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    Turn of the Screw
    Turn of the Screw
    Turn of the Screw
    Audiobook (abridged)1 hour

    Turn of the Screw

    Written by Henry James

    Narrated by Virginia Mckenna

    3.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    William Collins Books and Decca Records are proud to present ARGO Classics, a historic catalogue of classic fiction read by some of the world’s most renowned voices. Originally released as vinyl records, these expertly abridged and remastered stories are now available to download for the first time.

    When a young governess is hired to care for two orphans in a country estate, she soon realises that something is lurking in the grounds of the house. But is it a mere ghost, or an altogether more sinister presence at work?

    The tension of this timeless horror is perfectly captured by stage and screen actress Virginia McKenna.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins Publishers
    Release dateSep 10, 2020
    ISBN9780008439620
    Author

    Henry James

    Henry James (1843–1916) was an American writer, highly regarded as one of the key proponents of literary realism, as well as for his contributions to literary criticism. His writing centres on the clash and overlap between Europe and America, and The Portrait of a Lady is regarded as his most notable work.

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    Reviews for Turn of the Screw

    3.5/5

    2,019 ratings105 reviews

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    • 3/5
      It was better than I thought it'd be.
    • 3/5
      This was my first Henry James story and I really enjoyed it. It was a short novel that can be characterized as a classic psychological thriller or ghost story from the 19th century. The story itself was not particularly scary, but I really enjoyed James' writing style and how he got inside the head of the main character as she starts to lose it later in the story. I will certainly read more of Henry James.
    • 2/5
      I just didn't get it? It didn't get me? It literally did not pull me into the story or hold my true interest. Perhaps a second reading/listening in the future.
    • 3/5
      I thought I would never make it through the first chapter, but I did and enjoyed finishing it. I made it through 2 books that were 400 pages + during the same time it took me to finish this 120 page book. Tedious, very difficult to read but enjoyable once I got into it. It has since made any semi-difficult read a breeze.
    • 3/5
      The Turn of the Screw by Henry James is billed as a psychological thriller. It is the story of an unnamed governess who agrees to care for two children at their uncle's estate, Bly. Her story is told through her journal entries. Her charges are "darlings" until one day while walking she meets menacing apparitions. I wanted to love this book as I do the classics. However, the writing was convoluted and this reader was very much distanced from the characters and felt like a passive bystander. It's saving grace was that is was only 131 pages. 2 1/2 stars
    • 4/5
      Read with Shutter Island.
    • 3/5
      I really struggled to stay engaged in this one. Emma Thompson did a great job narrating but the language made it difficult for me. There were some intense parts and I did mostly enjoy the tale.

