Flannery O'Connor was born in Savannah, Georgia, and much of her fiction is set in the South. Most of her writing is in the short story form, though she did write a couple of novels. Along with Faulkner, O'Connor is probably the best-known Southern Gothic writer these days.

O'Connor's short stories are famous for their emphasis on outsiders, grotesque characters, violent or disturbing situations, and stylized Southern settings. Not only is O'Connor known for being a pioneer of the Southern Gothic style; she was also a pioneer in developing the short story form in general.

"A Good Man is Hard to Find"

In this short story, a family's road trip through the South goes way, way wrong, and it's all because of an old grandmother who can't stop talking in the backseat of the car. The story's innocent beginning is deceptive: we're led to a very dark place by the end.

This is one of O'Connor's most famous stories. In it, you'll find a deep questioning of Southern values, a commentary on social issues such as poverty and crime and punishment, and a particularly disturbing dose of violence.

Wise Blood

One of only two novels that O'Connor wrote, Wise Blood tells the tale of Hazel Motes, a veteran returning home from World War II. The guy is shell-shocked; he has a lot of questions about religion and sin; and he moves through a decaying Southern landscape that reflects his own state of inner disintegration.

This novel is funny and scary, weird and engaging all at once. It's a great example of the way in which Southern Gothic writers deploy landscape and setting in their work to heighten the feeling that something is not quite right in the South.

Shmoops:

Flannery O'Connor is really into exploring the hypocrisy that underlies a certain type of Southern mentality. See how she does this in these quotations from "A Good Man is Hard to Find."

How does O'Connor deal with issues of race and racism? Delve into these quotations from "The Displaced Person" to get a better idea.