And what about the writer herself, P.D. James? She had had her share of personal tragedies. Bright in studies, her entry into writing was delayed by an early marriage to a medical student and the outbreak of World War II. Always attracted to crime fiction, James often wondered if ‘Humpty Dumpty had a great fall or was he pushed from behind’. Since her government job did not give her much time, she worked in the mornings to produce her first novel, Cover Her Face. After the death of her husband in 1964, James passed the civil service exams, joined the home ministry and became an administrator in the Forensic Science and Criminal Law division. Finally, she had the time to acquire a fund of knowledge in crimes, investigation, medical details and legal procedures. Honing her skills to frame plots and, more importantly, create appealing characters, James produced about 19 best-selling novels, establishing in the process one of the 20th century’s most famous sleuths, Adam Dalgliesh, who rose from superintendent to the high rank of commander of Scotland Yard. James often hinted that Dalgliesh started from the bottom, as a beat constable. And like her fictional counterpart, she rose to become one of the ‘queens’ of crime fiction, along with greats like Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh and Dorothy L. Sayers.