At a glance:
- Author: P. D. James
- First Published: 1997
- Type of Work: Novel
- Time of Work: 1996
- Setting: England
- Characters: Venetia Aldridge, Octavia Cummins, Garry Ashe, Commander Adam Dalgliesh, Kate Miskin, Mark Rawlstone, Hubert St. John Langton, Drysdale Laud, Desmond Ulrick, Simon Costello, Henry (Harry) Naughton, Janet Carpenter
- Genres: Long fiction, Mystery and detective literature
- Subjects: Justice, Mothers, Parents and children, Murder or homicide, Alienation, Pregnancy, Detectives, Lawyers, Abortion, Great Britain, Aging
- Locales: England
The novels of P. D. James are always as much concerned with the mysteries of human existence as with the mysteries that her detectives are called upon to solve. In Original Sin (1996), for example, Commander Adam Dalgliesh of Scotland Yard, who is the protagonist in most of James’s books, finds that dark deeds are rooted in the fact that all human beings are fallen creatures. In A Certain Justice, James again points out how the imperfections of the most respectable people can make their undoing almost inevitable. People who believe that they are highly principled can...
(The entire page is 2032 words.)
Want to read the whole thing?
Subscribe now to read the rest of this article. Plus, get access to:
- 30,000+ literature study guides
- Critical essays on more than 30,000 works of literature from Salem on Literature (exclusive to eNotes)
- An unparalleled literary criticism section. 40,000 full-length or excerpted essays.
- Content from leading academic publishers, all easily citable with our "Cite this page" button.
- 100% satisfaction guarantee READ MORE
