The Bird's Nest
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wish list failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy Now for $23.31
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Linda Jones
-
Mark Bramhall
-
Written by:
-
Shirley Jackson
-
Kevin Wilson - foreword
About this listen
Shirley Jackson's third novel, a chilling descent into multiple personalities.
Elizabeth is a demure 23-year-old wiling her life away at a dull museum job, living with her neurotic aunt, and subsisting off her dead mother’s inheritance. When Elizabeth begins to suffer terrible migraines and backaches, her aunt takes her to the doctor, then to a psychiatrist. But slowly, and with Jackson’s characteristic chill, we learn that Elizabeth is not just one girl - but four separate, self-destructive personalities. The Bird’s Nest, Jackson’s third novel, develops hallmarks of the horror master’s most unsettling work: tormented heroines, riveting familial mysteries, and a disquieting vision inside the human mind.
For more than 70 years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers and listeners trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
©2014 Shirley Jackson (P)2022 Penguin AudioYou may also enjoy...
-
Night Side of the River
- Ghost Stories
- Written by: Jeanette Winterson
- Narrated by: Jeanette Winterson, Vicky Licorish
- Length: 9 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this delightfully chilling collection, the iconic Jeanette Winterson turns her fearless gaze to the realm of ghosts, interspersing her own encounters with the supernatural alongside hair-raising fictions. Lifting the veil between the living and the dead, Winterson spirits us away to a haunted estate that ensnares a nomadic young couple in its own dark past, a staged immersive ghost tour gone awry, a West Village seance that threatens the bounds between AI and reality, and a vacation home in the metaverse where a widow visits an improved version of her deceased husband.
Written by: Jeanette Winterson
-
Poor Things
- Written by: Alasdair Gray
- Narrated by: Russ Bain, Kathryn Drysdale
- Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Godwin Baxter's scientific ambition to create the perfect companion is realized when he finds the drowned body of the beautiful Bella, who he brings back to life in a Frankenstein-esque feat. But his dream is thwarted by Dr. Archibald McCandless's jealous love for his creation... But what does Bella think?
-
-
Brilliant
- By Eugenia Pavlakos on 2023-10-29
Written by: Alasdair Gray
-
Diavola
- Written by: Jennifer Thorne
- Narrated by: Andi Arndt
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jennifer Thorne skewers all-too-familiar family dynamics in this sly, wickedly funny vacation-Gothic. Beautifully unhinged and deeply satisfying, Diavola is a sharp twist on the classic haunted house story, exploring loneliness, belonging, and the seemingly inescapable bonds of family mythology.
-
-
The perfect adult family vacay, with demons.
- By L.D'anna on 2024-03-27
Written by: Jennifer Thorne
-
A Sorceress Comes to Call
- Written by: T. Kingfisher
- Narrated by: Eliza Foss, Jennifer Pickens
- Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cordelia knows her mother is . . . unusual. Their house doesn’t have any doors between rooms—there are no secrets in this house—and her mother doesn't allow Cordelia to have a single friend. Unless you count Falada, her mother's beautiful white horse. The only time Cordelia feels truly free is on her daily rides with him. But more than simple eccentricity sets her mother apart. Other mothers don’t force their daughters to be silent and motionless for hours, sometimes days, on end. Other mothers aren’t sorcerers.
-
-
Absolutely excellent.
- By TM on 2024-08-18
Written by: T. Kingfisher
-
Lake of Souls
- The Collected Short Fiction
- Written by: Ann Leckie
- Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh
- Length: 15 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hugo, Nebula, and Arthur C. Clarke award-winner Ann Leckie is a modern master of the SFF genre, forever changing its landscape with her groundbreaking ideas and powerful voice. Now, available for the first time comes the complete collection of Leckie's short fiction, including a brand new novelette, “Lake of Souls.”
-
-
Very different
- By Michael on 2025-01-29
Written by: Ann Leckie
-
Killers of a Certain Age
- Written by: Deanna Raybourn
- Narrated by: Jane Oppenheimer, Christina Delaine
- Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Billie, Mary Alice, Helen, and Natalie have worked for the Museum, an elite network of assassins, for 40 years. Now their talents are considered old-school and no one appreciates what they have to offer in an age that relies more on technology than people skills.
