is also a gruff and likely unethical policeman who was on the grounds of the laboratory at the time of the killing and a local pathologist who is raising his two young children after his wife leaves him for another man. When one of the suspects is also murdered, Dalgliesh learns a key piece of information.
A Very British Murder with Lucy Worsley · 2013A Very British Murder with Lucy Worsley
★ 8.02013
SeriesDocumentary
This documentary takes a look at some of the most horrible and despicable murders in modern British history. From Jack the Ripper in the 1880s to Agatha Christie's best known stories.
Original Sin · 1997Original Sin
★ 7.01997
SeriesDramaCrime
Commander Adam Dalgliesh is consulted by one of his literary heroes when Peverell Press staff fall victim to a rash of hate mail. When the body of an editor is discovered and another member of the venerable firm is found dead soon after, Dalgliesh and his team—Detective Inspectors Kate Miskin and Daniel Aron—turn to the past to track down a murderer who seems prepared to kill and kill again.
Devices and Desires · 1991Devices and Desires
★ 6.61991
SeriesMysteryDrama
A particularly vicious serial killer is stalking the Norfolk coast in the vicinity of the Larksoken nuclear power station. The press have branded him 'The Whistler' because witnesses have heard a hymn being whistled in the vicinity of the murders. His trademark is the letter 'L' carved on the forehead of his victims. L for Larksoken? At first, his victims seem to be chosen entirely at random - women in the wrong place at the wrong time - but then two women employed at the nuclear power station are murdered in quick succession...
The Black Tower · 1985The Black Tower
★ 7.21985
SeriesDrama
The Black Tower is a 1985 mystery television mini-series based on the book 'The Black Tower' by P.D. James.
The title role of Commander Adam Dalgliesh was played by Roy Marsden.
A Certain Justice · 1998A Certain Justice
★ 6.71998
SeriesMysteryDrama
Inspector Dalgliesh and his team investigate the murder of a top flight lawyer with an abrasive reputation and turbulent private life.
Cover Her Face · 1985Cover Her Face
★ 6.71985
SeriesCrimeMystery
Cover Her Face is the debut 1962 crime novel of P. D. James. It details the investigations into the death of a young, ambitious maid, surrounded by a family which has reasons to want her gone – or dead.