Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book. Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.
The Graveyard Book: Introduction
The Graveyard Book: Plot Summary
The Graveyard Book: Detailed Summary & Analysis
The Graveyard Book: Themes
The Graveyard Book: Quotes
The Graveyard Book: Characters
The Graveyard Book: Terms
The Graveyard Book: Symbols
The Graveyard Book: Theme Wheel
Brief Biography of Neil Gaiman
Historical Context of The Graveyard Book
Other Books Related to The Graveyard Book
- Full Title: The Graveyard Book
- When Written: 2005-2008
- Where Written: England and the United States
- When Published: 2008
- Literary Period: Contemporary
- Genre: Fantasy, Bildungsroman
- Setting: An English graveyard and the surrounding town
- Climax: Bod tricks Jack into letting the Sleer capture him.
- Antagonist: Jack Frost and the fraternity of Jacks
- Point of View: Third Person
Extra Credit for The Graveyard Book
Two Decades. It took Gaiman about 20 years from when he first had the idea for The Graveyard Book to when he finally wrote it. His initial inspiration came from watching his toddler son ride a bike through a graveyard, but at the time, Gaiman felt like he wasn’t a good enough writer yet to do the book justice.
Mass Grave and a Goat. Barrow graves, or underground burial sites built into hills, often crop up in the novel. The largest barrow grave in England is the West Kennet Long Barrow, the underground chamber of which measures 100 meters by 20 meters. Though different studies reveal different results, scientists have found bones from between 36 and 43 different people, along with a number of other cremated remains. Scientists also found one goat skeleton in the barrow.