The Turn of the Screw - Henry James

THE TURN OF THE SCREW HENRY JAMES Do you enjoy a good ghost story? Yes? Then don't ignore this book because of its age. The Turn of the Screw was written a at a time when ghost stories were very popular. But Henry James did not write stereotypical ghost stories, his were not tales of ghosts appearing in white sheets and frightening all those around. He was more interested in 'real' ghosts, "the strange and sinister embroidered on the very type of the normal and easy," as he put it in the preface of his final ghost story, The Jolly Corner. The Turn of the Screw is in my opinion one of the best ... more

I'm always open to new authors, new genres and, quite frankly, anything that holds any sort of praise. After my Literature lecturer brought up Henry James's 'The Turn of the Screw' in two consecutive lecturers, I'd pretty much made up my mind that I had to read the book or die! It sounded so compelling... Having read it however, I'm not too sure what to think! We'd put it on the Book Club reading list, and this evening we will be conferring with one another about the book so I thought I'd best write this review now before my views are warped by those of others. Okay, let's start with the ... more

This is the only piece of fiction I have read by Henry James. But if you want intrigue, the dimension of gory reality and children that create more unease that any phantom...then this is your pit stop. It begins with a group of gentlemen swapping 'ghostly' stories. The tension is set, for both the characters and the reader. " The Turn of the Screw " begins with the employment of a governess for two children ( hired by their elusive guardian ). I won't spoil it for you by telling you the basic premise of the plot - but strange happenings recorded by the staff and the governess herself pull the ... more

I found this book completely fascinating. It is told almost entirely from the point of view of one person, so it is impossible to tell exactly how much of what she perceives is real. This is the story of a governess who goes to look after two young children at a remote house in the country. She quickly bonds with the housekeeper and the two angellic children and is happy there. The only things that do bother her are the mysterious death of the previous governess and the fact that the apparently perfect boy was expelled from school for an unexplained reason. The master of the house also seems ... more