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  • Published: 28 May 2014
  • ISBN: 9780141391960
  • Imprint: Penguin Classics
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 240
  • RRP: $22.99

The Sundial




Fans of Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House will enjoy this disquieting tale of people awaiting the end of the world in a large, isolated house

Mrs Halloran has inherited the great Halloran house on the death of her son, much to the disgust of her daughter-in-law, the delight of her wicked granddaughter and the confusion of the rest of the household. But when the original owner - long dead - arrives to announce the world is ending and only the house and its occupants will be saved, they find themselves in a nightmare of strange marble statues, mysterious house guests and the beautiful, unsettling Halloran sundial which seems to be at the centre of it all. In this masterful work, Shirley Jackson blends family politics and apocalyptic terror to create a disturbing world of sinister relations and the macabre.

  • Published: 28 May 2014
  • ISBN: 9780141391960
  • Imprint: Penguin Classics
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 240
  • RRP: $22.99

About the author

Shirley Jackson

Shirley Jackson was born in San Francisco in 1916. She first received wide critical acclaim for her short story 'The Lottery', which was published in 1949. Her novels - which include The Sundial, The Bird's Nest, Hangsaman, The Road through the Wall, We Have Always Lived in the Castle and The Haunting of Hill House - are characterised by her use of realistic settings for tales that often involve elements of horror and the occult. Raising Demons and Life Among the Savages are her two works of nonfiction. Come Along With Me is a collection of stories, lectures, and part of the novel she was working on when she died in 1965.

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Praise for The Sundial

Shirley Jackson's stories are among the most terrifying ever written

Donna Tartt

A pioneer of the supernatural horror genre

Observer

She is the finest master...of the cryptic, haunted tale

The New York Times Book Review