Member of the House of Lords and well-known crime novelist P.D. James (born Phyllis Dorothy James) peaceful died on Thanksgiving Thursday, according to her publisher for over 50 years, Faber and Faber.
She reportedly died in her home in Oxford, southern England. She was 94.
Faber and Faber said in a statement that the late author had been "so very remarkable in every aspect of her life, an inspiration and great friend to us all," according to People.
James rose to fame for her detective novel series starring poet and sensitive Scotland Yard sleuth Adam Dalgliesh.
A brilliant mind, who came up with classic British detective stories, James is said to be a firm believer that crime writing should never be considered a second-class literature.
Her books did not only sell millions of copies worldwide, but most of them were also adapted for television.
Born in Oxford on Aug. 3, 1920, James was a daughter of a tax collector, who could not afford to send her to college.
In her interviews in the past, P.D. James admitted to being very interested in death since she was still a little girl.
However, she only got to showcase her mysterious writing skill when she was nearly 40 years of age. She even revealed that she only wrote her stories every morning before going to the civil service job, which at that time was her main source of financial support.
"It was a late beginning for someone who knew from early childhood that she wanted to be a novelist, and, looking back, I can't help regret what I now see as some wasted years," James noted in "Time to Be Earnest," a 1999 autobiography.
Despite her so-called "wasted years," James' first novel "Cover Her Face" proved to be a huge success immediately after it was released.
Sadly, she faced grief when her husband, Connor Bantry White, died in 1964 after remaining mentally broken for a long time since he returned from World War II.
Nevertheless, after ending her work as a civil servant in 1979 and decided to make writing her full-time job, she was quickly catapulted to international popularity after releasing her eighth book "innocent Blood."
Last year, in an interview with the BBC, she revealed that she was working on another detective story.
"With old age, it becomes very difficult. It takes longer for the inspiration to come, but the thing about being a writer is that you need to write," she said at the time.
"I hope I would know myself whether a book was worth publishing. I think while I am alive, I shall write. There will be a time to stop writing but that will probably be when I come to a stop, too."
Among the most notable works of the multi-awarded novelist were "The Children of Men," "The Murderer Room" and her "Pride and Prejudice" spin-off/sequel "Death Comes to Pemberley."