The Bird's Nest by Shirley Jackson (September 2026)

[Nigeyb]

Welcome to our September 2026 group read of....


The Bird's Nest (1954)

by

Shirley Jackson



Shirley Jackson's third novel, a chilling descent into multiple personalities

Elizabeth is a demure twenty-three-year-old wiling her life away at a dull museum job, living with her neurotic aunt, and subsisting off her dead mother’s inheritance. When Elizabeth begins to suffer terrible migraines and backaches, her aunt takes her to the doctor, then to a psychiatrist. But slowly, and with Jackson’s characteristic chill, we learn that Elizabeth is not just one girl—but four separate, self-destructive personalities. The Bird’s Nest, Jackson’s third novel, develops hallmarks of the horror master’s most unsettling work: tormented heroines, riveting familial mysteries, and a disquieting vision inside the human mind.

[Roman Clodia]

I've made a start on this as I have a library audiobook and it's brilliant! Quite eerie in places...

[Nigeyb]

Very encouraging RC

[Roman Clodia]

The first part is perhaps slightly spoiled by the blurb but now things have gone in an unexpected direction. I'd forgotten just how much I love Shirley Jackson!

[Nigeyb]

She’s exceptional

[Alistair]

I'd love to join, not sure I'll manage to.

[Kathleen]

Roman Clodia wrote: "I've made a start on this as I have a library audiobook and it's brilliant! Quite eerie in places..."

Thrilled to see this comment, RC. I'm a huge Jackson fan and am really looking forward to this.

I recently finished her Let Me Tell You: New Stories, Essays, and Other Writings which taught me so much about her that I almost feel I know her now. Here's a quote from there about her experience at the screening of the movie "Lizzie" based on this book.
“It was something like being hit on the head with a rock: Everything was very bright for a second, and then it got kind of wavy. I sat there watching Lizzie with my mouth half-open, thinking--and there really is no other sensation like it--Why, there is Doctor Wright; he is taller than I remembered. It was suddenly clear that through some gap in time these were the real people, and I had stolen them for my book.”

[Alistair]

Lizzie is the title of the Italian edition of the novel. I suppose in an attempt to cash in on the movie, which I didn't know existed.

[Roman Clodia]

Thanks Kathleen, that's lovely, hearing her reaction to the film! I think I've read all the major novels now apart from The Road Through the Wall.

I won't say anything more about this one till everyone's reading it.

[Roman Clodia]

These are really notes to myself to make sure I don't forget them:

I'm really impressed with the way Jackson uses voice to distinguish her characters - I find that contemporary fiction rarely does this, making everyone sound exactly the same.

(view spoiler)[I was thinking about Doctor Wright - or Doctor Wrong, as Betsy names him! - and the extent to which he sits in a line of fictional doctors who are not good with mental health. I was especially thinking of the doctors in Mrs Dalloway and in The Bell Jar. Here the criticism is more subtle as the doctor looks sympathetic but his lack of listening and, most of all, his very personal relationships with the dissociated personalities become increasingly disturbing. (hide spoiler)]

[Nigeyb]

Alistair wrote: "Lizzie is the title of the Italian edition of the novel. I suppose in an attempt to cash in on the movie, which I didn't know existed."


Nor me. Thanks


I’m underway with this own now and hoping for more of Shirley Jackson’s signature blend of horror and social satire

[Nigeyb]

Enjoying the domineering gossipy Aunt Morgen character so far

[Nigeyb]

Fun fact…..


The title draws from a nursery rhyme featured in the book: “Elizabeth Beth Betsy and Bess they all went together to find a bird’s nest…”

Is this a real nursery rhyme? It’s not one I’ve ever come across

[Nigeyb]

Is Elizabeth a precursor to Eleanor Vance in The Haunting of Hill House? She’s another isolated, traumatised young woman navigating a hostile world and with a mind on the brink of collapse.

