Fantastic Find at the Bookstore #14: Two Sides of Shirley Jackson

~ Becky Ross Michael

I picked up this book in a used bookstore in Michigan about 25 years ago. It was the charming artwork on the dust jacket that drew me in. Such a lovely family scene. It wasn’t until later that I put “two and two together” about the author, Shirley Jackson!

My first experience with media related to Shirley Jackson was watching the black-and-white movie version of her book The Haunting of Hill House. I was in high school and had come home early from a weekend date with a high temperature. I lay on the couch and watched the only thing that looked interesting on our two available TV stations. The movie, The Haunting, was definitely creepy, and I usually like non-bloody scary movies. Or was it just my temperature and fatigue making me feel somewhat delirious? No, my mom thought it was too creepy, and she went to bed. I watched through my fingers until the sinister ending.

Years later, in college, I read her famous story, “The Lottery,” and wrote a paper (on an old standard typewriter) about The Haunting of Hill House. I also sampled other stories from her collections. Psychological horror and literary suspense at their finest! I loved her writing. So where did Life Among the Savages fit in? I needed to know more!

I discovered that Shirley Jackson was married to a college professor, and they raised four children, with much of that time spent in the house depicted in the stylized art on the dust jacket. Shirley Jackson was a not-so-typical mother of the 50s, trying to raise kids AND to contribute significantly to the family income. It wasn’t all “fun and games.” Just beneath the surface of her amusing tales, we sense a woman on the edge who struggles to reach her writing goals while caring for a home and children, with a husband who offers little help or true emotional support. Shirley Jackson certainly had a dark side. She often dealt with anxiety and a sense of exclusion. But she wrote delightfully about the chaos of family life. For me, she’s right up there with close contemporaries, such as Betty MacDonald, Jean Kerr, and Erma Bombeck.

One of Shirley Jackson’s well-known stories, titled “Charles,” is incorporated into Life Among the Savages, and I used that story when I taught middle school language arts as a wonderful example of irony and foreshadowing. If you haven’t read it, you can check that out here! Her children are shown below on the back of the book’s dust jacket. I have since learned that she also wrote a follow-up book called Raising Demons.

Over the years, I was always on the lookout for anything by Shirley Jackson. One summer, I went to the annual library used book sale in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, and was excited to find the book Come Along With Me. Pictured below, it contains lectures about writing, an unfinished novel at her death, and short stories, including “The Lottery.” It was edited by her husband, Stanley Edgar Hyman. What a find! The other book, Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life by Ruth Franklin, is a new, exceptional biography that my sister gave me, knowing my interest in the author. When I reached the last page, I felt that I knew this complex, eccentric, and often misunderstood woman. And I could see how this talented author delved into malice, cruelty, and terror while also skillfully spinning humorous stories about everyday life!

40 thoughts on “Fantastic Find at the Bookstore #14: Two Sides of Shirley Jackson”

  1. A great look at Shirley Jackson’s busy/difficult life, Becky! Interesting that her writing had both a macabre side and an Erma Bombeck side (albeit more edgy than Erma, who I was privileged to meet and write about when I covered syndicated columnists and cartoonists for a magazine). “Life Among the Savages” does have an excellent cover!

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  2. I’ve never heard of Shirley Jackson, although Jean Kerr and Erma Bombeck are familiar names. I’m not sure I ever read anything by them, either, but it was fun reading about your ‘finds,’ and the enjoyment you’ve received from them. The only author I really enjoyed from that era was Peg Bracken. I still have — and use from time to time — her I Hate to Cook Book. It contains the world’s best oatmeal cookie recipe!

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  4. “Charles” is a short but interesting story. Definitely an undercurrent there. I’d read only Jackson’s best known works, “The Lottery” and The Haunting of Hill House. I really ought to seek out more of her works.

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  5. Charles! What a fabulous story! I first heard it from one of my children and then I used it when I was teaching. I think it was part of the University of Chicago Great Books discussion series. Remembering the irony of Shirley Jackson’s writing made me smile seeing this post. I’m going to have to add that to my TBR. Thanks!!

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  12. Love this comprehensive look at Shirley Jackson and her work, along with your personal experiences with her work. I’d forgotten about Life Among the Savages until reading your summary and then went to look at my reading log. Yep, I read that in 2021 after a friend asked if I had. My notes say that I really didn’t like her husband (although in less polite language, HA). Thank you for this ode to a remarkable author!

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      2. I know. But here’s something interesting and more positive that you may not have heard about. Shirley’s grandson (Miles Hyman) has authored and illustrated a graphic novel version of “The Lottery.” It was published on her 100th birthday.

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  14. This post makes me want to know more about Shirlely Jackson. The only work of hers I’ve read is “The Lottery,” and I admit that creeped me out when I was young! She sounds like a complex and interesting person.

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