Cordelia Gray is the main protagonist of P. D. James

P. D. James

Phyllis Dorothy James, Baroness James of Holland Park, OBE, FRSA, FRSL , commonly known as P. D. James, is an English crime writer and Conservative life peer in the House of Lords, most famous for a series of detective novels starring policeman and poet Adam Dalgliesh.-Life and career:James...

's An Unsuitable Job for a Woman

An Unsuitable Job for a Woman

An Unsuitable Job For A Woman is the title of a 1972 detective novel by P. D. James - and also the title of a TV series of four dramas developed from that novel....

and of The Skull Beneath the Skin

The Skull Beneath the Skin

The Skull Beneath The Skin is a 1982 detective novel by P. D. James, featuring her female private detective Cordelia Gray. The novel is set in a reconstructed Victorian castle on the fictional Courcy Island on the Dorset coast and centers around actress Clarissa Lisle who is to play John Webster's...

. She works as a private detective

Detective

A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...

 in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, having inherited a detective agency on the death of her boss. She likes order and knowledge and remains focused on her cases.

At the conclusion of An Unsuitable Job for a Woman, Cordelia Gray meets James's other detective Adam Dalgliesh

Adam Dalgliesh

Adam Dalgliesh is a fictional character who has been the protagonist of fourteen mystery novels by P. D. James. Dalgliesh first appeared in James's 1962 novel Cover Her Face and has appeared in a number of subsequent novels.-Character:...

. In A Taste for Death it is mentioned that they have been seen dining together.

Television

Cordelia Gray was first portrayed by Pippa Guard

Pippa Guard

Philippa Ann Guard is a British actress.Guard was born in Edinburgh, Scotland and belongs to a well-known theatrical family, whose members include her uncle Philip Guard, cousins Christopher Guard and Dominic Guard, and younger brother Alex Guard. Her father was an engineer who moved the family to...

 in the 1982 television adaptation of An Unsuitable Job for a Woman.

Four separate feature-length dramas comprise the series (also called "An Unsuitable Job for a Woman") in which Cordelia Gray was portrayed by Helen Baxendale

Helen Baxendale

Helen Victoria Baxendale is an English actress of stage and television, possibly best-known for her roles in Cold Feet, Friends and Cardiac Arrest.-Early life:...

.

• Sacrifice was first broadcast from 24 October 1997, consisting of three separate 60-minute episodes.
• A Last Embrace was first broadcast from 19 February 1998, also consisting of three separate 60-minute episodes.
• Living on Risk was first broadcast from 27 August 1999, consisting of two separate 60-minute episodes.
• Playing God was first broadcast on 16 May 2001, as one 120-minute episode.

Other appearances

Gray was highlighted in volume 14 of the Case Closed

Case Closed

Case Closed, known as in Japan, is a Japanese detective manga series written and illustrated by Gosho Aoyama. The series is serialized in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday since February 2, 1994, and has been collected in 73 tankōbon volumes as of September 2011...

manga's edition of "Gosho Aoyoma's Mystery Library, a section of the graphic novels (usually the last page) where the author introduces a different detective (or occasionally, a villain) from mystery literature, television, or other media. The Japanese version of her name was also used to create a cover name for one of the series' main characters, Ai Haibara.