[Nigeyb]

Shirley Jackson’s having fun with Dr Wright eh? Arrogant and complacent

[Roman Clodia]

Nigeyb wrote: "Is Elizabeth a precursor to Eleanor Vance in The Haunting of Hill House? She’s another isolated, traumatised young woman navigating a hostile world and with a mind on the brink of collapse."

Yes, I'd say so. And as much as I enjoyed this book, Hill House is far more sophisticated as a novel, and Eleanor more complicated. It's like the idea wouldn't leave Jackson. That said, most of her young women are disturbed and isolated.

I loved that image of the wall in Elizabeth's office being removed.

[Roman Clodia]

Nigeyb wrote: "Shirley Jackson’s having fun with Dr Wright eh? Arrogant and complacent"

Ha, yes. And there's a long literary line of these male doctors dealing inappropriately with mental health patients - the one in Mrs Dalloway who sees Septimus Smith with his shell-shock as just needing to pull himself together a be a 'man'; or the doctor in the Bell Jar who first prescribed electric shock treatment for Esther.

Dr Wright is so self-regarding.

[Nigeyb]

Roman Clodia wrote:


"And as much as I enjoyed this book, Hill House is far more sophisticated as a novel, and Eleanor more complicated."

I’m coming to a similar conclusion. It’s obvious this is an earlier book. But, as you suggest, still plenty to appreciate

There’s also Merricat Blackwood in We Have Always Lived in the Castle who is another similar type but also more complicated

Would we all agree that Hill House and We Have Always Lived in the Castle are her two masterpieces?

(They’re the only other two that I have read by Shirley Jackson so interested to know what other gems there might be in her bibliography)

[Roman Clodia]

I love Hill House and yes, all Jackson's skills came together there, but I was only so-so on We Have Always Lived.

Susan and I did buddy reads of her Hangsaman and The Sundial so there should be threads here. I also like her short stories

[Barbara]

Don't forget Strangers on a Train! Great book and film.

[Nigeyb]

Thanks RC, I shall follow up


Barbara, are you getting Shirley and Patricia Highsmith mixed up?

[Nigeyb]

Racing through this now


Dr Wright is a walking disaster zone, albeit unwittingly, and he is a fabulous parody of 1950s psychiatry

His rigid, paternalistic, complacent mindset seem to often hinder more than help any recovery for Elizabeth

Overall this is another 1950s novel that seems to capture the claustrophobia experienced by women during this era. Between the overbearing Aunt Morgen and the condescension of the doc it's no wonder Elizabeth is struggling - she's never allowed any agency

[Roman Clodia]

Nigeyb wrote: "Dr Wright is a walking disaster zone, albeit unwittingly"

I see what you mean in that his intentions are benign, another aspect of his (masculine) arrogance and complacency but the way he casts judgement on the different personas, and his clear favouritism for needy, helpless, typically 'feminine' Beth is so disturbing. He really oversteps the doctor/patient relationship in so many ways.

[Nigeyb]

Yes absolutely, but probably par for the course back then


It makes me wonder about what the readers of 70 years hence will look back on askance about today's norms

[Nigeyb]

I've finished and felt it tailed off dramatically in the final quarter...


(view spoiler)[Harking back to the previous comment, the ending relies on standard 1950s psychiatric norms: uncover buried childhood trauma; force cathartic breakdown; and - ta dah - neat integration and seemingly cured patient.

Instead of Elizabeth achieving true liberation, her brand new name and identity is a construct of the two authority figures who spent the whole novel controlling her.

The collapse and fusion of the competing personalities happens with disappointingly surprising and hasty efficiency. And where's the wild and unpredictable energy of Betsy? She seems to be permanently extinguished to make way for a manageable, conformist 1950s woman

Maybe this is bleak satire? I think more likely it's a rushed conclusion to a cliched and unsatisfactory "happy ending"

Perhaps SJ is suggesting that "Victoria" is merely a docile, socially acceptable mask crafted to satisfy her doctor and aunt? Again, doubt it but it could be

Either way the final quarter lacks the narrative momentum and psychological dread found in SJ's more accomplished work

This ending is too neat and anticlimactic for this reader (hide spoiler)]


Probably a 3/5 for me

[Roman Clodia]

Nigeyb wrote: "I've finished and felt it tailed off dramatically in the final quarter..."

