"[James] is the most intelligent man of his generation." -T. S. Eliot
"The economy of horror is carried to its last degree."-Edith Wharton
"The most hopelessly evil story that we could have read in any
literature"-The Independent
Henry James' The Turn of the Screw (1898) is one of the most
gripping psychological novellas ever written; a grim tale that could
equally be a tale of madness or a tale of the supernatural. The depths
and meaning of this story has been one of the most fascinating literary
debates in all of literature. The intriguing asymmetry of The Turn of
the Screw, between the seen vs. unseen, the internal v. the external,
and good vs. evil, rises this book beyond what can be described as a
simple ghost story.
The novella begins on Christmas Eve with the recitation of a letter. The
story quickly shifts to the perspective of a governess, who is the
subject of the strangely ambiguous story. She had been employed by a
dashing bachelor to take care of his niece and nephew in a remote
country home. To her surprise, she is requested not to reach the uncle
of the children under any circumstance. She is smitten by Flora, the
little girl, but receives a letter that the boy, Miles, has been
expelled from his school and would not be able to return. One evening,
strolling outside, the governess is shocked to see a man in the tower of
the house, and later in a window. When she describes him to Mrs. Grouse,
the maid, she is informed that the description matches that of a former
valet, who had died. Later, while at the lake with Flora, the governess
sees a second apparition, that of the governess who proceeded her. As
the ghosts eventually occupy the house, the governess develops a fearful
obsession of the corruption of the children by the terrifying spirits.
This gripping work of the unknown and moral decline is one of the most
haunting pieces of fiction in the western canon.
With an eye-catching new cover, and professionally typeset manuscript,
this edition of The Turn of the Screw is both modern and readable.
