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Henry James

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The Turn of the Screw Hardcover – January 1, 1898

by Henry James (Author), Tony Darnell (Editor)

7,013 ratings

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Widely recognized as one of literature's most gripping ghost stories, this classic tale of moral degradation concerns the sinister transformation of two innocent children into flagrant liars and hypocrites. The story begins when a governess arrives at an English country estate to look after Miles, aged ten, and Flora, eight. At first, everything appears normal but then events gradually begin to weave a spell of psychological terror.
One night a ghost appears before the governess. It is the dead lover of Miss Jessel, the former governess. Later, the ghost of Miss Jessel herself appears before the governess and the little girl. Moreover, both the governess and the housekeeper suspect that the two spirits have appeared to the boy in private. The children, however, adamantly refuse to acknowledge the presence of the two spirits, in spite of indications that there is some sort of evil communication going on between the children and the ghosts.
Without resorting to clattering chains, demonic noises, and other melodramatic techniques, this elegantly told tale succeeds in creating an atmosphere of tingling suspense and unspoken horror matched by few other books in the genre. Known for his probing psychological novels dealing with the upper classes, James in this story tried his hand at the occult - and created a masterpiece of the supernatural that has frightened and delighted readers for nearly a century.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ 12th Media Services
Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 1, 1898
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 74 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1680922157
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1680922158
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.4 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.14 x 0.31 x 9.21 inches
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 1090L

Best Sellers Rank: #1,649,283 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #64 in Ghost Fiction
- #521 in Classic Literature & Fiction

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7,013 ratings

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Henry James

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Henry James (1843-1916), the son of the religious philosopher Henry James Sr. and brother of the psychologist and philosopher William James, published many important novels including Daisy Miller, The Wings of the Dove, The Golden Bowl, and The Ambassadors.

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Customers find the book captivating with its psychological depth and consider it a classic worth the read. The writing style receives mixed reactions - while some find it well written, others say it's tedious to read. The story and character development also get mixed reviews, with some finding the characters interesting while others find them ridiculous. The book's pacing receives negative feedback, with customers describing it as weird, and customers note its short length.

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Readability Interest Style Suspenseful story Writing style Character development Pacing Shortness

172 customers mention "Readability"137 positive35 negative

Customers find the book highly readable and consider it a classic worth the effort to read, with one customer noting it's particularly suitable for classroom study.

"...All in all it is a gripping and compelling read and I believe most people would not be able start this book without finishing it, you may just feel..." Read more

"...She finds Miles to be an exceptionally good child as well and cannot imagine that he did anything wrong. The governess begins to see apparitions...." Read more

"...The story he tells is worth the effort. I'm certainly never likely to forget it." Read more

"...This Henry James masterpiece is most definitely worth the read." Read more

58 customers mention "Interest"55 positive3 negative

Customers find the book captivating, with its psychological depth remaining appealing. One customer notes how it explores every avenue of a particular thread of thought.

"...The subject matter had some good material to work with, but modern day readers are too sensible to accept this at face value...." Read more

"...of past and present, indoor and outdoor, spoken and unspoken, real and hypnagogic, dead and alive. Horror lies in the fluidity of identity itself...." Read more

"...I find this psychoanalytic approach more appealing, because there are some fading allusions that she was in love with the master..." Read more

"...It makes the story more compelling and more psychologically effective. This Henry James masterpiece is most definitely worth the read." Read more

18 customers mention "Style"15 positive3 negative

Customers appreciate the style of the book, with one describing it as a Gothic masterpiece featuring a well-appointed country home and sprawling estate.

"...The governess accepts the position at Bly, a large and well-appointed country home. There are a few staff and the niece Flora...." Read more

"...It’s a good, old-fashioned ghost story, complete with a sprawling estate and creepy children...." Read more

"...On technical quality, I like the way it is produced and type set, very elegant." Read more

"...It's brown cloth with a beautiful gold illustration on the front obviously meant to be a threading screw...." Read more

292 customers mention "Suspenseful story"188 positive104 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the book's suspenseful story, with some praising it as one of the best ever written and a great gothic tale, while others find the ending unsatisfying.

