'''''Jackdaw''''' is a literary novella by UK author Tade Thompson. It was published in 2022 by Cheerio Publishing.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Financial Times |url=https://www.ft.com/content/942b6873-278b-4006-8818-40bda8dc51fe |access-date=2024-09-20 |website=www.ft.com}}</ref>
''Jackdaw'' is a [[metafiction]] account, supposedlywritten by thea authorfictional himself (or by another authorversion of the sameauthor name)himself, who receives a commission to write a book inspired by the work of the Irish painter [[Francis Bacon (artist)|Francis Bacon]]. During the execution of this unexpectedly challenging commission, Thompson, who is attempting to enter the mind of the artist by suppressing his own personality, first develops a sexual fixation on one of Bacon's models, has a number of alarming encounters with the ghost of Bacon's nanny; seeks release in a variety of dangerous sexual pursuits, and experiences what may be a mental breakdown. As he attempts to keep up a pretence of normality for the sake of his family, a bizarre alien flesh-sculpture appears in Thompson's attic study, reflecting both his own state of mind and his possession by Bacon's influence.