-
-
A well told tale
- By Redrover on 2024-07-30
Written by: Deanna Raybourn
-
Night Side of the River
- Ghost Stories
- Written by: Jeanette Winterson
- Narrated by: Jeanette Winterson, Vicky Licorish
- Length: 9 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this delightfully chilling collection, the iconic Jeanette Winterson turns her fearless gaze to the realm of ghosts, interspersing her own encounters with the supernatural alongside hair-raising fictions. Lifting the veil between the living and the dead, Winterson spirits us away to a haunted estate that ensnares a nomadic young couple in its own dark past, a staged immersive ghost tour gone awry, a West Village seance that threatens the bounds between AI and reality, and a vacation home in the metaverse where a widow visits an improved version of her deceased husband.
Written by: Jeanette Winterson
-
Poor Things
- Written by: Alasdair Gray
- Narrated by: Russ Bain, Kathryn Drysdale
- Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Godwin Baxter's scientific ambition to create the perfect companion is realized when he finds the drowned body of the beautiful Bella, who he brings back to life in a Frankenstein-esque feat. But his dream is thwarted by Dr. Archibald McCandless's jealous love for his creation... But what does Bella think?
-
-
Brilliant
- By Eugenia Pavlakos on 2023-10-29
Written by: Alasdair Gray
-
Diavola
- Written by: Jennifer Thorne
- Narrated by: Andi Arndt
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jennifer Thorne skewers all-too-familiar family dynamics in this sly, wickedly funny vacation-Gothic. Beautifully unhinged and deeply satisfying, Diavola is a sharp twist on the classic haunted house story, exploring loneliness, belonging, and the seemingly inescapable bonds of family mythology.
-
-
The perfect adult family vacay, with demons.
- By L.D'anna on 2024-03-27
Written by: Jennifer Thorne
-
A Sorceress Comes to Call
- Written by: T. Kingfisher
- Narrated by: Eliza Foss, Jennifer Pickens
- Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cordelia knows her mother is . . . unusual. Their house doesn’t have any doors between rooms—there are no secrets in this house—and her mother doesn't allow Cordelia to have a single friend. Unless you count Falada, her mother's beautiful white horse. The only time Cordelia feels truly free is on her daily rides with him. But more than simple eccentricity sets her mother apart. Other mothers don’t force their daughters to be silent and motionless for hours, sometimes days, on end. Other mothers aren’t sorcerers.
-
-
Absolutely excellent.
- By TM on 2024-08-18
Written by: T. Kingfisher
-
Lake of Souls
- The Collected Short Fiction
- Written by: Ann Leckie
- Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh
- Length: 15 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hugo, Nebula, and Arthur C. Clarke award-winner Ann Leckie is a modern master of the SFF genre, forever changing its landscape with her groundbreaking ideas and powerful voice. Now, available for the first time comes the complete collection of Leckie's short fiction, including a brand new novelette, “Lake of Souls.”
-
-
Very different
- By Michael on 2025-01-29
Written by: Ann Leckie
-
Killers of a Certain Age
- Written by: Deanna Raybourn
- Narrated by: Jane Oppenheimer, Christina Delaine
- Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Billie, Mary Alice, Helen, and Natalie have worked for the Museum, an elite network of assassins, for 40 years. Now their talents are considered old-school and no one appreciates what they have to offer in an age that relies more on technology than people skills.
-
-
A well told tale
- By Redrover on 2024-07-30
Written by: Deanna Raybourn
What the critics say
"Undeniably brilliant...superlative entertainment; much the best book Shirley Jackson has written." (New York Herald Tribune)
"Shirley Jackson's best novel...The Bird's Nest is brilliant, swift, at times immensely funny, and alternately frightening. Shirley Jackson's portrayal of a personality in disintegration is masterful." (Chicago Tribune)
Featured Article: Outstanding Female Authors Everyone Ought to Listen to
Throughout history, women have crafted some of the most incredible and beloved stories in the world. From rising stars to household names, female authors have contributed some of the best works of all time for our listening pleasure. At times, especially in societies where gender roles and expectations were rigidly defined, women would write under pen names to avoid the fact that a woman was behind the work. Discover the best female authors.