The Lottery, Adventures of the Daemon Lover
Back Cover Text:the most haunting writer of our time
a literary sorceress of rare power was revealed in the subtly provocative stories of THE LOTTERY. They exemplify Shirley Jackson's mastery of the "allusive touch, the haunting hint," in John K. Hutchens' words, which create an "atmosphere so thick with evil that you can slice it." The title story is surely her most famous, and very likely her greatest, single work. And the stories of James Harris, "the daemon lover in all his guises, create a complex world of lonely and terrified people. "Shirley Jackson has always been an original," said Orville Prescott in The New York Times. "As a storyteller she is expert, deft in suggesting emotional atmosphere and adroit in conveying nuances of feeling. Her characters may be bizarre and involved in terrifying circumstances, but they are convincing."