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The Turn of the Screw

by Henry James

A haunting shaped by uncertainty

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Paperback New English

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AlbakiReads Editorial

A haunting shaped by uncertainty

A governess arrives at a country house to care for two orphaned children and becomes convinced that a threatening presence is near them. The central uncertainty—whether the danger is supernatural or has another explanation—makes the story’s perspective part of its subject. This Penguin Classics edition adds an introduction by David Bromwich, along with notes, a chronology and further reading, giving context for James’s use of ambiguity and point of view.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers interested in classic ghost stories and supernatural ambiguity
  • Readers exploring Henry James or the role of point of view in fiction
  • Readers who value editions with introductions, notes and further reading

Themes

Supernatural uncertaintyNarrative perspectiveCare and responsibilityMenace in a country house

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

A chilling ghost story, wrought with tantalising ambiguity, the basis for the new Netflix series The Haunting of Bly Manor

A Penguin Classic


In what Henry James called a 'trap for the unwary', The Turn of the Screw tells of a nameless young governess sent to a country house to take charge of two orphans, Miles and Flora. Unsettled by a dark foreboding of menace within the house, she soon comes to believe that something malevolent is stalking the children in her care. But is the threat to her young charges really a malign and ghostly presence or something else entirely? The Turn of the Screw is James's great masterpiece of haunting atmosphere and unbearable tension and has influenced subsequent ghost stories and films such as The Innocents, starring Deborah Kerr, and The Others, starring Nicole Kidman.

This Penguin Classics edition contains a chronology, further reading, notes and an introduction by David Bromwich examining the dark ambiguity of James's work and the inseparability of narrative from point-of-view.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
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