The Turn of the Screw, with eBook (Tantor Unabridged Classics)

A young, inexperienced governess is charged with the care of Miles and Flora, two small children abandoned by their uncle at his grand country house. She sees the figure of an unknown man on the tower and his face at the window. It is Peter Quint, the master's dissolute valet, and he has come for Miles. But Peter Quint is dead. To all immediate appearances, The Turn of the Screw is a ghost story. But are appearances what they seem? A subtle, self-conscious exploration of the haunted house of Victorian culture, filled with echoes of sexual and social unease, The Turn of the Screw is probably the most famous and eerily equivocal of all ghostly tales.

From AudioFile

Anne Flosnik's soft voice leads listeners into a novel of Victorian England that is unlike those of contemporary literature. The obtuse language and structure might leave contemporary readers bewildered. Highly developed characters appear with Henry James's signature style, which provides illuminating social commentary on politics, class, and status. Flosnik assumes the upper- and lower-class accents of nineteenth-century England, delivering the different voices with the rendition of a theatrical performance--even crying a little now and then. The plot--seemingly inconsequential--appears slowly from a fog of ideas. The adept narrator exploits the beauty of language from a complex thinker who elaborates his characters using interior monologues and points of view. Readers, beware--this is not an easy listen. J.A.H. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

About the Author

American-born writer Henry James (1843–1916) authored 20 novels-including The Portrait of a Lady, The Bostonians, and The Wings of the Dove-112 stories, 12 plays, and a number of literary criticisms.Anne Flosnik is an accomplished, multi-award-winning British actress, with lead credits for stage, television, commercials, industrials, voice-overs, and audiobooks. She has garnered three AudioFile Earphones Awards, including for Little Bee by Chris Cleave, and four Audie Award nominations.

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