P.D. James (1920-2014) had to leave school at the age of 16 to take care of younger siblings and because her father did not believe that women needed higher education. Anyone who has ever read P.D. James knows that this early departure from formal education does not appear to have hampered her ability to become a great writer.

James wrote 14 Mystery novels that featured the poet/detective Adam Dagliesh. She also wrote 5 other non-Dagliesh novels.

The “Girl Who Loved Graveyards” comes from a collection of short stories entitled, Sleep No More: Six Murderous Tales. It looks like in her career she wrote a total of 12 short-stories altogether.

“The Girl Who Loved Graveyards” is the story of a girl orphaned at a young age who is sent to live with distant relatives in London. Facing grief and loneliness, she finds solace in the nearby graveyard. She develops a deep, almost obsessive connection to the cemetery, finding comfort and a sense of belonging among the tombstones. However, this fascination takes a chilling turn when she discovers a painful truth about her family history, revealing a disturbing reason for her intense attraction to the graveyard.

I am not sure whether to call it a Gothic Tale or a Mystery. It is a little of both with themes of grief, loss, family secrets, and the unsettling power of the past.

James is a great writer. Here is part of a paragraph from the beginning of “The Girl who Loved Graveyards,”

… as she watched, motionless in an absorbed enchantment, the mist began to rise and the whole cemetery was revealed to her, a miracle of stone and marble, bright grass and summer-laden trees, flower-bedecked graves and intersecting paths stretching as far as the eye could see. In the distance she could just make out the spire of a Victorian chapel, gleaming like the spire of some magical castle in a long-forgotten fairy tale. In those moments of growing wonder she found herself shivering with delight, an emotion so rare that it stole through her thin body like a pain. And it was then, on the first morning of her new life, with the past a void and the future unknown and frightening, that she made the cemetery her own. Throughout her childhood and youth it was to remain a place of delight and mystery, her refuge and her solace.

James, P. D.. Sleep No More: Six Murderous Tales (p. 102). Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.

I highly recommend the “The Girl Who Loved Graveyards” whether you are a fan of Gothic, Mystery, or just good writing.