Book Cover of The Turn of the Screw

The Turn of the Screw

by Henry James

Christmas Eve. Guests round a fireside begin telling each other ghost stories. One of them relates a true incident involving the governess of his little nephew and niece. Strange events begin to take place, involving the housekeeper, a stranger who prowls round the grounds, a mysterious woman dressed in black and an unknown misdemeanor committed by the little nephew. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James was published in 1893 and it remains one of the best-known and admired works of this great American writer. One of the factors that makes it so appealing is that the structure and ending are open to the reader's interpretation. Over the years, many critics, readers and scholars have provided their own theories about the ending and all of them may be valid from a certain viewpoint. However, the real “horror” in this book is the nameless, ambiguous sense of evil that pervades the story and brings out all that is deeply frightening to us. Henry James came from a distinguished family. His father was a philosopher, while his brother William James was a famous developmental psychologist. His sister, Alice was also a writer, but is known mostly for the personal diaries she kept in the last years of her life. Though James was born in America, he considered England to be his spiritual home and constantly traveled between the two countries. His novels focus on the interaction between Europeans and Americans. He was also a brilliant literary critic and prolific letter writer. The Turn of the Screw was his second novel and in it he gives expression to his life long interest in ghost stories and Gothic themes. However, he avoided the conventional screaming/slashing type of horror and preferred to keep the fear factor extremely subtle and understated, which paradoxically increases the sense of horror! He seeks to invest the ordinary, everyday happenings of daily life with a sinister significance and this is what makes The Turn of the Screw so extraordinarily effective. Henry James' elaborate and often roundabout way of describing events makes the unraveling of the mystery even more difficult. Hence, the reader has plenty of work to do in James' novels and nothing is provided on a platter! James himself constantly revised the story and made several changes. Though these are minor in nature, they add to the complexity of the plot and give readers many more facets from which to try to find the right solution. The Turn of the Screw is certainly a great read if you enjoy mysteries and ghost stories.

Book Details

Language

English

Original Language

English

Published In

1898

Authors

Henry James image

Henry James

America, Britain

Henry James was born in New York City on April 15, 1843, into a wealthy and intellectually stimulating family. His father, Henry James Sr., was a Swedenborgian philosopher and his mother, Mary Roberts...

Books by Henry James

Listen/Download Audiobook

Read by:
00:00
Playback Speed 1.0
00:00
  • Select Speed

Related books

Ghost Stories of an Antiquary Cover image

Ghost Stories of an Antiquary by Montague R. James

Ghost Stories of an Antiquary is a horror short story collection by British writer M. R. James, published in 1904 (some had previously appeared in m...

Cuervo Cover image

Cuervo by Edgar Allan Poe

El Cuervo es un poema narrativo de Edgar Allan Poe que se centra en un hombre que se encuentra inmerso en la profunda tristeza por la pérdida de su am...

Na wzgórzu róż Cover image

Na wzgórzu róż by Stefan Grabiński

„Na wzgórzu róż” to zbiór sześciu opowiadań Stefana Grabińskiego, jednego z najwybitniejszych polskich mistrzów grozy. W jego opowiadaniach rzeczywis...

Black Cat Vol. 02 No. 06 March 1897 Cover image

Black Cat Vol. 02 No. 06 March 1897 by Various

The Black Cat is a monthly literary magazine featuring original short stories, often about uncanny or fantastical topics. This particular issue includ...

Haus des schwarzen Magiers Cover image

Haus des schwarzen Magiers by Edward Bulwer-Lytton

In 'Haus des schwarzen Magiers', a rational Victorian gentleman confronts a haunted mansion with a scientific mindset. His determination to unravel t...

Phantom-Wooer Cover image

Phantom-Wooer by Thomas Lovell Beddoes

LibriVox volunteers bring you 13 different recordings of The Phantom-Wooer by Thomas Lovell Beddoes. This was the weekly poetry project for the week o...

House by the Churchyard Cover image

House by the Churchyard by Sheridan Le Fanu

House by the Churchyard is a classic Gothic novel by Sheridan Le Fanu. It is set in the village of Chapelizod, Ireland, in the early 19th century. The...

Landarzt. Kleine Erzählungen Cover image

Landarzt. Kleine Erzählungen by Franz Kafka

Die Erzählung Ein Landarzt von Franz Kafka entstand im Jahr 1917 und wurde 1918 veröffentlicht. Im Jahre 1919 erschien das Buch Ein Landarzt mit der E...

Vampire; or, The Bride of the Isles Cover image

Vampire; or, The Bride of the Isles by James Planché

“Vampire; or, The Bride of the Isles” is a dramatic play written by James Planché that reimagines the vampire myth, drawing inspiration from Lord Byro...

Great Ghost Stories Cover image

Great Ghost Stories by Thomas Hardy

A spine-tingling collection of classic ghost stories that will keep you on the edge of your seat. From the haunting tales of Thomas Hardy to the chill...

Reviews for The Turn of the Screw

ALL REVIEWS: Really Favorable (1)

No reviews posted or approved, yet...