tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16749171.post5880819362004115997..comments2024-03-28T11:13:05.893-07:00Comments on The Rap Sheet: The Book You Have to Read: “An Unsuitable Job for a Woman,” by P.D. JamesJ. Kingston Piercehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17073921191624535912noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16749171.post-34853736704916168642010-12-18T17:38:29.785-08:002010-12-18T17:38:29.785-08:00I have not read the P.D. James books about Cordeli...I have not read the P.D. James books about Cordelia Grey, but I did see on dvd the tv movies made by the BBC based on the books.<br /><br />I liked them very much, and the actress as well.<br /><br />Now that I read this post, it reminds me to rewatch them.<br /><br />And so glad that the post-s author was able to become a published writer.<br /><br />I just remember in high school that we (young women) had to wear skirts to school, even if it was 20 degrees, with snow up to our knees and higher. That was tough enough.<br /><br />And, we had to take Home Economics--cooking or sewing. I took sewing, which I can't do to save my life.<br /><br />And I had to take Stenography--which I have never used as an adult for a job, only to help with note-taking in college, hearing a lecture.<br /><br />Luckily, those rules have changed. Or, hopefully, they have.kathy d.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16749171.post-59424059087272841762010-12-18T12:14:15.077-08:002010-12-18T12:14:15.077-08:00Thanks for the correction, y'all. I am happy t...Thanks for the correction, y'all. I am happy to discover another Cordelia Grey book. I just checked my library and realized I had somehow missed that! I thought I had read all of James. Such a marvelous discovery.<br /><br />I appreciate the stories as well. I'm so glad that times are different. :-)<br /><br />KrisKristine Kathryn Ruschhttp://www.kristinekathrynrusch.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16749171.post-40260042358497760172010-12-18T04:59:16.881-08:002010-12-18T04:59:16.881-08:00I've been enjoying the TV series starring Hele...I've been enjoying the TV series starring Helen Baxendale and Annette Crosby which has been shown on telly once again. The two hour format which started with Inspector Morse really works for TV adaptations. Now I need to read the books!<br /><br />Thanks for this, really enjoyed he post.Winifredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12415302188575538163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16749171.post-61326298246880020852010-12-17T16:01:11.988-08:002010-12-17T16:01:11.988-08:00Ok, why did I post the same story twice with two d...Ok, why did I post the same story twice with two different posts. <br /><br />I was one who got caught in the Gawker hacker mess. After changing my password, my new password has had problems getting through. I had posted and waited until I was sure the problem had repeated. But as you may notice it was just taking its time. My posts are always first draft (if you ever read one you would guess that) and I don't save them. So sorry for the long winded double posts. And for this long winded post.<br /><br />I hope Kristine understood my point that many boys were watching and remember the injustice she and others faced.michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17812924049258701715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16749171.post-49243856728471131862010-12-17T15:23:23.272-08:002010-12-17T15:23:23.272-08:00Great idea for a post series. Thanks for the reco...Great idea for a post series. Thanks for the recommendation!Mary Vensel Whitehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01553185765882617010noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16749171.post-29035258913453676902010-12-17T13:52:43.394-08:002010-12-17T13:52:43.394-08:00Not that a makes a bit of difference to Kris's...Not that a makes a bit of difference to Kris's excellent post, but Cordelia Gray did make a second appearance, in The Skull Beneath the Skin (1982). <br /><br />I think she also showed up from time to time in the Dalgleish books, meeting him for lunch and other very minor, inconsequential ways.<br /><br />There was also a British TV series with Helen Baxendale starring as Cordelia in four long movies in as many years (late 90s, I believe).<br /><br />The first of the four is based on the book that Kris reviews, and it's very well done. I think the only major way it deviates from the book is that Dalgleish does not appear in the movie, as he does the book.<br /><br />This was probably because James didn't sign away the rights to the character as she did Cordelia. I've read that one reason James didn't write more books about her than she did, was that the TV people took that character and went different ways with her.<br /><br />In any case, the TV series is available on DVD, and in writing up this comment, I've convinced myself that I ought to read The Skull Beneath the Skin. I never have.Steve Lewishttp://www.mysteryfile.com/blog/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16749171.post-34943090826986188212010-12-17T12:51:28.772-08:002010-12-17T12:51:28.772-08:00I look forward to reading your first female detect...I look forward to reading your first female detective novel. Your story reminded me of someone I knew in 8th grade.<br /><br />I am a white male, born in Pittsburg, Kansas in 1954. I have seen the waste caused by the roles society at that time demanded we accept.