The Two Magics: The Turn of the Screw, Covering End

The Two Magics is an 1898 book by Henry James in which are collected two stories, The Turn of the Screw and Covering End. "The Turn of the Screw, originally published in 1898, is a ghost story novella written by Henry James. Due to its ambiguous content, it became a favourite text of academics who subscribe to New Criticism. The novella has had differing interpretations, often mutually exclusive. Many critics have tried to determine the exact nature of the evil hinted at by the story. However, others have argued that the true brilliance of the novella comes with its ability to create an intimate confusion and suspense for the reader."Covering End is another of the 'lost' long tales by Henry James, which is strange since it is pendant to The turn of the screw, the best known of all the tales, in the book publication The two magics (1898). The explanation for this may lie in the fact that it was 'converted' by James from his original one-act play Summersoft, which was written for Ellen Terry but not performed. The tale bears distinct traces of its lineage, both in its structure and in the rather melodramatic change of heart by one of the principle characters. In fact, a later impresario persuaded James to turn the tale back into a play as the three-act The high bid, which was produced briefly in 1907.

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