The Turn of the Screw and Other Short Novels - Softcover

James, Henry

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0451523318 ISBN 13: 9780451523310

Publisher: Signet Classics, 1962

Synopsis

A collection of short novels includes the title work, a chilling classic of psychological terror, as well as Daisy Miller, The Aspern Papers, An International Episode, The Altar of the Dead, and The Beast of the Jungle. Reissue.

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Review

The story starts conventionally enough with friends sharing ghost stories 'round the fire on Christmas Eve. One of the guests tells about a governess at a country house plagued by supernatural visitors. But in the hands of Henry James, the master of nuance, this little tale of terror is an exquisite gem of sexual and psychological ambiguity. Only the young governess can see the ghosts; only she suspects that the previous governess and her lover are controlling the two orphaned children (a girl and a boy) for some evil purpose. The household staff don't know what she's talking about, the children are evasive when questioned, and the master of the house (the children's uncle) is absent. Why does the young girl claim not to see a perfectly visible woman standing on the far side of the lake? Are the children being deceptive, or is the governess being paranoid? By leaving the questions unanswered, The Turn of Screw generates spine-tingling anxiety in its mesmerized readers.

From the Publisher

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About this edition

• Publisher: Signet Classics
• Publication date: 1962
• ISBN 10: 0451523318
• ISBN 13: 9780451523310
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback