James on Christie

From her new book, Talking About Detective Fiction, P.D. James is quoted in the New York Times* saying, of the overrated Agatha Christie:

Perhaps her greatest strength was that she never overstepped the limits of her talent.

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* Janet Maslin, "Mysteries of Crime Fiction? P. D. James Is on the Case", New York Times, 6 December 2009.

Posted on December 11, 2009 at 20.18 by jns · Permalink
In: All, Briefly Noted, Common-Place Book

One Response

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  1. Written by chris
    on Monday, 14 December 2009 at 21.46
    Permalink

    ah, the green-eyed monster. A series of very clever comments by Baroness James, in fact, rather self-consciously clever. While she herself is a best-selling author of mystery novels, her sales have never approached those of Dame Agatha.

    I'm reminded of Terry Pratchett making similar snide remarks about JK Rowling. While a successful author in the fantasy genre, Mr Pratchett's sales (and audience) are not a patch on those of Ms Rowling.

    I'm sure that Baroness James would deny being jealous of Dame Agatha, even as she looks down her nose at her. But when you trash one of your peers, one who is more successful than you, such suspicions are inevitable.

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