The Shining

stephen king

Jack Torrance's new job at the Overlook Hotel is the perfect chance for a fresh start. As the off-season caretaker at the atmospheric old hotel, he'll have plenty of time to spend reconnecting with his family and working on his writing. But as the harsh winter weather sets in, the idyllic location feels ever more remote...and more sinister. And the only one to notice the strange and terrible forces gathering around the Overlook is Danny Torrance, a uniquely gifted five-year-old.

Genres horrorfictionthrillerclassicsfantasyparanormalmysteryaudiobooksuspenseadult

528 pages, Library Binding

First published January 28,1977

Series

The Shining

Literary awards

locus award, gandalf award,

Places

colorado, the united states of america,

This edition

Format: 528 pages, Library Binding
Published: October 1, 2002 by Turtleback Books
ISBN: 9781417618255
ASIN: 1417618256
Language: English

Characters More characters

Wendy Torrance

Winnifred "Wendy" Torrance is Jacks wife and Dannys mother. A strong woman, she remains at Jacks side as he struggles to stay sober, but is forced to fight for her and her sons life when Jack becomes completely possessed. m...
Danny Torrance

Daniel Anthony "Danny" Torrance is the five-year-old son of Jack and Wendy. He has the "Shining" which allows him to read peoples minds, and speak with other people with the "Shining" ability which makes him a target of the Hotel. It also allows him...
Dick Halloran

Richard "Dick" Hallorann is the chef of the Overlook Hotel and shares the "shining" ability with Danny. Dick is telepathically called by Danny to the hotel, and is almost killed by Jack with a roque mallet. At the end of the novel, Dick helps Danny and We...
Horace Derwent

Horace "Harry" Derwent was a self-made millionaire and former owner of the Overlook Hotel. He is responsible for much of the Overlooks notorious history. Derwent purchased the Overlook sometime in the early 1940s and invested over one million dollar...
Delberg Grady

Delbert Grady was a previous caretaker at the Overlook Hotel. During the winter of 1970, he went mad and killed his family by killing his two daughters with an axe then shot his wife with a shotgun before blowing his own head off with it. Unlike Jack, he ...
Jack Torrance

Jack Torrance is an aspiring writer who is attempting to rebuild his marriage and career, both of which have been nearly ruined by two traits inherited from his late father: alcoholism and an explosive temper. During one occasion while drinking, Jack disl...

About the author

stephen king

Stephen Edwin King was born the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. After his father left them when Stephen was two, he and his older brother, David, were raised by his mother. Parts of his childhood were spent in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where his father's family was at the time, and in Stratford, Connecticut. When Stephen was eleven, his mother brought her children back to Durham, Maine, for good. Her parents, Guy and Nellie Pillsbury, had become incapacitated with old age, and Ruth King was persuaded by her sisters to take over the physical care of them. Other family members provided a small house in Durham and financial support. After Stephen's grandparents passed away, Mrs. King found work in the kitchens of Pineland, a nearby residential facility for the mentally challenged.

Stephen attended the grammar school in Durham and Lisbon Falls High School, graduating in 1966. From his sophomore year at the University of Maine at Orono, he wrote a weekly column for the school newspaper, THE MAINE CAMPUS. He was also active in student politics, serving as a member of the Student Senate. He came to support the anti-war movement on the Orono campus, arriving at his stance from a conservative view that the war in Vietnam was unconstitutional. He graduated in 1970, with a B.A. in English and qualified to teach on the high school level. A draft board examination immediately post-graduation found him 4-F on grounds of high blood pressure, limited vision, flat feet, and punctured eardrums.

He met Tabitha Spruce in the stacks of the Fogler Library at the University, where they both worked as students; they married in January of 1971. As Stephen was unable to find placement as a teacher immediately, the Kings lived on his earnings as a laborer at an industrial laundry, and her student loan and savings, with an occasional boost from a short story sale to men's magazines.

Stephen made his first professional short story sale ("The Glass Floor") to Startling Mystery Stories in 1967. Throughout the early years of his marriage, he continued to sell stories to men's magazines. Many were gathered into the Night Shift collection or appeared in other anthologies.

In the fall of 1971, Stephen began teaching English at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels.