Order of Book Series
0

Cordelia Gray Books in Order

Cordelia Gray by P.D. James contains 2 books, published between 1972 and 1982. The first book is An Unsuitable Job for a Woman (1972) and the newest is The Skull Beneath the Skin (1982). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
2
Published
1972–1982
Confirmed
2 of 2 titles
Total pages
608 across 2 books
See all 2 books in order Printable Cordelia Gray checklist

Cordelia Gray is P.D. James's young woman private investigator, and only two novels feature her. An Unsuitable Job for a Woman (1972) introduced the character, and The Skull Beneath the Skin followed ten years later, in 1982. English settings, murder and a detective working against expectation define both. Two books complete the series; read An Unsuitable Job for a Woman first.

How many Cordelia Gray books are there?

Cordelia Gray has 2 books, released between 1972 and 1982.

Cordelia Gray Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 2 Cordelia Gray books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.

  1. Cover of An Unsuitable Job for a Woman by P.D. James, book 1 of the Cordelia Gray series (1972)
  2. Cover of The Skull Beneath the Skin by P.D. James, book 2 of the Cordelia Gray series (1982)
  1. 1
    An Unsuitable Job for a Woman1972 · 256 pages · confirmed 4/4
    1972256
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    The Skull Beneath the Skin1982 · 352 pages · confirmed 4/4
    1982352
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Is there a chronological order for Cordelia Gray?

No separate chronological order is on record for Cordelia Gray, because none of the book listings this catalogue draws on publishes one; the publication order above is the only order given.

Do you have to read Cordelia Gray books in order?

You should read the Cordelia Gray books in publication order, the order of the numbered table above. The catalogue does not record whether each Cordelia Gray book also stands alone.

Where to start with Cordelia Gray

Start with An Unsuitable Job for a Woman (1972), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Cordelia Gray book?

The Skull Beneath the Skin (1982) is the newest Cordelia Gray book released so far.

Is there a new Cordelia Gray book coming?

No next Cordelia Gray book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Cordelia Gray at a glance

No recent titles
The newest Cordelia Gray title on record dates from 1982, 44 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
Length
608 pages across all 2 books with a recorded length, a median of 304 pages each.
Corroboration
2 of the 2 titles appear in all four independent book listings.

What the Cordelia Gray books are about

All 2 Cordelia Gray books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: mystery & detective is tagged on 2 of 2. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

More books by P.D. James

The author page linked below lists every book in publication order.

Other series by P.D. James

The series linked below has its own reading-order page.