Most Popular Books by Shirley Jackson

A terrifying short story from Shirley Jackson, the master of the macabre tale. Shirley Jackson''s chilling tales of creeping unease and random cruelty have the power to unsettle and terrify unlike any other. When her story The Lottery was first published in The New Yorker in 1948, readers were so horrified they sent her hate mail. It became known as one of the greatest short stories ever written. Have you read her yet? ''Shirley Jackson''s stories are among the most terrifying ever written'' Donna Tartt ''An amazing writer ... if you haven''t read any of her short stories ... you have missed out on something marvellous'' Neil Gaiman ''Her stories are stunning, timeless - as relevant and terrifying now as when they were first published ... ''The Lottery'' is so much an icon in the history of the American short story that one could argue it has moved from the canon of American twentieth-century fiction directly into the American psyche, our collective unconscious'' A. M. Homes Shirley Jackson was born in California in 1916. When her short story The Lottery was first published in The New Yorker in 1948, readers were so horrified they sent her hate mail; it has since become one of the greatest American stories of all time. Her first novel, The Road Through the Wall, was published in the same year and was followed by five more: Hangsaman, The Bird''s Nest, The Sundial, The Haunting of Hill House and We Have Always Lived in the Castle, widely seen as her masterpiece. Shirley Jackson died in her sleep at the age of 48.

Published in 1959, The Haunting of Hill House refines the Gothic into psychological inquiry. Dr. Montague gathers Eleanor Vance, Theodora, and Luke to test a mansion whose very angles and doors seem hostile; Jackson stages terror through architecture, rumor, and suggestive marks on walls. Her close-third narration clings to Eleanor, cultivating radical ambiguity about agency and phenomena. The novel revitalizes the haunted-house line from James to mid‐century America, marrying lyrical precision with claustrophobic design. Shirley Jackson, already renowned for The Lottery, brought to Hill House a scholar''s curiosity about folklore and spiritualism and a satirist''s eye for social ritual. Life in Vermont, collaboration with critic Stanley Edgar Hyman, and intimate knowledge of isolation and anxiety inform Eleanor''s voice. Jackson''s preoccupation with belief, conformity, and tenuous female autonomy shapes the novel''s moral pressure. Readers seeking atmosphere over spectacle will find an exacting blueprint for dread here. Essential for students of the Gothic, postwar American culture, and narrative unreliability, Hill House also rewards writers studying how syntax and spatial detail choreograph fear. Quickie Classics summarizes timeless works with precision, preserving the author''s voice and keeping the prose clear, fast, and readable—distilled, never diluted. Enriched Edition extras: Introduction · Synopsis · Historical Context · Author Biography · Brief Analysis · 4 Reflection Q&As · Editorial Footnotes.

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“Jackson at her best: plumbing the extraordinary from the depths of mid-twentieth-century common. [Just an Ordinary Day] is a gift to a new generation.”—San Francisco Chronicle Acclaimed in her own time for her short story “The Lottery” and her novel The Haunting of Hill House—classics ranking with the work of Edgar Allan Poe—Shirley Jackson blazed a path for contemporary writers with her explorations of evil, madness, and cruelty. Soon after her untimely death in 1965, Jackson’s children discovered a treasure trove of previously unpublished and uncollected stories, many of which are brought together in this remarkable collection. Here are tales of torment, psychological aberration, and the macabre, as well as those that display her lighter touch with humorous scenes of domestic life. Reflecting the range and complexity of Jackson’s talent, Just an Ordinary Day reaffirms her enduring influence and celebrates her singular voice, rich with magic and resonance. Praise for Shirley Jackson “[Jackson’s] work exerts an enduring spell.”—Joyce Carol Oates “Shirley Jackson’s stories are among the most terrifying ever written.”—Donna Tartt “An amazing writer . . . If you haven’t read [Jackson] you have missed out on something marvelous.”—Neil Gaiman “Shirley Jackson is unparalleled as a leader in the field of beautifully written, quiet, cumulative shudders.”—Dorothy Parker “An author who not only writes beautifully but who knows what there is, in this world, to be scared of.”—Francine Prose “The world of Shirley Jackson is eerie and unforgettable.”—A. M. Homes “Jackson enjoyed notoriety and commercial success within her lifetime, and yet it still hardly seems like enough for a writer so singular. When I meet readers and other writers of my generation, I find that mentioning her is like uttering a holy name.”—Victor LaValle

