'Soon we shall get to the stage where a bestseller will be written by a computer with all the necessary ingredients of sex and violence fed into the machine. The publisher will then find a young man or woman with a fashionable face, appropriate body measurements, and a sensational emotional and sexual life, and place his or her name on the title page. I suppose the book could then be sold on the internet and would no doubt cause a literary sensation' Oh dear! Phyllis you warned us in 1999!

Time to Be in Earnest is an autobiography written by P. D. James in journal format, kept between her 77th to 78th years of life. In it, she tells of her beginnings as a writer, her experiences during the war, and her opinions on a hodge-podge of topics from the craft of writing to eight pieces of advice for book reviewers (“Be scathingly witty if you must, but never be deliberately cruel” is one I wish were followed more often) to the way the BBC ought to be run.

If you are looking for an autobiography that moves in a linear fashion and dishes out all the juicy details of a person’s life, this isn’t the right book for you. Rather, the stories of James’ life leak out in a rather meandering fashion, interspersed between many homilies and reflections upon other topics. I enjoyed this; it reminded me of the way aged relatives often impart the stories of their lives – not in one big sit-down, but interspersed between many conversations.

I was impressed by the fact that James seemed to be involved in so many different spheres of life. She was constantly giving lectures and speeches for various different occasions that seemed to extend beyond what I would expect to be her area of expertise. In her journal she expressed so many well-formed opinions on various topics that it made me feel as if I should broaden my horizons and gain enough knowledge to be confident in expressing my views on relevant issues.

A good, thoughtful autobiography that gives a great deal of food for thought.

PD James wrote this in the form of a diary between her 77th and 78th birthdays. It's a memoir of her life, reflections of her philosophy and personal beliefs and fascinating notes on her novels. It's interesting to see how she incorporated different elements of her life's experience into her novels. There are lots of little gems - will comment some more when I finish the book.

Almost half-way through and thoroughly enjoying the reminiscences, the tales, and the history of this wonderful lady's life. She tells her tale well, giving us insight into how she writes, her reactions to the modern world, her career, her hopes, family, friends, and impresses me with her fortitude.

A bit if a ramble, interesting at times and showing what a busy life she was living aged 77 - but it didn’t sustain my interest all the way through.
I did like her very final comment, which was that the cells of her body must have renewed themselves countless times since she was an 11 year old, but that she could still recognise her as herself. “Then I walked in hope - and I do still”.

I enjoyed this book, which is written as journal entries during one year of the life of a mystery author so revered she is a Dame in England (I didn't know that after you are knighted or made a dame you can attend the House of Lords and make speeches, etc.). I learned a lot about writing, a lot about British history, and a little of Ms. James' personal life and views. I noted the authors she enjoys. She is heavily involved in civic affairs and writer's organizations. It might be hard/uninteresting to read this book if you have not read her work although her childhood and civil service career would be interesting to people interested in British history and culture.

Having seen PD James on Anne Robinson's book programme earlier in the year, I was intrigued to read more about her. What a fascinating woman! I was exhausted just reading about all the travelling around and talks she does. There's also a good reminder to make time for friends and family and to appreciate the good things that we encounter. I could have done with a dictionary with me while I was reading it - I thought my vocabulary was OK but she used lots of words I've not come across before - surely it's not just me that had to look up "sybaritic"?

Je l'ai relu avec encore plus de plaisir que la première fois et je vais sûrement le relire un jour. Impossible de ne pas sentir d'affinités avec une autre écrivaine qui décrit ses journées. Curieusement pas très consacrées à l'écriture mais beaucoup plus à sa vie en général. Je suis due pour emprunter un de ces romans à la bibliothèque. Ou peut-être relire son suspense de science-fiction, Les Fils de l'homme.

Amazingly well written for a journal. Her love and grasp of the english language is evident even in a book that is meant simply as a record of her days events and the memories they spark from the past.

Me faltaron unas páginas para terminarlo y lo abandoné. Me encantan los diarios y me pareció podía ser muy interesante. No fue el caso. El principal problema es que es demasiado deliberado, excesivamente racional. Es una determinación voluntaria de escribir un diario y con intención muy clara de publicarlo. No comparte pensamientos del día o estados de ánimo o reflexiones sino que describe con detalle aspectos de su infancia o de su juventud. Habría sido más interesante una autobiografía como formato. Resuena artificial y por tanto se vuelve tedioso.

Part diary, part memoire is, I think, the perfect recipe to enable the living to satisfy the fans, to avoid baring all, and to circumvent that rather dreadful cold ‘dead, stuffed, fish’ feeling.

This book also challenged me to think, recollect, and consider, ‘well, what did I do between August 1997 and August 1998? What, actually, did I achieve above and beyond my salary, above and beyond my day to day existence?’

That combination: asking what has happened today, and how one thought triggers another, one memory illuminates a second, a third, a fourth; the cascade is scintillating, illuminating, (hopefully) comforting, and often unexpectedly challenging. Retrospective analysis of personal motives can be fraught with risk. Our past accompanies us into the present, subconsciously guiding our future: our actions, our reactions, our likes, our dislikes, the decisions we make, the people we choose to, or are required to, associate with.

I have met and conversed with Mrs James. She is an observant woman possessed of a strong and knowledgeable experience of the achievements and limitations inherent within the human condition. Reading this book I felt unfairly voyeuristic at times. Unfair because I can appreciatively read of the strength of her admiration for Ted Hughes’ collection of poems ‘Birthday Letters”, whilst not admitting back to her that a copy of that book given to me is no longer in my possession; long since donated into the library of an English public school.

Autobiography, and to an extent, biography will, I think, always possess a fascination well beyond that of most novels of fiction. Human beings have a natural inclination to measure up and compare themselves one to another. “Time To Be In Earnest” serves better than most in grounding and reminding its reader of the value of maintaining a healthy sense of perspective; a warmly welcome reminder that even, “For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday: …” (Ps.90).

This book made me nervous the whole time I read it, because I kept thinking, "When is she going to write her next book? She's doing all these public appearances all the time, giving talks, getting awards, going to lunch, making speeches--but when will she ever write?" Spoiler alert: the whole year goes by and she never does. Aaaaaarrrrrgg.

I only recently became a PD James fan, thanks to "Death Comes to Pemberley." So, being a completist, now I have to read everything of hers. And I don't mean to say there weren't interesting parts to this memoir, but overall it didn't really add much to what I've been able to gain from newspaper bios of her.

So now I'll go on to read her other mysteries, but I can't help feeling sad that she didn't do more writing and less being a celebrity. Since she wrote "Death Comes to Pemberley" in her 90s, obviously she still had plenty of good words in her at 77, when she wrote this memoir. Wah!

Lesson to all writers, including me: Write more, talk less. Including here. Bye.