Time to Be in Earnest : A Fragment of Autobiography [Import] [Hardcover]

P. D. James (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Knopf Canada (2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 2702854397
• ISBN-13: 978-0676972771
• ASIN: 0676972772
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,006,714 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

P. D. James is the author of twenty previous 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 Departments of Great Britain's Home Office. She has served as a magistrate and as a governor of the BBC. In 2000 she celebrated her eightieth birthday and published her autobiography, Time to Be in Earnest. The recipient of many prizes and honors, she was created Baroness James of Holland Park in 1991 and was inducted into the International Crime Writing Hall of Fame in 2008. She lives in London and Oxford.

Photo credit Ulla Montan

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Refined Revelation, July 26, 2001

By 

Matthew Gladney (Champaign-Urbana, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Time to Be in Earnest : A Fragment of Autobiography (Hardcover)

It has taken me over a year to fully appreciate this "fragment of autobiography". There are no strict rules for autobiography writers to follow, except that they talk about the themselves. P.D. James, the acclaimed British mystery writer, does that in her own, 'Time To Be In Earnest', and the reading experience is one which leaves a definite impression.

At first read-through, the book leaves one with a slight sense of having been cheated. Most celebrity autobiographies written in today's age wallow in over-exposure. We get to know what goes on in their minds, their businesses, their homes, even their bedrooms. Even when the subject is dead, and a *biography* is written, the author attempts to portray the person as emotionally as possible. With 'Time To Be In Earnest', Ms. James does not make us suffer through any of that. Her life story is told in a charming "daily (sometimes) journal", which reflects on the news of the day, and then nicely segues into memories of her past.

We get to know much about P.D. James's childhood, her parents, siblings, home-life, etc. She is purposefully vague about her marriage, but she *does* provide sufficient information about it that we get the idea. That is what is so elegant about her book - it is informative, without being messy. What I found *most* fascinating were her views on the world of yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Some things I agreed with her on, some things I did not. But all of her 77 year-old ideas gave this particular 25 year-old much to think upon.

'Time To Be In Earnest' truly tracks the 77 years of not only a highly-successful British woman's life, but of the country itself, and of the world that has come, gone, and is here today. .

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Drink in the words, October 1, 2000

By 

Mary G. Longorio "Texasbookgirl" (Eagle Mountain, UT) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Time to Be in Earnest : A Fragment of Autobiography (Hardcover)

Time to Be in Earnest is a journal kept by mystery writer P.D. James beginning in 1997 and ending in late 1998. She does not confine herself just to events during these dates, instead recaling her life earlier. She writes of starting to write because she did not want to be a grandmother who said "I wanted to write a novel", the England she remembers after World War 1 and surviving World War ll. She recalls old friends, literary influences, historic events, infamous crimes of the British Isles. Also touched upon is the struggle of living with a husband with chrinic mental illness and the acceptance of being the support of her family. All this is conveyed in some of the most flowing and beautiful language I have ever read. The everyday is lifted up by the command of the English language and the observant eye of someone embracing life. A wonderful book, a joy to read.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Time to Be in Earnest, May 2, 2000

By 

Catherine Gray - See all my reviews

This review is from: Time to Be in Earnest : A Fragment of Autobiography (Hardcover)

As an avid fan of PD James's pyschological thrillers, I was looking forward to a good read from her "fragment of autobiography". Ms James wrote a memoir for one year - the year of her 77th birthday. It is both a daily diary and a reflection of the past - both personal and historic and has commentary on her writing and books. I found it mostly interesting, but at times very dry. Perhaps we are conditioned to expect too much in the way of personal anguish to be satisfied with bare bones, but I felt that was what we were mostly given. I would recommend it for Ms James'fans, but perhaps not more widely.