Cordelia Gray is a fictional character created by English author P. D. James. Gray is the protagonist of two novels, An Unsuitable Job for a Woman and of The Skull Beneath the Skin. Cordelia Gray is a young woman who works as a private detective in London, having inherited the detective agency "Pryde" on the death of her boss, Bernie Pryde, who committed suicide. Fictional character biography Cordelia lost her mother an hour after birth. Her father Redvers, a Marxist traveling poet and revolutionary, did not really care about his daughter, so Cordelia had many adoptive parents, and from six to eight years old she lived in a cottage in Remford with Mrs. Gibson and her children. At eleven, she was confused with another C. Gray and won a scholarship to the Convent of Infant Jesus, where she stayed for six years. Then Redvers took her away from the convent, and they started traveling in Germany and Italy with Mr. Gray's revolutionary friends. During their wandering, Cordelia worked as their maid, cook, bellhop and nurse. Six months later, Mr. Gray died of a heart disease in Rome. After his death, Cordelia returned to England and became the secretary of the private detective Bernie G. Pryde, and later his partner in investigations. Two months later, Pryde was diagnosed with cancer and committed suicide. Instead of selling the detective agency off, Cordelia decided to keep it open, helped by the young aspiring actor Bevis and the old secretary Mrs. Maudsley. Despite dealing with cases involving murders and threats, the agency becomes specialized in searching for missing animals. At the conclusion of An Unsuitable Job for a Woman, Cordelia Gray meets James's other detective Adam Dalgliesh. In A Taste for Death it is mentioned that they have been seen dining together. Cordelia is also referred to at the beginning and at the end of another Dalgliesh novel, The Black Tower: Daniel asked [about Dalgliesh]: "Is he conscious?" "Barely. Your chap in there says he's been quoting King Lear. Something about Cordelia anyway ..." Personality Cordelia lives near Thames Street in an apartment with furniture bought from second-hand dealers or during auctions in the suburbs. At first shy and unconfident, as the story progresses she learns how to solve a case and becomes methodical and serious. A stoic girl, she deals with the suicide of Bernie calmly. Whilst she seems to like order and