"...I seldom do that! :O This is a ghost story that reads also as a detective story and a psychological thriller...." Read more

"Great ghost story which I was inspired to read from growing up watching the innocents with Deborah Kerr, there is something so eerie and terrifying..." Read more

"...Personally, I think this is a better ghost story because you are left to wonder. It is more chilling not to have things explained...." Read more

"...its main character, the live-in nanny/teacher, gives us an endless series of haunting, yet laborious, internal thoughts about how she views the..." Read more

200 customers mention "Writing style"79 positive121 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the writing style of the book, with some finding it well written and nuanced, while others describe it as tedious to read and maddening.

"...It could have been written more concisely. But perhaps there is good reason for its particular stylistic character of which I am not aware...." Read more

"...that minor detail is a pleasure to read it in this edition, the text is pure as if had just been published, just a short author biography at the end...." Read more

"...However, I found this book nigh unreadable...." Read more

"...It’s brilliantly written, the words put together in such a way that when read aloud, literally, on a dark night, with the wind blowing and the owls..." Read more

19 customers mention "Character development"10 positive9 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the characters in the book, with some finding them very interesting while others find them ridiculous.

"...The character development is good and James' writing builds interest throughout. I found the formatting to be good quality for my Kindle." Read more

"...So few characters and so many mysterious all tied together - I'm afraid to say that I want to read it again." Read more

"The book has a good premise and interesting dynamic of characters. It's interesting enough to see to the end...." Read more

"Man. That unreliable, fallible narrator - the emotional, even hysterical, woman. She really just makes a mess of things, huh?..." Read more

27 customers mention "Pacing"8 positive19 negative

Customers find the pacing of the book disturbing and weird, with one customer describing it as an eerie extension of everyday reality.

"...It is a gothic ghost story that is an eerie extension of everyday reality...." Read more

"...The overall story is very good though. Disturbing imagery and situations compel you to read on...." Read more

"...a good old fashion ghost story that isn't too long and contains zero really violence and no gore." Read more

"...Even for a novella it really drags in the final third. It’s a quick read and worth trying but I don’t see myself going back to it." Read more

14 customers mention "Shortness"3 positive11 negative

Customers find the book too short, with one customer noting that sentences run for half a page.

"...Still, the book itself is pretty short, so that isn't too bad." Read more

"...Seems to ramble on and on even though it is a short novel. Screwy ending which leaves you wondering what happened...." Read more

"Really good story, but misleadingly short. I found myself reading and rereading multiple times in order to discern meaning because of syntax...." Read more

"...The book is very good quality and the size is perfect for traveling with it." Read more

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Horrorific or Insane? An obvious answer.....
Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2012
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If, as so many readers have, you view this novella as Henry James's entry into the field of the horrific and the macabre, you will be sorely disappointed. The first person presentation by its main character, the live-in nanny/teacher, gives us an endless series of haunting, yet laborious, internal thoughts about how she views the world about her. Yes, she does perceive the existence of two malevolent spirits that are attempting to overtake the children in her charge and, yes, she sees herself as being the only person who can save them from this demon possession and, yes, the final sentence of the book which relates the death of Miles in her arms could be interpreted as being caused by his spiritual fright (?!). But, no, this is not a book that has anything to do with an unseen evil spiritual world which exists outside of our own internal consciousness.

This is a book about the inner psyche of a person who is undergoing a severe emotional breakdown and, being so, it deserves all the merit that it has received. Alas, our heroine is, at best, a paranoid schizophrenic. She is the only person who has a view of these spirits while her only companion, the house maid, after continual coaxing, will only claim that the children to have said a few inappropriate things. She is the only one who is able to develop this entrancing scheme about prior relationships the children and the now dead subjects and presently entertains how they had become evil and seek to overtake the souls of the children. She is the one, through her rambling and droning thoughts, that continues to reinforce the ego building concept of needing personal strength to see herself through this ordeal. She is the one who refuses, until the very end, to discuss with the children not only her perception of these spirits but also why Miles was expelled from his previous school (his answer to which was diffuse, at best). The house maid, herself, while acting out of class respect to the teacher/nanny never fully engages in our heroine's fantasies and, most of the time, continues to support the children. And finally it is in her arms that Miles dies. Rather than `spiritual fright', did she smother him in order to protect him from being captured by the delusions that she had created. I, as a serious reader, feel most certainly that she did. In then end only his sister that survives her evil fantasies for she has been whisked away previously due to the emotional fear she has of her teacher.

