P.D. James (1920 - 2014) on Jane Austen and the joys of great-grandparenting

P.D. James died today at the age of 94. She was a great friend of The Spectator. Here is her diary from 27 January 2010:

Our protracted family Christmas with my elder daughter, Clare, came to an end when her son, with his Australian wife and two children, returned to Melbourne. The visit has been a great success, particularly so for Clare, whose idea of a perfect Christmas is to have four generations round the table. The snow was a bonus since neither great-grandchild had ever before seen snow. The first glimpse of a totally white England spread out beneath them as the plane descended to Heathrow was a wonder, and getting close to this marvellous glittering stuff and actually playing with it never palled. Only when the thaw began did my four-year-old great-grandson ask his father, ‘Daddy, when are we going back to our own planet?’