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The Masterpieces of Shirley Jackson
This is a collection of three works by Shirley Jackson: the novels The Haunting of Hill House and We Have Always Lived in the Castle and the short story, "The Lottery".
Paperback
First published June 17, 1996
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About the author
Shirley Jackson
345 books11.5k followersShirley Jackson was an influential American author. A popular writer in her time, her work has received increasing attention from literary critics in recent years. She has influenced such writers as Stephen King, Nigel Kneale, and Richard Matheson.
She is best known for her dystopian short story, "The Lottery" (1948), which suggests there is a deeply unsettling underside to bucolic, smalltown America. In her critical biography of Shirley Jackson, Lenemaja Friedman notes that when Shirley Jackson's story "The Lottery" was published in the June 28, 1948, issue of The New Yorker, it received a response that "no New Yorker story had ever received." Hundreds of letters poured in that were characterized by, as Jackson put it, "bewilderment, speculation and old-fashioned abuse."
Jackson's husband, the literary critic Stanley Edgar Hyman, wrote in his preface to a posthumous anthology of her work that "she consistently refused to be interviewed, to explain or promote her work in any fashion, or to take public stands and be the pundit of the Sunday supplements. She believed that her books would speak for her clearly enough over the years." Hyman insisted the darker aspects of Jackson's works were not, as some critics claimed, the product of "personal, even neurotic, fantasies", but that Jackson intended, as "a sensitive and faithful anatomy of our times, fitting symbols for our distressing world of the concentration camp and the Bomb", to mirror humanity's Cold War-era fears. Jackson may even have taken pleasure in the subversive impact of her work, as revealed by Hyman's statement that she "was always proud that the Union of South Africa banned The Lottery', and she felt that they at least understood the story".
In 1965, Jackson died of heart failure in her sleep, at her home in North Bennington Vermont, at the age of 48.
She is best known for her dystopian short story, "The Lottery" (1948), which suggests there is a deeply unsettling underside to bucolic, smalltown America. In her critical biography of Shirley Jackson, Lenemaja Friedman notes that when Shirley Jackson's story "The Lottery" was published in the June 28, 1948, issue of The New Yorker, it received a response that "no New Yorker story had ever received." Hundreds of letters poured in that were characterized by, as Jackson put it, "bewilderment, speculation and old-fashioned abuse."
Jackson's husband, the literary critic Stanley Edgar Hyman, wrote in his preface to a posthumous anthology of her work that "she consistently refused to be interviewed, to explain or promote her work in any fashion, or to take public stands and be the pundit of the Sunday supplements. She believed that her books would speak for her clearly enough over the years." Hyman insisted the darker aspects of Jackson's works were not, as some critics claimed, the product of "personal, even neurotic, fantasies", but that Jackson intended, as "a sensitive and faithful anatomy of our times, fitting symbols for our distressing world of the concentration camp and the Bomb", to mirror humanity's Cold War-era fears. Jackson may even have taken pleasure in the subversive impact of her work, as revealed by Hyman's statement that she "was always proud that the Union of South Africa banned The Lottery', and she felt that they at least understood the story".
In 1965, Jackson died of heart failure in her sleep, at her home in North Bennington Vermont, at the age of 48.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 29, 2017
The Lottery 3/5
The Haunting of Hill House 3/5
We Have Always Lived in the Castle 4/5
The Haunting of Hill House 3/5
We Have Always Lived in the Castle 4/5
October 20, 2014
The title says it all; this volume includes a collection of her short stories as well as two short novels, all of which qualify as masterpieces..
It includes, of course, her two most famous pieces, The Lottery and
The Haunting Of Hill House, but the biggest pleasure is the more obscure novel, We Have Always Lived In The Castle, which is an indescribable one-of-a-kind work of genius.
It includes, of course, her two most famous pieces, The Lottery and
The Haunting Of Hill House, but the biggest pleasure is the more obscure novel, We Have Always Lived In The Castle, which is an indescribable one-of-a-kind work of genius.
August 27, 2016
She is so much more than The Lottery! I really enjoyed how cohesive this collection was! The themes and the symbols were really prevalent throughout every story.
February 12, 2023
De Loterij - 3/5
Het Spookhuis op de Heuvel - 3.5/5
We Hebben Altijd in het Kasteel Gewoond - 5/5
Het Spookhuis op de Heuvel - 3.5/5
We Hebben Altijd in het Kasteel Gewoond - 5/5
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews