It’s the first Saturday of the month which means it’s time for another Six Degrees of Separation, hosted by Kate of Books are my Favourite and Best. The idea is that Kate chooses a book to use as a starting point and then we have to link it to six other books of our choice to form a chain. A book doesn’t have to be connected to all of the others on the list – only to the one next to it in the chain.
This time we’re beginning with The Lottery, a story by Shirley Jackson. I hadn’t read it, but when I saw how short it was and that it was available online, I managed to read it in preparation for this month’s post. Here’s what it’s about:
In a small American town, the local residents are abuzz with excitement and nervousness when they wake on the morning of the twenty-seventh of June. Everything has been prepared for the town’s annual tradition — a lottery in which every family must participate, and no one wants to win.
“The Lottery” stands out as one of the most famous short stories in American literary history. Originally published in The New Yorker, the author immediately began receiving letters from readers who demanded an explanation of the story’s meaning. “The Lottery” has been adapted for stage, television, radio and film.
The story reminded me of Uprooted by Naomi Novik (1), which also features a lottery (of sorts) that nobody really wants to win. In this book, a seventeen-year-old girl from a village on the edge of a sinister wood is selected once every ten years to go and live in a tower with a mysterious and powerful wizard known as the Dragon. What happens to the girls while living in the Dragon’s tower is unknown, except that they return ten years later changed by their experiences. I really enjoyed this book and its blend of fairy tales, magic and folklore.
Another book about a girl in a tower is…The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden! (2) This is the second novel in the wonderful Winternight trilogy, a fantasy series set in medieval Russia. Like Uprooted the story is grounded in mythology and folklore and we meet such fascinating characters as Morozko the frost-demon, Koschei the Deathless, and the legendary Firebird.
The Firebird (3), one of my favourite novels by Susanna Kearsley, traces the history of a wooden carving of a firebird which once belonged to Empress Catherine of Russia. The story takes us from a castle in Scotland to a convent in Belgium and finally to eighteenth century St Petersburg and a community of Jacobites working to gather support in Russia to restore the deposed Stuart kings to the British throne.
In Redgauntlet by Sir Walter Scott (4), Darsie Latimer and his friend, Alan Fairford, find themselves caught up in a fictional third Jacobite Rebellion. Told through a mixture of letters, diary entries and first person narratives, this is an entertaining read but knowing that the rebellion never actually happened took away some of the suspense. The novel also features a ghost story called Wandering Willie’s Tale – it’s worth reading Redgauntlet for this story alone!
This same ghost story is one of several myths and legends explored in The Afterlife of King James IV by Keith J Coleman (5), a non-fiction book about the death of the Scottish King who was killed at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. Before I read this book I’d had no idea there were so many conspiracy theories surrounding the fate of James IV, most of which seem to have arisen from the fact that the body removed from the battlefield was not wearing a chain the king was known to have worn around his waist. In the book, Coleman examines some of these theories as well as discussing the ghostly apparitions and prophecies said to have predicted the outcome of the battle.
Staying with the ghostly theme, I’m able to bring the chain full circle by linking to another Shirley Jackson book, The Haunting of Hill House (6). I didn’t enjoy this one as much as We Have Always Lived in the Castle, the only other Jackson novel I’ve read, but I did love the ambiguity of the story: how much of the ghostly activity at Hill House is real and how much is in the mind of the protagonist? It’s not a typical haunted house story and leaves you with a lot to think about.
~
And that’s my chain for October! My links included lotteries, towers, the Russian firebird, Jacobite Rebellions, Wandering Willie and ghostly phenomena.
In November we’ll be starting with What Are You Going Through by Sigrid Nunez.
She Reads Novels 
Very nice work to bring it full circle back to Jackson!
It’s not often that I manage to do that!
I know you love bringing your chain full circle and I managed to do the same, but I think for the first time, this month. Although it was pure chance – see what I did there? – that I came across it.
It’s always satisfying when you can bring the chain full circle – and yes, it often does just happen by chance!
Don’t you just love turning your chain into a full circle? I do, but it doesn’t happen often. Brava for getting there with this one. Hm… I’d read that Wandering Willie story… I bet I can find it online, no?