      2.5 rounded up for Goodreads.
    • 4/5
      A true classic, creepy and enthralling and elegant. I find the lush old language to be almost comforting.
    • 4/5
      I reread this one for my library book discussion group. I found this classic to be a bit more risqué than my first read of it several years ago. A good discussion was had about the children and the ghosts and their influence on their young lives. Just what did they do to these children?!Briefly discussed the governess and her imagination but we agreed the ghosts were real. The author’s excessive use of punctuation aside, it’s a pretty good ghost story.
    • 4/5
      The Turn of the Screw by Henry James is a 2012 Duke Classics publication. (Originally published in 1898)I’ve been reading classic ‘horror’ novels during the month of October for the past couple of years, and it was so fun, I decided to make it a tradition. I have watched several movie versions based on this short story, but, of course, movies tend to take liberties, so I wanted to read the book this year and see it through a fresh lens…I was surprised to see this classic has only earned a tepid rating average on Goodreads, though. I understand why someone today would find it rather bland if they are expecting modern day theatrics, though. That’s unfortunate because the atmosphere, nuances, allegory, and subtlety are what made the ambiguous tale the fodder for so much debate- which continues on even today. I doubt anyone, one hundred years from now, will still be debating ANYTHING written today. So, there’s that. That said, the writing is hard to follow. It is too wordy- and the capitalization of nearly every pronoun was annoying. Even so, I still managed to read the book in one sitting-as it is a short story. Despite its age, I did find it effective, as I prefer this slow build up over the cheap thrills so prominent today. I could see where readers would experience some chills and thrills back in 1898- and to be honest, I felt a few shivers here and there, too. Does the story live up to the hype, though? Well, if I had entered the book with overblown expectations, I might have felt disappointed, or at the very least, confused by all the fuss surrounding this book, which has garnered so much attention in movies, television, and even on the stage. But because I was somewhat familiar with the premise, and knew it was meant to be a psychological exercise, I was fine with it. It’s a book that one might want to read multiple times before one could settle on an opinion about the validity of the ghosts, or any other message one might find buried in the text. It did not, when first published, come without its criticisms either- but some of that seems ridiculous to me. Maybe the book was simply meant to be unsettling- meant to challenge one’s own perception of the events described- which is what I think. The only debate I’ll step into is the one that argues the ‘Gothic’ category the book often falls into. Yes, it has some ‘Bronte-esque’ Gothic tones- but in my opinion, it is not a pure Gothic novel, therefore I would not categorize it as such. Overall, I thought the story was thought-provoking- though the atmosphere was tainted a bit by my struggles with the writing. Someday I might read it again, and maybe take a closer look at some of the suggested allegory of the story when I have more time to study it.I think a book that has this kind of staying power, is still popping up on television, and is still the topic of much debate says a lot about the impact of what might have been a simple ghost story. For that reason alone, it deserves at least a four-star rating.
    • 3/5
      I found nothing to appeal in this famous story and quite a lot of it's artistry was of itself and to an end for which I was largely indifferent if not hostile. The governess's certainties about her charges were particularly repulsive as was the 3rd handed really 4th - taking no responsibility presentation of the narration. The drawn out, undeciphered causality and the classism and rigid but relativistic moralism inherent as the basis for the situation are additional turnoffs.
    • 3/5
      A very strange story of a governess that accepts a post taking care of two children who are in the care of their Uncle. He tells her he wants her to take charge of them and not bother him about anything. She arrives at his estate and immediately begins seeing strange ghostly visions and hearing strange tales about the previous valet and governess from the housekeepers. She becomes convinced that the ghosts of the deceased governess and valet are bent on harming the children, who may be consenting to their "possessing" them. Or is this just a tale told by a crazy woman who was making it all up? I had a hard time processing the language it was written in and finding a connection to any of the characters.
    • 4/5
      I can understand the fear this story engendered when it came out. My daughter had to read this for Lit class & hated it. The language, the pacing, the lack of real fear. I thought it was much better & can see how, at the time it was quite a scary story. Of course, I took it as its base level & didn’t have to dissect the text.
    • 1/5
      I am going to just be immature here and say it was stupid.
    • 2/5
      One of those classics where you dont quite understand why its a classic. I can appreciate its contribution to the horror sub genre of the governess vs the supernatural but honestly its not scary and I found the protagonist incredibly annoying. Also the children didnt even do anything evil.
    • 2/5
      I read this for a second time in 2021. The first time I did not even rate it, which usually means that I think I didn't get it. Well, at least I didn't get this second time. English is not my native language but usually I don't have problems reading in English. However, the long sentences and some unfamiliar vocabulary made reading this book a struggle. It didn't help that the story and the characters were somewhat flat. I'm a bit disappointed in myself that I really didn't see how skillfully the story was built and how I wasn't able to enjoy the beautiful ambiguity of the plot. (The same would be true also for Daisy Miller, which I read after this.)
    • 3/5
      I got this book because of the TV series "The Haunting of Bly Manor". The Netflix series is loosely based on the book.From my perspective the book is about average. I didn't get a sense of menace, nor was there a well-planned storyline. Then, it ended.
    • 3/5
      The Turn of the Screw was a quick delve into what was considered one of the first ghost stories. Henry James delivered this novella in serial version in the late 1880's and his writing takes some getting used to, what with the constant clarifications and interjections between the commas. For example: "I could only get on at all by taking “nature” into my confidence and my account, by treating my monstrous ordeal as a push in a direction unusual, of course, and unpleasant, but demanding, after all, for a fair front, only another turn of the screw of ordinary human virtue." It's an elaborate style but seems to add to the tale being told by an unnamed governess given the charge of two young children , Flora and Miles. Their uncle, her employer, has no desire to raise his newly orphaned niece and nephew, and in fact wants no communication from her on how it's going. Soon she discovers that Miles has been expelled from school and more shockingly, there seem to be visions of two dead, former employees of the country house known as Bly. From here the story explores the governess' struggle to try and wrest the children away from the pull of these ghosts. The most interesting aspect of the novel is the dueling consideration whether this is a horror story or a character study of mental illness. Are the ghosts real or a figment of her imagination? You choose. LinesThere was nothing in me there that didn’t meet and measure him. . . . I had, thank God, no terror. And he knew I had not.” The best way to picture it all is to say that I was off my guard. They gave me so little trouble—they were of a gentleness so extraordinary. I used to speculate—but even this with a dim disconnectedness— as to how the rough future (for all futures are rough!) would handle them and might bruise them.I daresay I fancied myself, in short, a remarkable young woman and took comfort in the faith that this would more publicly appear. Well, I needed to be remarkable to offer a front to the remarkable things that presently gave their first sign.He has red hair, very red, close-curling, and a pale face, long in shape, with straight, good features and little, rather queer whiskers that are as red as his hair. His eyebrows are, somehow, darker; they look particularly arched and as if they might move a good deal. His eyes are sharp, strange—awfully; but I only know clearly that they’re rather small and very fixed. His mouth’s wide, and his lips are thin, and except for his little whiskers he’s quite clean-shaven. He gives me a sort of sense of looking like an actor.”It was like fighting with a demon for a human soul, and when I had fairly so appraised it I saw how the human soul—held out, in the tremor of my hands, at arm’s length—had a perfect dew of sweat on a lovely childish forehead.
    • 3/5
      3.5 stars