<br /><br />I had a classmate who was brilliant in math, the best in the school. She came from a poor but proud family. As was common before school started you would buy the clothes you planned to wear for the school year. It was the 60's and my classmate liked the new popular fashion of dresses with short skirts.<br />Then the school decided to outlaw all skirts of a certain length. Every morning to start the day the girls were lined up against the back wall and the teacher used a ruler to measure how many inches above the knee was the end of the skirt. She was repeatedly sent home. It would be her last year in school.<br /><br />No one cared how smart she was. No one cared her family did not have the money to replace a wardrobe to meet the whims of the principal. No one cared how much she could have given society. All they cared about was how her clothes affected the males.<br /><br />I still wonder whatever happened to my classmate from Lakeside Junior High. I hope she was able to overcome it all as well as you have.michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17812924049258701715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16749171.post-83325979156095448132010-12-17T11:40:31.780-08:002010-12-17T11:40:31.780-08:00I have always liked PD James but I had missed this...I have always liked PD James but I had missed this one. I look forward to reading it and your work.<br /><br />I was born a white male in a small Kansas town in 1954. I saw the waste of the forced roles people had due to absurd reasons. I remember a girl in my 8th grade math class that was brilliant but forced out of high school by a heartless school system. She came from a poor family. It was the 60's so the adults were overreacting to everything we did. Her crime? Before school starts you buy your school clothes. She liked the current fashion of short skirts. When she got to school that year she discovered the fashion had been outlawed by the Principal. Every morning at homeroom the girls would be lined up against the back wall and the teacher would take a ruler and measure how high above the knee the girl's dress was. Her family could not afford new clothes. She was send home often. No one cared what this girl could have become, just how her dresses affected the males.<br /><br />I still wonder whatever happened to that girl from Lakeside Junior High in Pittsburg, Kansas.<br /><br />I would like to think she overcame it all like you have.michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17812924049258701715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16749171.post-81531258756514023242010-12-17T11:08:07.168-08:002010-12-17T11:08:07.168-08:00A one-off? But there are two Cordelia Gray novels....A one-off? But there are two Cordelia Gray novels. I agree that she is a terrific detective, but this one is the best in my humble opinion.Dorte Hhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14535044092722418173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16749171.post-73017579374403732412010-12-17T10:21:08.602-08:002010-12-17T10:21:08.602-08:00Great post. I've never read this, but I think ...Great post. I've never read this, but I think I will on your recommendation. I grew up in similar times with similar restrictions that I simply took in stride. It's amazing what you can learn to put up with. I always knew I was as good as and smarter than most, but what was I to do with this information? Lots of frustration for sure. Still, we took it all in stride. It was simply the way it was.Yvettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919246184376538331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16749171.post-3847547769408082682010-12-17T09:54:14.449-08:002010-12-17T09:54:14.449-08:00Oh, I could have written this. Everything I wante...Oh, I could have written this. Everything I wanted to do, from playing drums to being a lawyer, was not for girls. Mom actually made me play the cello; I could never figure out why that was considered ladylike. :-) I don't remember reading this book, but I love P.D. James' books and Paretsky, Grafton, and Maron among others. I should have been born later, I guess.Barbarahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04179027379034179865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16749171.post-12935008995042387002010-12-17T09:45:59.229-08:002010-12-17T09:45:59.229-08:00Kris, you have a holiday gift to look for: James w...Kris, you have a holiday gift to look for: James wrote a sequel (1982) Skull Beneath the Skin for Cordelia. I was fortunate to interview her at her London townhome when I wrote for "Mystery Scene" mag, now defunct. Wonderful lady and a huge influence on my own writing--my novel,THE BLUE VIRGIN, is set in Oxford. She told me there would be no more Cordelia novels as the BBC had made Unsuitable Job into a TV movie which she didn't love and the actress playing her had gotten pregnant and didn't want to do more! (Helen Baxendale?) And she felt readers would see Helen's face after that. Enjoy your hunt!Marnihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18356717353308912189noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16749171.post-85320848688295687432010-12-17T09:23:09.047-08:002010-12-17T09:23:09.047-08:00Kristine, Loved Cordelia Gray, too. Good news for ...Kristine, Loved Cordelia Gray, too. Good news for you. An Unsuitable Job for a Woman was not her only appearance. She's also in The Skull Beneath the Skin. Have fun catching up with her.Keith Raffelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02926077627965529183noreply@blogger.com