The Turn of the Screw

The basis for Netflix’s The Haunting of Bly Manor: One of the most disturbing ghost stories ever written, a tale of imagined danger and real dread. A young governess arrives at a secluded country estate, hired by the manor’s often-absent master to look after his orphaned niece and nephew. The young woman, a parson’s daughter, is immediately charmed by eight-year-old Flora—and Miles, two years older, seems like a perfect little gentleman when he is unexpectedly sent home from his boarding school.   But Miles’s steadfast refusal to reveal the cause of his expulsion is troubling, as are the staff’s whispered stories about the previous governess, Miss Jessel, and her lover, the mysterious valet, Peter Quint, both of whom are now dead. Most disturbing of all are the spectral figures wandering the grounds of Bly that only the new governess can see: a woman and a dark man who seem to take a special interest in Miles and Flora. No longer sure of what is real and whom she can trust, the governess desperately tries to hold on to her sanity and protect the innocent children from forces too sinister to name.   A literary masterpiece whose mysteries are open to endless interpretation, The Turn of the Screw has been haunting readers for more than a century.   This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.

Amazon.com Review

The story starts conventionally enough with friends sharing ghost stories 'round the fire on Christmas Eve. One of the guests tells about a governess at a country house plagued by supernatural visitors. But in the hands of Henry James, the master of nuance, this little tale of terror is an exquisite gem of sexual and psychological ambiguity. Only the young governess can see the ghosts; only she suspects that the previous governess and her lover are controlling the two orphaned children (a girl and a boy) for some evil purpose. The household staff don't know what she's talking about, the children are evasive when questioned, and the master of the house (the children's uncle) is absent. Why does the young girl claim not to see a perfectly visible woman standing on the far side of the lake? Are the children being deceptive, or is the governess being paranoid? By leaving the questions unanswered, The Turn of Screw generates spine-tingling anxiety in its mesmerized readers.

The Independent

“No collection of spooky stories would be complete without this novella. It has it all: a big house, scary children, almost unbearable suspense and the horrible realization that something is wrong.”

The New Yorker

“The darkest, richest ghost story I’ve ever read . . . [The] story grows ever grimmer, ever scarier.”

Siri Hustvedt

“A diabolical little work . . . I found it terrifying, and in the years since I finished it, the short text has continued to haunt me, sometimes returning without warning to my thoughts.”

From the Back Cover

The Turn of the Screw (1898) , Henry James’ transcendent ghost novella, is the story of a governess trusted with the care of two well-to-do children: when possessed with a psychic connection to two former employees of the estate, the Governess does everything she can shield them from the incarnation of evil.

About the Author

Henry James (1843–1916) wrote some of the finest novels in the English language, including The Portrait of a Lady, The Golden Bowl, and The Wings of the Dove. The son of a prominent theologian and brother of the philosopher William James, he was born in New York but spent most of his life in England and became a British citizen shortly before his death. A master of literary realism, James is also well known for the groundbreaking novellas Daisy Miller and The Turn of the Screw.

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