# Professor Gregg — The Three Impostors character guide

> Professor Gregg in The Three Impostors by Arthur Machen.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Gregg

**First appearance:** 0003-novel-of-the-dark-valley

## Snapshot

An ethnologist who plucks a destitute governess from despair, then confesses he covets the renown of Columbus and means to explore man himself.

## Who they are

Gregg hires Miss Lally on a London bench, installs her in a book-crammed manor house, and treats her less as governess than secretary while he finishes his Textbook of Ethnology. Beneath the sober scholarship she detects a hidden longing, and once the proofs are done he speaks of undiscovered countries and the myth of lost Atlantis with a schoolboy's joy. His hunger for strange knowledge is the engine of the book's darkest narrative, and his kindness to Miss Lally makes his obsession all the more unsettling.

## Relationships

### [Miss Lally](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_three_impostors_se/characters/miss_lally)

_psychological_

Miss Lally is manipulated and obsessed over by Professor Gregg, who sees her as a key figure in his occult schemes.

### [Mr. Charles Phillipps](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_three_impostors_se/characters/mr_charles_phillipps)

_rivalry_

Mr. Charles Phillipps and Professor Gregg are antagonists, with Phillipps opposing Gregg's dark occult activities.

### [Mrs. Cradock](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_three_impostors_se/characters/mrs_cradock)

_professional_

Mrs. Cradock serves as a housekeeper or servant to Professor Gregg, bound by duty.

### [Mr. Meyrick](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_three_impostors_se/characters/mr_meyrick)

_professional_

Mr. Meyrick is a colleague or associate of Professor Gregg, possibly in academic or occult matters.

### [Miss Lally](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_three_impostors_se/characters/miss_lally)

_psychological_

Miss Lally is manipulated and obsessed over by Professor Gregg, who sees her as a key figure in his occult schemes.

### [Mr. Charles Phillipps](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_three_impostors_se/characters/mr_charles_phillipps)

_rivalry_

Mr. Charles Phillipps and Professor Gregg are antagonists, with Phillipps opposing Gregg's dark occult activities.

### [Mr. Meyrick](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_three_impostors_se/characters/mr_meyrick)

_professional_

Mr. Meyrick is a colleague or associate of Professor Gregg, possibly in academic or occult matters.

### [Mrs. Cradock](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_three_impostors_se/characters/mrs_cradock)

_professional_

Mrs. Cradock serves as a housekeeper or servant to Professor Gregg, bound by duty.

## In the story

### [Adventure of the Missing Brother](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_three_impostors_se/chapters/adventure-of-the-missing-brother)

An ethnologist whose mysterious disappearance is described by Miss Leicester; his watch, ring, and a parchment with undecipherable cuneiform were found on a hillside.

### [Novel of the Black Seal](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_three_impostors_se/chapters/novel-of-the-black-seal)

Author of the manuscript; describes his lifelong research into the Black Seal and his theories about folklore and hidden races.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_three_impostors_se/characters/professor_gregg
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_three_impostors_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_three_impostors_se/characters