The Sundial
When the Halloran clan gathers at the family home for a funeral, no one is surprised when the somewhat peculiar Aunt Fanny wanders off into the secret garden. But then she returns to report an astonishing vision of an apocalypse from which only the Hallorans and their hangers-on will be spared, and the family finds itself engulfed in growing madness, fear, and violence as they prepare for a terrible new world.
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The day after the funeral of the Halloran patriarch Lionel, the family is gathered at his Victorian mansion in upstate New York when his half-mad sister Aunt Fanny walks the gardens and meets her dead father's ghost. He warns her the world is ending soon, and only the Halloran house will be spared.
The Sundial was written by Shirley Jackson and published in 1958. It is one of her novels alongside The Haunting of Hill House (1959) and We Have Always Lived in the Castle (1962).
The Sundial blends gothic comedy with apocalyptic dread. It is more strange and acerbic than outright horror, with mounting unease as a wealthy family awaits the end of the world.
The Sundial is 243 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, The Sundial takes most readers 4 to 5 hours to finish.
The Sundial is a standalone novel by Shirley Jackson, not part of a series.
The Sundial is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.
