“I'm going to put death in all their food and watch them die.”

Like all of Shirley Jackson’s work, We Have Always Lived in the Castle is equal parts disturbing and magical. Merricat’s voice is sharp, funny and CREEPY - she teases us with what she knows and seems unable to feel remorse. From the beginning we know her whole family has been slipped arsenic in their sugar to gobble up with her blueberries (cur this month’s tea).

Full of themes of female repression, of the stifling life and threat of being a woman at that time, and a similar feel to Yellow Wallpaper, nobody should send Merricat to her room. That is made abundantly clear.

Don’t be wrong, this book is not a confession; you never find out why her family has been murdered, other than Merricat was a naughty child. With her haunting, creepy mannerism and violent outbursts (as well as the many household tasks she isn’t allowed to do), this is a fantastic example of unreliable narration. My love affair with Shirley Jackson continues...

We Have Always Lived in the Castle was featured in the October 2019 Classic parcel from the NovelTea Book Club. If you’d like to learn more, or sign up to receive one of our monthly book & tea subscription parcels, please feel free to check out the rest of our website.