Author | Shirley Jackson |
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Language | English |
Genre | Bildungsroman | Gothic fiction |
Publisher | Farrar, Straus and Young |
Publication date | 1951 |
Publication place | United States |
Pages | 191 |
ISBN | 978-0143107040 current edition, published by Penguin |
Preceded by | The Road Through the Wall |
Followed by | The Lottery and Other Stories |
Hangsaman is a 1951 gothic novel by American author Shirley Jackson. The second of Jackson's published novels, Hangsaman is a bildungsroman centering on lonely college freshman Natalie Waite, who descends into madness after enrolling in a liberal arts college.[1]
The novel takes its title from an old folk ballad. The official publisher's description of Hangsaman says the novel is "loosely based on the real-life disappearance of a Bennington College sophomore in 1946," referencing the case of Paula Jean Welden.[1] At the time, Jackson was living in Bennington, Vermont, as her husband, Stanley Edgar Hyman, was employed at Bennington College, where Welden had been a student.[1] However, Ruth Franklin's research for her 2016 biography of Jackson found no evidence the novel was inspired by Welden's disappearance.[2] Jackson's text mixes satire with psychological elements as her protagonist spends half her time in an imaginary world.[3]