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Mr. Patrick Hackett
Paddy Hackett from Ireland
Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2014
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Henry James novella The Turning Of The Screw makes for interesting reading. It was first published in 1898. It is a gothic ghost story that is an eerie extension of everyday reality. However it tries one's patience because its stylistic character involves the universal use of circumlocutionary language. It could have been written more concisely. But perhaps there is good reason for its particular stylistic character of which I am not aware. By couching the novella in a circumlocutionary form he, James, may be endeavouring to endow everyday experiences with a less familiar form. He may be, then, attempting to liberate language from its hackneyed (cliched ridden) form. His peculiar style of language may be an attempt to endow the book with a mysterious and gothic-like quality.

But its principal quality is the pervasiveness of ambiguity. Ambiguity runs right through the work. This means that there is never certainty concerning aspects of the putative reality being outlined in the little book. The governess at the large Gothic like country house called Blye starts to see ghostly images of two people that had worked there. One was her predecessor Miss Jessel. The other employee was Peter Quint. They are now dead. The governess becomes convinced that the two children, Miles and Flora, are secretly aware of the presence of the ghosts. But the reader, then, cannot be sure as to whether the governess really experiences these ghosts or whether she is delusional and that the ghosts existed only in her imagination.This is the ambiguity created by James. And in the latter part of the book we cannot be sure whether the boy's, Miles, death is induced by the governess or for other reasons. Again this a result of the ambiguity created by James. The children, certainly Miles, are said to be involved in evil practices because of the influence of the two previous individuals who worked in the house. Yet there is essentially no evidence of the children being engaged in anything of an evil nature. Even Miles' expulsion from school does not mean that he had been particularly bad at boarding school.

The ambiguity permeating the story is an analogy for the ambiguity that forms an inherent part of modern society. Our conduct and experiences in society today are enveloped in ambiguity and illusion. We can never be certain of the real nature of many of our experiences because of the ambiguity in which these experiences are entangled. People that we interact with cannot be always found reliable. This is because much of what they say and do is entangled in illusion and ideology. Politicians and other public figures constantly, whether purposely or not, engage in discourse and action that is enveloped in ambiguity or illusion.Ideology, from which we cannot absolutely escape, in modern society is a form of illusion or ambiguity. Under capitalism ambiguity or illusion is a universal phenomenon.

The book's ambiguous nature transcends the matter of the governess and the supernatural images of Miss Jessell and Peter Quint. The ambiguity stretches into the other characters featuring in the book: Miles, Flora and Mrs Grose the housekeeper. None of them create any grounds for certainty either. They fail to confirm the character of the experiences of the governess. The illusions of the governess dominate the experiences of the governess herself along with those of the children and Mrs Grose. In a way the illusion is the dynamic dictating the (ambiguous) meaning of the novella. It is an indication of the social power of illusion. The inability to distinguish fact from fiction. Fact and fiction are mutually entwined.

Having said this it does follow that truth is unattainable. However it is not easily acquired. Its acquisition is a struggle. To strip off illusion and much of ambiguity contemporary society needs replacement by a communal form that precludes social oppression.

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6 people found this helpful

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Traci Otte
Very hard to wade through
Reviewed in the United States on November 3, 2024
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
I know this was written in the 1800s. I know that writing back in the 1800s was more flowery and bloated than what's written nowadays. I've read a number of books from back then and was able to get into the writing and enjoy it. However, I found this book nigh unreadable. I did get the highlights (which I checked against the Wikipedia summary), but many of the details eluded me.

