Hildy Nybo is a passionate environmentalist, admired for her expertise and leadership. But the real Hildy is a deeply disturbed recluse who buries herself in work to maintain her sanity, which is fraying at the edges.

Traumatic events rise to haunt her when she’s forced to return to the Washington State fishing resort of her childhood. Hildy takes residence in one of the resort cabins while overseeing a government reclamation project to preserve aquatic life in the Elwha River. There she meets...

Today’s newsletter concludes my review of Shirley Jackson’s less-known novels.

Shirley Jackson employed numerous iconic elements to create this darkly hilarious novel. Bits of Hansel and Gretel, Robinson Crusoe, Chicken Little, Lizzie Borden, the Book of Revelation, Jane Austen novels, and Greek tragedy join forces to portray a snobbish family preparing for the end of the world.

The Hallorans have just returned to their cloistered mansion after burying Lionel Halloran. His widow Marjorie claims...

Today’s newsletter continues my review of Shirley Jackson’s less-known novels.

The non-fiction story of Sybil came to mind while I was reading this one. That book and the movie it inspired created a sensation during the mid-1970s and established Sally Field as a great actress. But The Bird's Nest predates Sybil by two decades. It's a fascinating tale and one of the first one to deal with multiple personalities.

Elizabeth Richmond is a colorless, repressed young woman with a meaningless clerical...