psychological study based on a true case of multiple personality. Jackson's protagonist, Elizabeth Richmond, a somber, bland woman who is convinced she is responsible for her mother's death, invents alternate personas as a result of being unable to deal with guilt. With the help of a psychiatrist and an eccentric aunt, Elizabeth gradually regains control of her psyche. The novel is generally regarded as Jackson's wittiest novel since it was lauded for its comic yet compassionate treatment of mental disorder. In 1956, Jackson's non-fiction prose, "The Witchcraft of Salem Village", was published. It's a simple, chilling account of the witchcraft trials of 1692 and 93' when, because of testimony given by a group of little girls, twenty persons were executed as witches and others died in jail. "The Sundial", published in 1958, is an apocalyptic and satirical novel that centers upon eleven boorish people who believe that the end of the world is near. Seeking sanctuary in a sprawling gothic estate, they burn the books in the library, irrationally stock the shelves with canned olives and galoshes, play cards, and bicker endlessly. At the end of the novel, the group is still waiting for Armageddon. A gothic manor again plays a crucial role in "The Haunting of Hill House"(1959). This work concerns an experimental psychic study held at Hill House, an eerie edifice that is presumed to be haunted. Research participants include Eleanor Vance, a timid, repressed woman with astonishing psychic powers. The other people brought to Hill House are confident and self-centered and soon alienate Eleanor form the only environment in which she was ever comfortable. Jackson's last novel, "We Have Always Lived in the Castle"(1962) combines many of her most vital concerns-psychology, isolation, and evil-with a curiosity in black magic. "We Have Always Lived in the Castle" is the story of two sisters victimized by their small New England village because of the uns...
