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The Bird's Nest
The Bird's Nest
Aug 5, 2025 10:24 AM

Author:Shirley Jackson,Jill Winternitz

The Bird's Nest

Brought to you by Penguin.

The unsettling story of a young woman's descent into mental illness, from the author of The Haunting of Hill House and We Have Always Lived at the Castle.

'An amazing writer' Neil Gaiman

Elizabeth Richmond is almost too quiet to be believed, with no friends, no parents, and a job that leaves her strangely unnoticed. But soon she starts to behave in ways she can neither control nor understand, to the increasing horror of her doctor, and the humiliation of her self-centred aunt. As a tormented Elizabeth becomes two people, then three, then four, each wilder and more wicked than the last, a battle of wills threatens to destroy the girl and all who surround her. The Bird's Nest is a macabre journey into who we are, and how close we sometimes come to the brink of madness.

Shirley Jackson's chilling tales of creeping unease and casual cruelty have the power to unsettle and terrify unlike any other. She was born in California in 1916. When her short story The Lottery was first published in The New Yorker in 1948, readers were so horrified they sent her hate mail; it has since become one of the most iconic American stories of all time. Her first novel, The Road Through the Wall, was published in the same year and was followed by five more: Hangsaman, The Bird's Nest, The Sundial, The Haunting of Hill House and We Have Always Lived in the Castle, widely seen as her masterpiece. Shirley Jackson died in her sleep at the age of 48.

'The world of Shirley Jackson is eerie and unforgettable ... It is a place where things are not what they seem; even on a morning that is sunny and clear there is always the threat of darkness looming, of things taking a turn for the worse' - A. M. Homes

Shirley Jackson is unparalleled as a leader in the field of beautifully written, quiet, cumulative shudders' - Dorothy Parker

'Shirley Jackson is one of those highly idiosyncratic, inimitable writers ... whose work exerts an enduring spell' - Joyce Carol Oates

© Shirley Jackson 1954 (P) Penguin Audio 2020

Reviews

The world of Shirley Jackson is eerie and unforgettable ... It is a place where things are not what they seem; even on a morning that is sunny and clear there is always the threat of darkness looming, of things taking a turn for the worse

—— A. M. Homes

Shirley Jackson is unparalleled as a leader in the field of beautifully written, quiet, cumulative shudders

—— Dorothy Parker

Shirley Jackson is one of those highly idiosyncratic, inimitable writers ... whose work exerts an enduring spell

—— Joyce Carol Oates

Fabulously rich and compelling.

—— Daily Mail

[A] glorious novel.

—— Helen Macdonald , Guardian

Written in lyrical, beautiful prose that makes even waking up seem like a poetic event, The End of the Day makes sense of the events of a single day in a compelling work of fiction.

—— GMA.com

A moody, atmospheric domestic drama with a mystery novel somewhere in its family tree.

—— Kirkus Reviews

Clegg delivers a thoughtful, well-observed story... The splendid prose and orchestrated maneuvering will keep readers turning the pages and send them back to the beginning, to read it all over again.

—— Publishers Weekly

A declining heiress returns home for the first time in decades, but can't remember why. Her former maid's daughter runs a taxi company in Hawaii. Her aunt is left with a baby whose parents have vanished. Leave it to Clegg to brilliantly bind these threads.

—— Entertainment Weekly

Clegg tantalisingly reveals the clues that connect the characters to each other. A gripping read.

—— Psychologies

Arresting and impressive.

—— Ethan Croft , Literary Review

Superb ... The stories move from breathtakingly vulnerable to extraordinarily funny, and all with such skill and lightness of touch. I loved it

—— Louise O'Neill

I don't know another writer who could balance poignancy and hilarity with such grace ... Goosebumps! Guffaws! It's got it all. I love this book

—— Doireann Ní Ghríofa , via Twitter

Guffaw-out-loud funny

—— Business Post

A riotous read from the get-go ... An absolute tonic for our times

—— RTÉ Guide

F*cking fantastic. Patrick is a brilliant writer

—— Blindboy Boatclub , via Twitter

Lovely ... It's very worth reading

—— Dara Ó Briain , via Twitter

A wonderful book ... done with a gorgeous twist of humour and great emotional insight ... One of my books of the year

—— Ryan Tubridy , RTÉ Radio 1

Exquisite ... One of the funniest writers in Ireland

—— Irish Examiner

Immensely readable, warm, human and very, very funny

—— Irish Daily Star

Pixies were loud-quiet-loud. Patrick Freyne is funny-sad-funny. I really loved his new book

—— Ed O'Loughlin , via Twitter

Readers are sure to find themselves touched by Freyne's writing ... Delightful

—— Journal.ie

Freyne's thoroughly entertaining debut is a flash of warmth and wit in the darkness

—— Totally Dublin

Genuinely moving ... [It] will evoke warmth in anyone who isn't totally sociopathic

—— Hot Press

A delightful insight into the mind of the hilarious Patrick Freyne

—— Irish Country Magazine

So honest, so funny, and most importantly, 11/10 for self-deprecation

—— Sarah Breen

Brilliant ... An absolute mind hug

—— Niall Breslin

Freyne's radar is precision-honed to find the madness within the mundane

—— Sunday Independent

More moving that I ever expected and somehow funnier than I assumed

—— Emer McLysaght , Irish Times, Best Books of 2020

Captivating and moving.

—— Tablet, *Summer Reads of 2021*

Moving... Beneath the attention-seeking is a well-loved author who has gone through his cupboards, giving us all that he has.

—— Johanna Thomas-Corr , Sunday Times

A defiant and witty testimony to mortality and a tender remembrance of his friends and literary heroes… I’ve been reading and re-reading it this year

—— Times Literary Supplement, *Books of the Year*

Continues in the same superior vein as Restoration… The fusion of such an engrossing character, and the minutiae of another time, remains a marvel

—— Daily Telegraph

In this evocative and beautifully drawn novel of family and loyalty in the face of an uncertain future Tremain continues the story of a wonderfully unique character

—— Hannah Britt , Daily Express

Hugely enjoyable

—— Reader's Digest

Merivel’s hapless charm remains intact in this tour de force of literary technique

—— Sunday Telegraph (Seven)

A sequel that looks back to the earlier novel without ever quite recapturing its spirit is the perfect form in which to evoke that feeling of having to carry on, and of trying to make yourself have fun even with it eventually begins to hurt

—— Colin Burrow , Guardian

A marvelllously rollicking good read, and it is such a pleasure to meet Robert Merivel again. Rose Tremain brings the character to life in a way that makes you want to find out even more about the period. Enormously skilled and deft

—— Good Book Guide
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