Wow, you raced through this! I agree, that final part just made everything fizzle away. Like you, I was holding on for a final line shocker that just never came.

All the same, that disappointment didn't spoil what came earlier for me, especially(view spoiler)[ Betsy and the gradual uncovering of that household and the reasons for Elizabeth's trauma (hide spoiler)].

So flawed, yes, but still so much here that interested and gripped me. I especially liked the way we have to piece together the backstory.

[Nigeyb]

Well worth reading despite my reservations about the ending



Here's my review....

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

3/5

[Kathleen]

I've started and am into the Dr. Wright chapter. Dr. Wrong indeed! Reading this soon after The Snake Pit is interesting.

I'm surprised that this book came out 20 years before Sybil: The Classic True Story of a Woman Possessed by Sixteen Personalities which--the book and movie--made such a huge impression on my generation.

[Nigeyb]

It also predates the popular book and film The Three Faces of Eve (1957).

[Kathleen]

I forgot about that--yes. This book may not be her best but maybe Jackson was something of a trail-blazer.

[Kathleen]

I'm done now and it actually picked up for me in the last third. I found the Dr. Wright sections SO tedious to read! Other than that, I enjoyed it.

For me the ending was vague enough to allow me to imagine all kinds of trouble that may lay ahead for these characters. :-)

[Kathleen]

Nigeyb, I get your points about the ending. (view spoiler)[ It could be a rushed job or bowing to pressure. But the name--the two authority figures as you say--Elizabeth never agreed to that. In the end she's happy. She's herself. She's laughing--possibly at them? They haven't changed. Realistically she will either stand up to them or fall under their attempts to control her. And if Betsy's in there somewhere, maybe she'll stand up. (hide spoiler)]

So I thought it was vague enough to allow me to use my imagination.

[Nigeyb]

Thanks Kathleen - very interesting

[Roman Clodia]

I struggled to know whether the ending was resolved in uncharacteristic happy fashion or not. I was waiting for a final line shocker which just never came. All the same, there was so much that I enjoyed, including Dr Wright/Wrong and the way Betsy saw straight through him.

[Kathleen]

Roman Clodia wrote: "I struggled to know whether the ending was resolved in uncharacteristic happy fashion or not. I was waiting for a final line shocker which just never came. All the same, there was so much that I en..."

I liked that Betsy saw through him too. That's what makes me think (view spoiler)[it was possible, once her personalities were united somehow, to overcome the doctor's attempts to control her. So I agree the ending was kind of a cop out, but it worked okay for me. (hide spoiler)]

[Nigeyb]

I can't get passed the new name derivation


And overall the ending is just too neat and anticlimactic



More broadly, do we all agree that The Haunting of Hill House (1959) is her best work? If not, what?

What's the verdict on The Sundial? Published one year before Hill House. I've not read it

Anything else amongst her novels that you think is really stand out work?


Novels

The Road Through the Wall (Farrar, Straus, 1948)
Hangsaman (Farrar, Straus and Young, 1951)
The Bird's Nest (Farrar, Straus and Young, 1954)
The Sundial (Farrar, Straus and Cudahy, 1958)
The Haunting of Hill House (Viking, 1959)
We Have Always Lived in the Castle (Viking, 1962)


There's also a plethora of short stories too of course

[Kathleen]

I've heard debates about which is better, The Haunting of Hill House or We Have Always Lived in the Castle. The Haunting of Hill House is a strong favorite for me, but Castle is second.

