Phyllis Dorothy James, Baroness James of Holland Park, OBE, FRSA, FRSL (August 3, 1920 – November 27, 2014), known professionally as P. D.

James, was an English novelist and life peer. Her rise to fame came with her series of detective novels featuring the police commander and poet, Adam Dalgliesh. James was born in Oxford, the daughter of Sidney Victor James, a tax inspector, and his wife, Dorothy Mary James.