Shirley

By Susan Scarf Merrell,

Book cover of Shirley

Book description

NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING ELIZABETH MOSS AND MICHAEL STUHLBARG! 

“Susan Scarf Merrell brilliantly weaves events from Shirley Jackson’s life into a hypnotic story line”* in this darkly thrilling novel about the author of The Haunting of Hill House and The Lottery.

Two imposing literary figures are at the…

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Why read it?

1 author picked Shirley as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Shirley is set in author Shirley Jackson’s rambling Victorian house in Vermont, adjacent to the Bennington College campus. This is a story of psychological intrigue and intertwined creative and destructive influences, families in trouble, and ghostly presences. The story is narrated by a young faculty wife, Rose. She and her husband, a new professor at the College, live with Jackson and her husband, Professor Stanley Hyman. The house and the household are attractive and sinister, emotionally fraught and seductive. Merrell and I met as classmates in the Bennington Writing Seminars. We exchanged manuscripts for our then novels-in-progress. Now, as…

From Ellen's list on life in a haunted house.

Want books like Shirley?

Our community of 11,000+ authors has personally recommended 64 books like Shirley.

Browse books like Shirley

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in missing persons, haunted houses, and Vermont?

11,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about missing persons, haunted houses, and Vermont.

Missing Persons Explore 279 books about missing persons
Haunted Houses Explore 79 books about haunted houses
Vermont Explore 43 books about Vermont