This book was released serially in Collier's Weekly, which kind of explains a few things (how it was introduced and such), but that end... I'm sure there were plenty of readers back then who did what I did: shout, "WAIT, WHAT?!?"

If you like a literary challenge, you can give it a shot.

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Viridiana H
No estoy segura
Reviewed in Mexico on January 8, 2018
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No estoy segura si es una edición completa o resumida. El tamaño del libro me deja dudando si es que se trata de un resumen o esta completo.
No pude encontrar nada de información en la contraportada ya que no hay nada, ni siquiera editorial. A mi parecer es un proyecto de una nueva editorial, al menos eso parece.

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Elisavet
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Reviewed in Spain on November 5, 2019
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Muy contenta con la entrega y con la calidad del libro

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arcangelo1854
代表作
Reviewed in Japan on November 22, 2015
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個人的にはゴシックロマンだと思います。文章も凝っているし、心理や雰囲気が横溢した美作品

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Louise P. Purdue
Loved the old school horror vibes
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 16, 2025
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
Loved the simplicity of the story. The nanny and the two children caught my attention throughout. This this is the oldest book I've ever read. I know this is an adaptation, but still. Good old school horror

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Dorota's Fate
Troublant et ambigu
Reviewed in France on February 27, 2013
Verified Purchase
'Le tour d'écrou' nous plonge dans l'esprit d'une jeune gouvernante, qui relate après-coup par écrit les événements survenus dans les lieux où, engagée par leur séduisant oncle, elle avait la charge de deux jeunes enfants, Flora et Miles.
Les enfants sont adorables mais elle se persuade vite qu'ils subissent en secret l'influence maléfique des fantômes de la précédente gouvernante et de son amant, dont les mœurs dissolues et les morts mystérieuses avaient mis la maison en émoi.

C'est essentiellement un récit psychologique décrivant les doutes et les peurs de la gouvernante ainsi que ses tentatives pour sauver les enfants. Il y a peu d'action, la situation évolue lentement et certains passages peuvent sembler un peu longs et répétitifs (malgré la brièveté du texte). Les amateurs de sensations fortes seront probablement déçus ; l'ambiance instillée est tendue et inquiétante, mais afin de ménager l'ambiguïté les scènes spectaculaires ou trop explicites sont bannies.

Je me suis attaqué au texte en version originale, et il faut bien avouer que la langue est difficile : les phrases sont longues et complexes, l'anglais utilisé peut paraitre un peu daté aujourd'hui. Il y a aussi quelque chose d'un peu suranné quand la constatation que la petite fille est sortie sans chapeau est interprétée comme la preuve qu'elle est guidée par un esprit maléfique, mais cela fait aussi partie du charme.

Avant tout, la fascination qu'exerce 'Le tour d'écrou' tient beaucoup au fait qu'une fois le livre terminé et reposé, le lecteur ne possède aucune certitude sur ce qui s'est réellement passé à Bly : doit-il faire confiance à la gouvernante, narratrice de l'histoire, en charge des enfants, ou plutôt la considérer comme complètement folle, sujette à ses fantasmes et à des hallucinations?

Ces questions alimentent la réflexion bien après la fin de la lecture. Chacun trouvera matière à justifier sa propre interprétation tant l'écriture laisse la place au doute. Au bout du compte, le livre mérite sa réputation de classique en continuant à flotter durablement dans notre esprit, tel un fantôme, tandis qu'on cherche à en percer tous les secrets.

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The Turn of the Screw Hardcover – January 1, 1898

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5.0 out of 5 stars Horrorific or Insane? An obvious answer.....

4.0 out of 5 stars Paddy Hackett from Ireland

3.0 out of 5 stars Very hard to wade through

Top reviews from other countries

2.0 out of 5 stars No estoy segura

5.0 out of 5 stars 👍👍

5.0 out of 5 stars 代表作

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved the old school horror vibes

5.0 out of 5 stars Troublant et ambigu

Horrorific or Insane? An obvious answer.....

Paddy Hackett from Ireland

Very hard to wade through

No estoy segura

👍👍

代表作

Loved the old school horror vibes

Troublant et ambigu