Seventeen-year-old Natalie Waite longs to escape home for college. Her father is a domineering and egotistical writer who keeps a tight rein on Natalie and her long-suffering mother. When Natalie finally does get away, however, college life doesn’t bring the happiness she expected. Little by little, Natalie is no longer certain of anything—even where reality ends and her dark imaginings begin. Chilling and suspenseful, Hangsaman is loosely based on the real-life disappearance of a Bennington College sophomore in 1946.

"[Hangsaman] confirms the belief that Miss Jackson is an exceptional writer."
—The London Times

"No one can question the author's great ability to do the kind of thing she wants to do. This is as disturbing a story as the shorter 'Lottery' was, and in exactly the same way."
—San Francisco Chronicle