P.D. James Explains Why She Wrote a Sequel to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice

Posted on November 4, 2011

Mystery writer P.D. James has written a sequel to Jane Austen's classic novel, Pride and Prejudice. So why did a crime novelist decide to dive into Austen's world? She explains in an interesting piece published in The Telegraph. James says that she had never been attracted to the idea of writing in someone else's world because she has such fun creating her own characters. But Austen's characters are so compelling that one wants to know more about them. That's how Death Comes to Pemberley was born.

James says,

The prospect of becoming 90 was a time of important decision-making, since I had become increasingly aware that neither years nor creative energy last forever. After the publication of my latest Dalgliesh story, The Private Patient, in 2008, I decided that I could be self-indulgent and turn to an idea that had been in my mind for some time: to combine my two lifelong enthusiasms, namely for writing detective fiction and for the novels of Jane Austen, by setting my next book in Pemberley.

James apologizes to Jane Austen for intruding upon her love story with such a serious subject as a murder, but hopes that readers will enjoy it. Death Comes to Pemberley will be released in the U.S. on December 6th. It is available for pre-order at Amazon.com.

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