It’s not easy to bring the chain full circle – I’ve only done it a few times. I enjoyed putting this month’s chain together but have no idea how to get started with next month’s!
Yes, not so easy. In fact, the first book that came to mind for next month’s chain, I haven’t reviewed on my blog, so that was out. The next one I thought of, I already used on another chain, and I don’t want to repeat yet. Then I saw something in the blurb which got me going to something else altogether, and now I’ve already got three out of the six links! You’ll get there!
The Firebrand is one of my favourites too. The only book I’ve read by Sir Walter Scot is Ivanhoe, highlighting that I should try to read more of his books. Great chain and congratulations on bringing it full circle. I’ve only managed to do that once.
Redgauntlet is my favourite Scott novel so far, although the only others I’ve read are Ivanhoe and Heart of Midlothian. I loved The Firebird and am looking forward to Susanna Kearsley’s new book, The Vanished Days.
Goodness. I’ve read none of these … so much to read, so little time …
My TBR grows longer every month thanks to this meme!
I know. I really don’;t know why we do this!
5 short stories and 1 poem. First publication date, all reprinted. 1)Through Road No Whither, by Greg Bear1985. SciFi alternate world — Germany won WW2. Will the 2 Germans kill or have arrested the crone who changes her ages before them when they ask for directions, or will the 2 die? 2) A Retrieved Reformation, by O. Henry 1909. A police officer wants to arrest a safecracker whose name changes before him. 3) Poem: Leadville Jim, by William Wescott Fink, 1888. A name the town gives to a man changes when he becomes rich. 4) Captain Stormfield’s Visit to Heaven, by Mark Twain, Harpers Magazine Dec 1907 & Jan 1908. Who are these people and why is everything very different from what heaven is usually described. 5) Nightfall, by Isaac Asimov,1941. For the first time in a thousand years night falls on a planet and the sky is filled with stars. 6) The Nine Billion Names of God, by Arthur C. Clark,1953. Stars over Tibet when all God’s names are found.
Thanks for sharing your chain, Marian. I’ve never read any of those stories or poems, but they all sound very intriguing!
I guess no one considered it possible back then that someone pocketed that chain? LOL The Redgauntlet would have been my thing if it was about a real event. I love epistolary novels. You did a very interesting chain!
Redgauntlet is a great epistolary novel, but I would definitely have preferred it to have been about a real event!
I resisted the urge to include Kearsley in my chain this month as I feel like I do quite regularly. There was a point where I thought about it though.
Fun chain!
I don’t think I’ve included Kearsley in my chains very often, but I do love her books!
Gosh I’ve not read any of these – I thought i might have read Hill House but I’ve mixed it up with something else.
I’m always surprised by how few books I’ve read from other people’s chains. My TBR grows longer every month!
I could have written this myself – some times I see a chain and I’ve not heard of any of the books
Delightfully circling round to Jackson again, bravo! I like your historical theme this month as well.
Thanks! It’s not often I’m able to bring the chain full circle, so I had to take the opportunity!
A lovely chain! Tricky to make it back to the original author – I like that.
I just ordered the new Susanna Kearsley, although I have a busy month ahead and may not get to it right away (still, nice to know it is here).
Constance
I hope you enjoy the new Susanna Kearsley! It’s not out here in the UK until next year, but I’m looking forward to it.
Great chain! Loved the Scottish diversion in the middle. 😀 I really must do Wandering Willie’s Tale on my horror slot one of these days – thanks for the reminder!
Wandering Willie would be a perfect choice for your horror slot!
Love this chain, Helen. You’ve piqued my interest in Uprooted and also The Girl in the Tower. I read the first in the trilogy and never went any further. Perhaps I should! One day I will read something by Scott, maybe it will be Redgauntlet. Meanwhile, I’m waiting to see Wandering Willie’s Tale on Fiction Fan’s Tuesday Terror!
I think the Katherine Arden trilogy got better with each book, so I would definitely recommend continuing. I’ve only read three of Scott’s novels so far but I think Redgauntlet is probably my favourite!