Here's my ranking order (adding The Road through the Wall):
The Haunting of Hill House (actually scary)
We Have Always Lived in the Castle (brilliantly weird)
The Sundial (playful and strange)
The Road Through the Wall (social satire)
Hangsaman (just strange)
The Bird's Nest (the only one I was disappointed in)

I've recently read lots of her stories and they cover the whole spectrum. A good collection would probably be well worth reading.

[Roman Clodia]

My favourite so far is Hill House and I haven't read The Road Through the Wall yet.

My ranking would be:

Haunting of Hill House
The Sundial
Hangsaman
The Birds Nest
We Have Always Lived at the Castle

I don't know why Castle just never landed for me as it has for so many others. It was my first Jackson so glad I didn't give up. The Sundial, as Kathleen says, is playful and strange but also viciously funny, perhaps the funniest but a deep black humour.

I've also read some of the stories: The Lottery and Other Stories and Dark Tales - story collections can always be a mixed bag but there is some brilliant work from Ms Jackson.

[Nigeyb]

Thanks Kathleen and RC - so The Sundial is emerging as Essential Jackson

[Sam]

I came to this one late reading my selections bassackwards as usual.
I just finished the Betsy chapter (3) and one thing I love about Jackson is her ability to capture the psychology and feeling of the people of the period as seen in the films of that time in the U.S. that I watched years later on television or in an art house cinema. The whole chapter is brilliant but I found the bus scene especially so. Jackson captures not the reality as we know it but the way people thought about things at the time. Her idea of split personality for example is rooted in the common perceptions of the lay person of the times and she manages to give us a reality of how the people thought which while not being based on fact, did result in their behaving in certain ways. I think Jackson is so good at that. When I read her I feel like I am watching the events around unfold as if like I been been inserted into a film made from that period with all of the beliefs and behaviors of the time intact.

[Kathleen]

Such a great comment, Sam. That bus scene was definitely a highlight. Jackson does seem really attuned to attitudes of the time.

A good example of that for me was her book The Road Through the Wall. Have you read that one?

[Sam]

No, another one in my library waiting for its moment.

[Neer]

I thought the novel went downhill after the 50% mark when she returned from NY. The NY section was the best part of the book and the rest of the book could not capture that sense of unease and horror. Like The Haunting of Hill House, this book too didn't deliver on its initial promise though Haunting was better than this one.

Morgen seemed to have a split personality too and for some time - esp when Morgen referred to herself in the third person - I thought that she was actually Elizabeth, the mother.That actually mother and aunt were the same woman. Did anyone else feel the same?I wish the author had developed that idea rather than the rather bland ending we got.

The novel did score big on one point - the doctor's character went from sympathetic to repungent.

We have always lived in the Castle is Jackson's best, imo.

[Nigeyb]

I certainly agree that this one didn’t deliver on its early promise and just fizzled out

[Kathleen]

Neer wrote: "Morgen seemed to have a split personality too and for some time - esp when Morgen referred to herself in the third person - I thought that she was actually Elizabeth, the mother.That actually mother and aunt were the same woman. Did anyone else feel the same?"

I enjoyed Morgen seeming to split into different personalities, but I did not think about her being both mother and aunt. Wish I did! That's a great idea, and I too now wish Shirley had pursued it.

[Roman Clodia]

That's ingenious, thinking Morgen and Elizabeth were the same person! I was thinking more about inherited instability being passed down the female line of the family.

[Neer]

Thanks Kathleen and RC for liking the idea. When the doctor was conversing with Morgen and she referred to herself in the third person, I thought it might be Elizabeth who perhaps after coming to know of her partner Robin abusing her daughter and feeling ashamed of not having been able to save her took on the tough persona of Morgen. Then later when Bess informs Morgen that Betsy had gone to NY to search for Morgen, the latter is shocked & horrified. That reaction made me feel all the more that morgen was actually Elizabeth who now is horrified that her daughter for whom she changed her personality is still searching for the mother who had so spectacularly failed her.