Sepulangnya dari kantor yang nyaman dan ber-AC, dengan hati riang dan berencana makan malam istimewa bersama istri tercinta, Mr. Beresford malahan harus kehilangan “rasa nyaman” yang seharian tadi dinikmatinya sebagaimana halnya dirasakan para pria kantoran di New York pada umumnya, karena kehadiran sebuah gangguan terus-menerus dari seorang pria bertopi yang menguntitnya ke mana pun kakinya melangkah. Celakanya, dia tidak mampu menghilangkan jejak, walaupun jelas-jelas dirinya berada di antara keramaian orang, di tempat umum yang antara satu orang dengan lainnya, sibuk dengan urusan masing-masing. Di pusat bisnis Kota New York. Pria itu selalu bisa menemukannya, menatap setiap pergerakannya. Mr. Beresford merasa mungkin dirinya salah karena menilai aneh pakaian pria asing itu, meskipun tidak mengungkapkannya secara verbal, tapi apa hanya karena alasan itu dirinya dibuat begitu bersalah? Masih dengan kisah-kisah yang kerap membuat kening pembaca berkerut, mau tidak mau mempertanyakan kaitan antara satu hal dengan hal lainnya, Shirley Jackson dalam antologi Paranoia, menghadirkan 7 cerita pendek yang selalu butuh untuk dibaca berulang-ulang agar dipahami maksud tersiratnya.

World-renowned cartoonist Seth returns with three new ghost stories for 2022. Margaret visits the lavish home of her friend Carla Rhodes for the summer holidays. But when Carla''s brother arrives with a mysterious friend, strange occurrences cause tensions to rise within the group, and secrets hidden within the house begin to emerge.

''''The Road Through the Wall'''' was Jackson''s first novel. Jackson loosely based the novel on her childhood, growing up in an affluent California neighborhood. She also admitted that she wrote the book, in part, to get back at her parents, whom she resented for their narrow-mindedness and greed, stating that a writer''s first novel has to be the one in which they get back at their parents.

Loop the loop, climb to the top... Hold on tight, it''s about to drop! * Sharing a story or rhyme for only 10 minutes each day helps your child to enjoy practising her reading. * Books 1-8 of Read with Ladybird will help children who are just starting to learn to read. * You can be confident that practising at home with Read with Ladybird will support work done at school.

Vier Menschen betreten die alte Villa, die als Hill House bekannt ist. Sie wollen die übernatürlichen Phänomene, die sich angeblich darin ereignen, untersuchen. Die vier werden etwas Böses erleben, das sich ihrer Kontrolle und ihrem Verstand entzieht. Sie können unmöglich wissen, dass sie von dem Haus selbst angelockt wurden und welche bösen Pläne es verfolgt ... Das Meisterwerk der ''Queen of Horror'', der wichtigsten Autorin unheimlicher Literatur und Vorbild für Stephen King und viele andere Autoren. Neil Gaiman: ''Was das wirklich Unheimliche betrifft, überragt Shirley Jacksons SPUK IN HILL HOUSE alle anderen Romane. Eine erstaunliche Autorin. Wenn du sie nicht gelesen hast, hast du etwas Wunderbares verpasst.'' Donna Tartt: ''Shirley Jacksons Geschichten gehören zu den schauerlichsten, die je geschrieben wurden.'' Joyce Carol Oates: ''Shirley Jackson ist eine dieser höchst eigenwilligen, unnachahmlichen Schriftstellerinnen, deren Werke einen bleibenden Zauber ausüben.'' Stephen King: ''Einer der wirklich großen unheimlichen Romane der vergangenen hundert Jahre.'' FESTA MUST READ: Große Erzähler ohne Tabus. Muss man gelesen haben. Shirley Jackson ist die ''Queen of Horror'', die wichtigste Autorin unheimlicher Literatur und literarisches Vorbild für Stephen King, Neil Gaiman und viele andere Autoren. Shirley Jackson wurde 1916 in Kalifornien geboren. Als der New Yorker 1948 ihre Kurzgeschichte ?The Lottery? veröffentlichte, waren viele Leser so entsetzt, dass sie ihre Abonnements kündigten und Hassbriefe sendeten. The Union of South Africa verbot die Veröffentlichung dieser Geschichte sogar. Inzwischen gilt sie als eine der berühmtesten Erzählungen Amerikas. Ihre dunklen, brillanten Romane haben viele Autoren beeinflusst. The Haunting of Hill House und We Have Always Lived in the Castle sind ihre Meisterwerke. Shirley Jackson starb 1965. Stephen King: ''The Haunting of Hill House ist einer der wirklich großen, unheimlichen Romane der vergangenen hundert Jahre.''

