The Turn of the Screw (American Classics Edition)
A chilling ghost story, wrought with tantalising ambiguity, the basis for the new Netflix series The Haunting of Bly Manor
A Penguin Classic
In what Henry James called a 'trap for the unwary', The Turn of the Screw tells of a nameless young governess sent to a country house to take charge of two orphans, Miles and Flora. Unsettled by a dark foreboding of menace within the house, she soon comes to believe that something malevolent is stalking the children in her care. But is the threat to her young charges really a malign and ghostly presence or something else entirely? The Turn of the Screw is James's great masterpiece of haunting atmosphere and unbearable tension and has influenced subsequent ghost stories and films such as The Innocents, starring Deborah Kerr, and The Others, starring Nicole Kidman.
This Penguin Classics edition contains a chronology, further reading, notes and an introduction by David Bromwich examining the dark ambiguity of James's work and the inseparability of narrative from point-of-view.
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
A Penguin Classic
In what Henry James called a 'trap for the unwary', The Turn of the Screw tells of a nameless young governess sent to a country house to take charge of two orphans, Miles and Flora. Unsettled by a dark foreboding of menace within the house, she soon comes to believe that something malevolent is stalking the children in her care. But is the threat to her young charges really a malign and ghostly presence or something else entirely? The Turn of the Screw is James's great masterpiece of haunting atmosphere and unbearable tension and has influenced subsequent ghost stories and films such as The Innocents, starring Deborah Kerr, and The Others, starring Nicole Kidman.
This Penguin Classics edition contains a chronology, further reading, notes and an introduction by David Bromwich examining the dark ambiguity of James's work and the inseparability of narrative from point-of-view.
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
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Community Reviews
I enjoyed the book. It was very well written and a very quick read. I would suggest reading the book before the watching the movie ( The Turning) because I enjoyed the movie much more and due to seeing it first kinda made me feel bored listening to the book. The ending leaves you a bit perplexed. most of the story you are wondering is everyone crazy or is the governess is crazy or is the house really haunted.
I was not impressed with this book. To difficult of a read, run-on sentences that rambled, and no distinct ending. If it wasn't for being in a book club, I would have stopped reading it after 10 pages.
A little perplexing. The language made it a little difficult to read. I’d love to see this produced as a gothic horror period piece by the BBC.
I won’t pretend I wasn’t hooked, especially at certain points, but I think it was mostly in anticipation for an explanation or chilling lack thereof (ideally for the narrator as well as myself) that didn’t come. I love an unreliable narrator, but her being additionally wordy and vague will have me combing through sparknotes for a little bit to wrap my head around what just happened. On the bright side, it intrigued me enough that I want to look further into it.
Victorian ghost story - all very proper, and this was delightfully written. I had always wondered about this particular classic. It is well worth the read and this audio version was very well read.
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