A masterpiece of black comedy and sepulchral atmosphere, Jackson’s signature work introduces a gallery of unhinged characters and sinister machinations in a twisted tale of venality and wilful greed.
Living in the Blackwood family home with only her sister Constance and her Uncle Julian for company, Merricat just wants to preserve their delicate way of life. But ever since Constance was acquitted of murdering the rest of the family, the world isn't leaving the Blackwoods alone. And when Cousin Charles arrives, armed with overtures of friendship and a desperate need to get into the safe, Merricat must do everything in her power to protect the remaining family.
This Penguin edition includes an afterword by the acclaimed novelist Joyce Carol Oates. All Shirley Jackson's other novels, plus The Lottery and Other Stories, are available in Penguin Modern Classics.
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
ISBN: 9780141191454
Number of pages: 176
Weight: 136 g
Dimensions: 197 x 128 x 11 mm
Her greatest book ... at once whimsical and harrowing, a miniaturist's charmingly detailed fantasy sketched inside a mausoleum ... the deeper we sink, the deeper we want to go. - Donna Tartt
The world of Shirley Jackson is eerie and unforgettable ... She is a true master. - A. M. Homes
A masterpiece of Gothic suspense. - Joyce Carol Oates
If you haven't read We Have Always Lived in the Castle ... you have missed out on something marvellous. - Neil Gaiman
Her greatest book ... at once whimsical and harrowing, a miniaturist's charmingly detailed fantasy sketched inside a mausoleum ... Through depths and depths and bloodwarm depths we fall, until the surface is only an eerie gleam high above, nearly forgotten; and the deeper we sink, the deeper we want to go - Donna Tartt
This novel brings back all my faith in terror and death. I can say no higher of it and her - Dorothy Parker, Esquire
An amazing writer - Neil Gaiman
The world of Shirley Jackson is eerie and unforgettable ... She is a true master - A. M. Homes
A masterpiece of Gothic suspense - Joyce Carol Oates
So eerie, so disturbing, and not a wasted word, it has the kind of economy I wish I knew how to achieve - Jonathan Coe
For me, it is that unique and dreamlike book ... that stands as her masterpiece - Jonathan Lethem
We Have Always Lived in the Castle is Jackson's masterpiece ... Stunning - Elaine Showalter
Manages the ironic miracle of convincing the reader that a house inhabited by a lunatic, a poisoner, and a pyromaniac is a world more rich in sympathy, love and subtlety than the world outside - Time
A witch's brew of eerie power and startling novelty - The New York Times
A marvellous elucidation of life ... a story full of craft and full of mystery - The New York Times Book Review
I loved this book because it is beautiful and strange and a little scary in an odd way. The characters are really interesting and so well developed for such a little book. It's like the beginning of a fairy tale... More
We Have Always Lived In The Castle is one of those books I have been meaning to read since I started blogging and I eventually got around to it at the end of last year. I had completely forgotten to review it as it... More
Deservedly a classic, bordering on the horror genre. I flew through this novel, fascinated by the characters, the backstory, the setting - although I have certainly read similar stories, it is clear that this one was... More
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