Hill House is a mansion in a location that is never specified but is between many hills. The story concerns four main characters: Dr. John Montague, an investigator of the supernatural; Eleanor Vance, a shy young woman who resents having lived as a recluse caring for her demanding disabled mother; Theodora, a bohemian artist implied to be a lesbian; and Luke Sanderson, the young heir to Hill House, who is host to the others. Dr. Montague hopes to find scientific evidence of the existence of the supernatural. He rents Hill House for a summer and invites as his guests several people whom he has chosen because of their experiences with paranormal events. Of these, only Eleanor and Theodora accept. Eleanor travels to the house, where she and Theodora will live in isolation with Montague and Luke. Hill House has two caretakers, Mr. and Mrs. Dudley, who refuse to stay near the house at night. The four overnight visitors begin to form friendships as Dr. Montague explains the building''s history, which encompasses suicide and other violent deaths. All four of the inhabitants begin to experience strange events while in the house, including unseen noises and ghosts roaming the halls at night, strange writing on the walls, and other unexplained events. Eleanor tends to experience phenomena to which the others are oblivious. At the same time, Eleanor may be losing touch with reality, and the narrative implies that at least some of what Eleanor witnesses may be products of her imagination. Another implied possibility is that Eleanor possesses a subconscious telekinetic ability that is itself the cause of many of the disturbances experienced by her and other members of the investigative team (which might indicate there is no ghost in the house at all). This possibility is suggested especially by references early in the novel to Eleanor''s childhood memories about episodes of a poltergeist-like entity that seemed to involve mainly her.

The Haunting of Hill House is a 1959 gothic horror novel by American author Shirley Jackson. A finalist for the National Book Award and considered one of the best literary ghost stories published during the 20th century, it has been made into two feature films and a play, and is the basis of a Netflix series. Jackson''s novel relies on terror rather than horror to elicit emotion in the reader, using complex relationships between the mysterious events in the house and the characters'' psyches. Hill House is a mansion in a location that is never specified but is between many hills. The story concerns four main characters: Dr. John Montague, an investigator of the supernatural; Eleanor Vance, a shy young woman who resents caring for her demanding, disabled mother;Theodora, a bohemian artist implied to be a lesbian; and Luke Sanderson, the young heir to Hill House, who is host to the others. Montague hopes to find scientific evidence of the existence of the supernatural. He rents Hill House for a summer and invites as his guests several people whom he has chosen because of their experiences with paranormal events. Of these, only Eleanor and Theodora accept. Eleanor travels to the house, where she and Theodora will live in isolation with Montague and Luke. Hill House has two caretakers, Mr. and Mrs. Dudley, who refuse to stay near the house at night. The four overnight visitors begin to form friendships as Montague explains the building''s history, which encompasses suicide and other violent deaths. All four of the inhabitants begin to experience strange events while in the house, including unseen noises and ghosts roaming the halls at night, strange writing on the walls, and other unexplained events. Eleanor tends to experience phenomena to which the others are oblivious. At the same time, Eleanor may be losing touch with reality, and the narrative implies that at least some of what Eleanor witnesses may be products of her imagination. Another implied possibility is that Eleanor possesses a subconscious telekinetic ability that is itself the cause of many of the disturbances experienced by her and other members of the investigative team (which might indicate there is no ghost in the house at all). This possibility is suggested especially by references early in the novel to Eleanor''s childhood memories about episodes of a poltergeist-like entity that seemed to involve mainly her.

Bossy sisters, noisy brothers and naughty pets - no wonder Mum is cross! * You can help your child to practise his reading by spending 10 minutes a day sharing short stories and simple rhymes. * Books 9-16 of Read with Ladybird are ideal for children who are in the early stages of learning to read. * You can be confident that practising at home with Read with Ladybird will support work done at school.