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The Bird's Nest

by Shirley Jackson

A divided self in a family mystery

Regular price $15.86 USD
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Paperback New English

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AlbakiReads Editorial

A divided self in a family mystery

Elizabeth’s ordinary routines—a museum job, life with her aunt, and an inheritance from her late mother—are disrupted by severe migraines and backaches. A medical visit leads to psychiatric care, where the novel’s central mystery emerges: Elizabeth is described as having four distinct, self-destructive personalities. The story brings together family history, psychological distress, and a troubling exploration of identity. Jackson’s premise places the mystery within Elizabeth’s mind, while the relationships and circumstances around her give it a domestic frame.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers interested in psychological fiction centered on divided identity.
  • Readers drawn to family mysteries and unsettling explorations of the mind.
  • Readers exploring Shirley Jackson’s novels.

Themes

Identity and divided personalityPsychological distressFamily mysteriesInheritance and family life

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

Shirley Jackson's third novel, a chilling descent into multiple personalities

Elizabeth is a demure twenty-three-year-old wiling her life away at a dull museum job, living with her neurotic aunt, and subsisting off her dead mother's inheritance. When Elizabeth begins to suffer terrible migraines and backaches, her aunt takes her to the doctor, then to a psychiatrist. But slowly, and with Jackson's characteristic chill, we learn that Elizabeth is not just one girl--but four separate, self-destructive personalities. The Bird's Nest, Jackson's third novel, develops hallmarks of the horror master's most unsettling work: tormented heroines, riveting familial mysteries, and a disquieting vision inside the human mind.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
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