Just an Ordinary Day: The Uncollected Stories of Shirley Jackson

Praise for
JUST AN ORDINARY DAY

“
Just an Ordinary Day
is a long-overdue collection of Jackson’s short fiction…. Jackson at her best: plumbing the extraordinary from the depths of mid-20th-century common. It is a gift to a new generation.”

—
San Francisco Chronicle Book Review

“[Jackson] will make you laugh, contemplate your own mortality, and scare you into a wakeful night. And she appears to have done it all equally deftly.”

—
The Miami Herald

“An unsettling tale-spinner in complete command of her craft.”

—
San Diego Union-Tribune

“For Jackson devotees, as well as first-time readers, this is a feast…. A virtuoso collection.”

—
Publishers Weekly
(starred review)

“A welcome new collection.”

—
Newsweek

“Psychologically complex and deliciously horrifying.”

—
Sun-Sentinel
, Fort Lauderdale

Other books by Shirley Jackson

THE ROAD THROUGH THE WALL
THE LOTTERY: AND OTHER STORIES
HANGSAMAN
LIFE AMONG THE SAVAGES
THE BIRD’S NEST
RAISING DEMONS
THE SUNDIAL
THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE
WE HAVE ALWAYS LIVED IN THE CASTLE
THE MAGIC OF SHIRLEY JACKSON
COME ALONG WITH ME

Contents

I
NTRODUCTION

P
REFACE
: A
LL
I C
AN
R
EMEMBER

PART ONE:
UNPUBLISHED STORIES

T
HE
S
MOKING
R
OOM

I D
ON’T
K
ISS
S
TRANGERS

S
UMMER
A
FTERNOON

I
NDIANS
L
IVE IN
T
ENTS

T
HE
V
ERY
H
OT
S
UN IN
B
ERMUDA

N
IGHTMARE

D
INNER FOR A
G
ENTLEMAN

P
ARTY OF
B
OYS

J
ACK THE
R
IPPER

T
HE
H
ONEYMOON OF
M
RS
. S
MITH
(V
ERSIONS
I
AND
II)

T
HE
S
ISTER

A
RCH
-C
RIMINAL

M
RS
. A
NDERSON

C
OME TO THE
F
AIR

P
ORTRAIT

G
NARLY THE
K
ING OF THE
J
UNGLE

T
HE
G
OOD
W
IFE

D
EVIL OF A
T
ALE

T
HE
M
OUSE

M
Y
G
RANDMOTHER AND THE
W
ORLD OF
C
ATS

M
AYBE
I
T
W
AS THE
C
AR

L
OVERS
M
EETING

M
Y
R
ECOLLECTIONS OF
S. B. F
AIRCHILD

D
ECK THE
H
ALLS

L
ORD OF THE
C
ASTLE

W
HAT A
T
HOUGHT

W
HEN
B
ARRY
W
AS
S
EVEN

B
EFORE
A
UTUMN

T
HE
S
TORY
W
E
U
SED TO
T
ELL

M
Y
U
NCLE IN THE
G
ARDEN

PART TWO:
UNCOLLECTED STORIES

O
N THE
H
OUSE

L
ITTLE
O
LD
L
ADY IN
G
REAT
N
EED

W
HEN
T
HINGS
G
ET
D
ARK

W
HISTLER’S
G
RANDMOTHER

F
AMILY
M
AGICIAN

T
HE
W
ISHING
D
IME

A
BOUT
T
WO
N
ICE
P
EOPLE

M
RS
. M
ELVILLE
M
AKES A
P
URCHASE

J
OURNEY WITH A
L
ADY

T
HE
M
OST
W
ONDERFUL
T
HING

T
HE
F
RIENDS

A
LONE IN A
D
EN OF
C
UBS

T
HE
O
RDER OF
C
HARLOTTE’S
G
OING

O
NE
O
RDINARY
D
AY, WITH
P
EANUTS

T
HE
M
ISSING
G
IRL

T
HE
O
MEN

T
HE
V
ERY
S
TRANGE
H
OUSE
N
EXT
D
OOR

A G
REAT
V
OICE
S
TILLED

A
LL
S
HE
S
AID
W
AS
Y
ES

H
OME

I.O.U.

T
HE
P
OSSIBILITY OF
E
VIL

E
PILOGUE
: F
AME