Read By: Ruth Franklin

Jan 31, 2021

Ruth Franklin on her selection:

Shirley Jackson (1916-1965) is deservedly famous for suspenseful fiction like “The Lottery” and The Haunting of Hill House. During her lifetime, though, she was equally well known for the humorous stories she wrote about her absent-minded-professor husband and their four children, published in popular women’s magazines of the era and collected in two best-selling memoirs, Life Among the Savages and Raising Demons. “Charles,” the story I’ve chosen to read, is her first family story and perhaps the funniest, capped by a perfect punchline.

Life Among the Savages, by Shirley Jackson

Intro and outro from "Shift of Currents" by Blue Dot Sessions // CC BY-NC 2.0

View all episodes

Categories: Literary Read By

Tags: Ruth Franklin

Did you know that donations cover nearly half of our costs?

As a nonprofit community and cultural center, The 92nd Street Y, New York relies on support from people like you. Your donation today helps us continue connecting you to the programs you love, no matter where in the world you are.

$ 50$ 100$ 250$ 500$ 1,000$ 2,500 $ Not now

All material accessed via the 92NY website (“content”) is protected by copyright under U.S. Copyright laws and is the property of The Young Men’s and Young Women’s Hebrew Association or the party credited as the provider of the content. You may not copy, reproduce, distribute, publish, display, perform, modify, create derivative works, transmit, or in any way exploit any such content, nor may you distribute any part of this content over any network, including a local area network, sell or offer it for sale, or use such content to construct any kind of database. You may not alter or remove any copyright or other notice from copies of the content accessed via 92NY’s website. Copying or storing any content except as provided above is expressly prohibited without prior written permission of 92NY or the copyright holder identified in the individual content’s copyright notice.