P D James dies, aged 94

As you may have heard, today it was announced that P D James, one of the greatest and most inspirational crime fiction writers around, has passed away aged 94.

She died peacefully this morning at her home in Oxford.

Tributes have been flooding in from authors and readers since the news broke.

Susan Hill tweeted, ‘one of the nicest as well as best writers. No one ever said a bad word about her’. Tony Parsons described her as ‘an absolute giant…An inspirational writer and human being’. Patricia Cornwell thanked James for her encouragement at the beginning of her own career, while Ian Rankin recalled how ‘every event I did with her was a joy. Sharp intellect, ready wit. She will be missed’.

James’s UK publisher, Faber and Faber, said: ‘This is a very sad day for us at Faber. It is difficult to express our profound sadness at losing P D James, one of the world’s great writers and a Faber author since her first publication in 1962. She was so very remarkable in every aspect of her life, an inspiration and great friend to us all. It is a privilege to publish her extraordinary books. Working with her was always the best of times, full of joy. We will miss her hugely.’

James sold millions of copies of her outstanding books, some of which in turn have been adapted into very successful TV shows and films. She is perhaps best known for her Adam Dalgliesh mysteries.

Still writing even at the age of 94, P D James has been and will remain a huge influence. It is impossible to image how the crime fiction genre would be today without her work.