Strange Country Ep. 248: Shirley Jackson
Dec 8, 2022
Shirley Jackson has had a resurgence this century, her works being turned into successful series and movies. But when she was writing in the mid-20th century, she had to contend with sexism, a philandering husband, a cold mother, and male reviewers who didn’t get her writing about the plight of women.
Theme music: Big White Lie by A Cast of Thousands
Cite your sources:
Cooke, Rachel, et al. “Laurence Jackson Hyman on his mother Shirley: 'Her work is so relevant now….'” The Guardian, 12 December 2016, https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/dec/12/laurence-jackson-hyman-mother-shirley-jackson-dark-tales. Accessed 7 December 2022.
Franklin, Ruth. Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life. WW Norton, 2016.
Heller, Zoë. “The Haunted Mind of Shirley Jackson.” The New Yorker, 17 October 2016, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/10/17/the-haunted-mind-of-shirley-jackson. Accessed 7 December 2022.
McGrath, Charles. “The Case for Shirley Jackson.” The New York Times, 30 September 2016, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/02/books/review/shirley-jackson-ruth-franklin.html?searchResultPosition=2. Accessed 7 December 2022.
Miller, Laura. “The Alternating Identities of Shirley Jackson.” The New York Times, 11 July 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/11/books/review/laurence-jackson-hyman-the-letters-of-shirley-jackson.html. Accessed 7 December 2022.
Trombetta, Sadie, and Shirley Jackson. “Shirley Jackson's Horror Novel 'Hangsaman' Was Inspired By A Real-Life Disappearance.” Bustle, 18 October 2018, https://www.bustle.com/p/shirley-jacksons-horror-novel-hangsaman-was-inspired-by-a-real-life-disappearance-12217498. Accessed 7 December 2022.