Stanley Edgar Hyman (1919–1970)

Published shortly after Jackson's death by her widower, Stanley Edgar Hyman, The Magic of Shirley Jackson consists of eleven of her short stories (all from the 25-story collection The Lottery and Other Stories), her novel The Bird's Nest, and her two volumes of suburban-housewife comic memoirs Life Among the Savages and Raising Demons.

It's a convenient collection of some of Jackson's work, but it's not for a first-time Jackson reader, who would be far better off with the 2010 Library of America Jackson edition, which includes the complete collection of The Lottery and Other Stories, an assortment of uncollected/unpublished stories, and her two most important novels, The Haunting of Hill House and We Have Always Lived in the Castle.

The stories which Hyman included in The Magic of Shirley Jackson are too limited in number, and The Bird's Nest, a novel about multiple personality disorder, is perhaps a bit clichéd (though not of course through Jackson's fault) in the post-Sybil era. Much more interesting are the suburban-housewife comedies, and The Magic of Shirley Jackson is of value for their sake along with the convenience, for the sake of "Jackson completeness," of the inclusion of The Bird's Nest with them in a single volume.

Considering that The Magic of Shirley Jackson is long out-of-print though obtainable from used-book dealers, a first-time Jackson reader would be best off with the Library of America edition; but for the Jackson aficionado looking for "Jackson completeness," The Magic of Shirley Jackson, especially with its suburban-housewife comedies, could be a worthwhile library addition – and hence its 4****.… (mais)