The Turn of the Screw [Paperback]

Henry James (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2005

"The Turn of the Screw" is an intense psychological tale of terror. It begins in an old house on Christmas Eve. It is the story of a Governess who comes to live with and take care of two young children. The Governess loves her new position in charge of the young children, however she is soon disturbed when she begins to see ghosts.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Digireads.com (January 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1420922440
• ISBN-13: 978-1420922448
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #312,043 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

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.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic creeper!, May 25, 2011

By 

Rose Madder (Michigan) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Turn of the Screw (Kindle Edition)

An excellent mystery/horror novel! When I was in 12th grade, my class was assigned this book to read and I absolutely loved it. The characters are done with depth but also have a mystery. You cannot be sure what is exactly happening until the very end. Even still, the author does not end the book with an answer but a question mark. Is the governess really mad or are those kids demon possessed monsters. And what about the mysterious uncle that never makes an appearence in our book? This book will keep you guessing, that is for sure.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Weird, March 2, 2010

By 

Molly (NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Turn of the Screw (Paperback)

This little book started off very slowly as the diary of a governess of two children at a country estate. She sees apparitions of her dead predecessor and another dead hired hand and thinks that they are trying to take the children away with them to the other world. She keeps her eye on the children constantly to protect them from this evil. The first half to two-thirds of the book is very wordy, repetitive with convoluted language, often making no sense, full of unnecessary adverbs. It seems like very poor writing until you put it in context: it was written by a mentally disturbed woman who is describing her life and situation. Near the very end, the action does pick up once her insanity begins to emerge. The two children, who first loved her, become fearful of her; a servant takes the little girl away to protect her, leaving the little boy alone with the batty governness. I won't spoil the end but it's not for the faint of heart. I liked "Daisy Miller" better I think, but Henry James does tend to put an odd spin on things.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great ghost story?, July 24, 2011

By 

tlee (Kansas) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Turn of the Screw (Kindle Edition)

I really enjoyed this book and the question about whether or not this is a ghost story or a psychological story. After I finished reading it, I had to question what actually happened and this spurred to me to look into the debate surrounding this story, which I found more interesting than the book itself. The character development is good and James' writing builds interest throughout. I found the formatting to be good quality for my Kindle.