Doctors would later give the official cause as “coronary occlusion due to arteriosclerosis, with hypertensive cardiovascular disease as a contributing factor.” Her death was met by an outpouring of affection from readers and publishers. She ended the diary with these repeated words: “laughter is possible laughter is possible laughter is possible.”Ī few months later, in August, 1965, Shirley Jackson passed away during an afternoon nap. a happy book.” She wrote about getting over a long bout of writer’s block that had settled in the wake of President Kennedy’s assassination, as well as an affair she suspected her husband, critic Stanley Hyman, was involved in. In one of her last diary entries, she described it as “a funny book. After the tour, she settled back at home with intentions to rest and continue working on a new novel, Come Along with Me. The cost of the car would be completely covered by the speaking fees she was earning for the five lectures she’d be delivering.

In the spring of 1965, author Shirley Jackson embarked on a cross-country college lecture tour, in a new MG sedan. What might have been genius, and what might have been better left locked in the drawer? How and why do we read these final words from our favorite writers - and what would they have to say about it? We’ll piece together the rumors and fragments and notes to find the real story. Sign up for our newsletter to get submission announcements and stay on top of our best work.Įach “ Unfinished Business ” will examine an unfinished work left behind by one of our greatest authors.

Shirley Jackson by Ruth Franklin