LibGuides: English: We Have Always Lived in the Castle

About the Author

The Haunted Mind of Shirley Jackson - The New Yorker
Jackson was born in San Francisco in 1916 and brought up, with a younger brother, in one of the city’s affluent suburbs. Her parents were conservative country-club people, who regarded their high-strung child with some perplexity. Jackson identified herself early on as an outsider and as a writer.
The Voice of Shirley Jackson Was Unnerving and Full of Foreboding - National Endowment For the Humanities
Jackson was arguably most effective in crafting insidious, slow-to-develop stories that acquired menacing or mystifying dimensions incrementally.
The Alternating Identities of Shirley Jackson - The New York Times
THE LETTERS OF SHIRLEY JACKSON - The two most revealing documents in this hefty collection of unpublished letters written by the novelist Shirley Jackson were never sent. One was addressed to her mother, and the other to her husband, Stanley Edgar Hyman.
Shirley Jackson at 100: What Critics Said About Her Work - Time
A full century after the birth of the author Shirley Jackson—who was born on Dec. 14, 1916—her name remains synonymous with the psychological drama of her stories and novels, most famously the Hunger Games precursor The Lottery.
11 Famous Writers on the Genius and Influence of Shirley Jackson - LitHub
In case you haven’t read her yet and need a little nudge, or just want to trace the web of influence outward a few notches, here are a few great writers writing on the brilliance Shirley Jackson.

About the Book

Famous Short Stories - The Lottery

The Lottery - The New Yorker
First published on June 18 1948, Shirley Jackson's most famous short story, The Lottery, can be read online on the New Yorker's website. A chilling tale of small-town Americana and no doubt the inspiration for The Hunger Games, The Lottery is gripping reading.

Video: Shirley Jackson reads The Lottery

Shirley Jackson reads The Lottery

The Lottery is perhaps Shirley Jackson’s most famous work. A small town gathers one morning to perform its annual lottery, but who will be chosen and for what?

Listen to Shirley Jackson reading her own short story.

Writing about the Text

Fictional Film

Fictional Film Production year: 2020 Duration: 115 mins

Renowned horror writer Shirley Jackson finds inspiration for her next book after she and her husband take in a young newlywed couple.