New Shirley Jackson story is published
A new story by author Shirley Jackson, often recognized for her creepy short story “The Lottery,” is appearing in The New Yorker.
Jackson’s story is titled “The Man in the Woods” and follows Christopher, who is strolling through a forest when he comes upon a house inhabited by a man and two women who take charge of the household for him.
The full story is currently available on The New Yorker’s website.
“In ‘The Man in the Woods’ she has created a story grounded in mythology, told like a fairy tale, with her typical hanging ending,” Jackson’s son Jackson Hyman told The New Yorker. “Though in this case the clues suggest pretty clearly how it will end.”
Hyman remembered how his mother would often be asked about the endings of her pieces.
“Shirley always steadfastly refused to explain her fiction,” he said. “She would usually smile and tell people, ‘It’s just a story.’ She firmly believed that her books would speak for themselves.”
More previously unpublished work by Jackson is on the way – Random House is releasing a collection of Jackson’s work titled “Garlic in Fiction” which is being edited by Hyman and another of Jackson’s children, Sarah Hyman DeWitt, according to the New York Times. The collection consists of work by the author from the Library of Congress and will include nonfiction, fiction, drawings, and lectures delivered by the writer.
