British crime writing author, PD James, has passed away in her Oxford home at the age of 94.
Faber and Faber, James’ publisher announced her death but no cause of death has been revealed. She has published over 20 novels since she launched her career at the age of 42, according to the Washington Post. Her most recent work, Death Comes to Pemberley, was released in 2013 and brought murder to Jane Austen’s world.
Novelist A.S Byatt spoke on the death of James saying, "The world will be a worse place without her," according to the Associated Press.
Realism was the real strength of her novels as well, according to Byatt. "When people in her books died the other characters' lives changed as they would in real life. Phyllis (James) was working with real people that she cared about.”
While most of James’ work was focused on crime and mystery, she was in no way confined to the genre. In 1992, she published the science fiction novel, The Children of Men which was turned into a film in 2006.
James is survived by her two daughters as well as her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.