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The Turn of the Screw and The Aspern Papers (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

by Henry James (Author), Anthony Curtis (Contributor) "I had taken Mrs Prest into my confidence; without her in truth I should have made but little advance, for the fruitful idea in the..." (more)
Key Phrases: Miss Tina, Miss Bordereau, Jeffrey Aspern (more...)

4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description
In these two chilling stories, Henry James shows himself to be a master of haunting atmosphere and unbearable tension. The Turn of the Screw tells of a young governess sent to a country home to take charge of two orphans, Miles and Flora. Unsettled by a sense of intense evil within the house, she soon becomes obsessed with the belief that malevolent forces are stalking the children in her care. Obsession of a more worldly variety lies at the heart of The Aspern Papers, the tale of a literary historian determined to get his hands on some letters written by a great poet-and prepared to use trickery and deception to achieve his aims.

About the Author
Anthony Curtis was the literary editor of the Financial Times from 1970-1990 and published a number of books about Somerset Maugham.

Product Details

Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Penguin Classics (September 30, 2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0141439904
ISBN-13: 978-0141439907
Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 5 x 0.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #536,627 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
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#94 in Books > Literature & Fiction > British > Classics > James, Henry

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
I had taken Mrs Prest into my confidence; without her in truth I should have made but little advance, for the fruitful idea in the whole business dropped from her friendly lips. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Miss Tina, Miss Bordereau, Jeffrey Aspern, Miss Jessel, Misses Bordereau, John Cumnor, Harley Street, Master Miles

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Citations (learn more)

100 books cite this book:

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Henry James On Stage and Screen by John R. Bradley on 12 pages
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Customer Reviews

7 Reviews

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4.3 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Suspensful Read, August 21, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Aspern Papers and The Turn of the Screw (The Penguin English Library) (Paperback)

This is an early examination of a deterioration of the human psyche. It's a dark psychological thriller told by a woman who finds herself scattered by fleeting emotions and unseen torments. From the start, the protagonist's mind seems to flow in several different directions, showing the portrait of a very insecure woman. I think that the purpose of the lengthy language is to serve as her very personal outlook on the situation, on herself. Henry has put himself fully in her position to achieve the purpose of forcing the reader to do so as well.
I tend to dislike films or books that depict mental illness as an organized or curable disorder. Something that can be easily fixed by medical advances or hope alone. The truth of the matter is much more dark. Insanity is not something to romanticize about, although there is certainly speculation of mental illness furthering artistic insight. (an example would be Virginia Wolff, or Vincent van Gogh) But Henry James does not view the woman's hallucinations with hope for her recovery.
The author has always shown particular interest in insanity, not from the vantage point of an onlooker or professional...but from the direct and unaltered view of the person suffering the hallucinations.
There actually are ghosts in this book, but the kind that are much more sinister and real in that they only exist to this one woman. She's alone in her hallucinations, completely unable to share the nightmare that has taken over her mind, left to bare it by herself. I think that's truly more frightening than the thin plot of any other 'ghost' story.
I recommend this book for several reasons; it has an intriguing plot, is an exploration of psychological aspects, and ends with a suspenseful finale.

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Two of James's Best, June 9, 2000

By	Jim McKenna (Pittsburgh, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Aspern Papers and The Turn of the Screw (The Penguin English Library) (Paperback)

These are two of James's most haunting stories. It is amazing how he uses his mastery of narrative technique to unsettle the reader. It is never clear in the "Turn of the Screw" whether the ghosts actually exist or whether the narrator herself is deluded. Similarly, in "The Aspern Papers" the narrator seems to be eminently reasonable and civilized, but his actions are anything but. This story, in its quiet, "boring" fashion, throws a very disturbing light on literary biographers. In fact, this is one of James's trademarks, the ability to probe the dark side of refined, genteel people.

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6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Art of Fiction, October 4, 2001

By	Doug Anderson (Miami Beach, Florida United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: The Aspern Papers and The Turn of the Screw (The Penguin English Library) (Paperback)

Well these are my two favorite works by Henry James. In both James displays his very neatly honed talents for creating fine fictional universes and architecturally perfect stories where all seems to be just right but of course it isn't. James is writing in the still young American tradition of letters but he has cleared away much of the romanticism that was so evident in Hawthorne and Melville. The romanticism still exists but it is not in the writers brain, it exists in the characters alone. James was the first to really write at a remove from his characters. He tells each tale with no authorial comment to sway your opinion of his characters one way or another, he lets the reader make his own observations and draw his own conclusions based on the characters behaviour and thoughts. That authorial distance allows him to simply relate the story, not explain it, and James stories are each as intricate as the psychologies that occupy them. In these two stories he creates very intriguing and complex situations. Both are mysteries and both perhaps have no easy solution or resolution because James lets the complex minds and psychologies of his characters subjectively grapple with a web that they have themselves woven and any resolution would mean an unraveling of their entire character. These are story long webs which can be baffling(Aspern Papers) or terrifying(Turn of the Screw), the psychological webs these characters weave can lead them to frightening extremes(Turn of the Screw) or can serve as a necessary support for the fragile psyche that created them(Aspern Papers). The real thrill of reading James is in how controlled a manner all is told. There are no obvious clues just psychological gradations and patterns which begin adding up to an overall impression. It can seem after finishing one of his stories that nothing much has happened at all, and yet a psychology has all the while been examined and quite thoroughly. Through his stories much is revealed about what lies just beneath the facade of life and what motivates our most basic perceptions, our identity, and our societal or world view. It has been said that James brought the insight of a psycholgist to his stories. But his insights are much more profound than a mere clinicians notes. In James we get a highly discerned character in a highly discerned context and the discerning reader will be entertained and enlightened and inspired to contemplate the workings of ones own intricate structure.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars The Aspern Papers/ The Turn of the Screw are two of Henry James most famous works
Henry James (1843-1916) is an acquired literary taste! James novels became increasingly esoteric as the master grew older. Read more

Published 7 months ago by C. M Mills

5.0 out of 5 stars Two for one
This omnibus collects two of James's best and most well-known shorter works, The Aspern Papers and The Turn of the Screw. Read more

Published on September 21, 2003 by VoodooLord7

3.0 out of 5 stars you need time,patience,and Jack Daniels to enjoy this
mix the Jack Daniels with seltzer if you like. The story is in first person. If I ever actually met a person who spoke to me (or anyone) in the tone adopted by the lead character,... Read more

Published on September 30, 1999

2.0 out of 5 stars ITS MYSTERIOUS
I DONT UNDERSTAND I

Published on March 29, 1999

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