      This is a perfect ghost story. It slowly and continuously gets more creepy and has that vague way of doing things to keep you guessing even after it's over.
    • 3/5
      This was a fairly difficult read, with dense prose and antiquated terms. It felt much longer than it was. Great story though and I see why it's a classic. There is a lot of depth to the short story. Is the governess crazy? Are there ghosts? Are the kids possessed or merely acting out?

      While I struggled with this, it was a very rewarding read.
    • 3/5
      I need to acknowledge the presumptuousness of reviewing a book considered a “classic,” but I’d also like to know who, exactly, sits in judgement of all books everywhere, labeling some classics while discounting others. If you know the answer to this, please enlighten me.Onward.I listened to this book on audio, which I borrowed from my library via Libby. This edition is narrated by Simon Vance and Vanessa Benjamin, whose narration is emotive and engaging. Their ability to bring life to the characters held my attention and kept me entertained.But here’s a truth: Had I sat down to read this book myself, I doubt I’d have made it halfway.This book was first published in 1898. Yes, it’s old, the language is formal, and so on. But Henry James, even for his time, was a writer of (too) many words, all of them flowery and overly… everything. He uses 50 words to describe an emotion that could easily be narrowed down to two or three. Then we go round and round again, so that, oftentimes, an entire chapter could’ve been condensed to a paragraph or two.Because it’s so overdone and wordy, I didn’t feel the expected eeriness, much less the acclaimed gothic horror. I wanted to read this because I loved The Haunting of Bly Manor, which is the recent Netflix adaptation of this book. The thread leading from the book to the TV series is tenuous at best, but makes for an interesting comparison.
    • 4/5
      Narrated by Emma Thompson, I enjoyed re-reading this classic, gothic novella for the third time.

      I know many readers are not impressed by this book, but I enjoyed it, (again). I know it's rather verbose, especially considering the length of the book, but I found more than a few of the sentences to be outright chilling.

      I've always loved psychological horror and ambiguous stories, so this one hits most of the marks for me. My original rating of the book, at 4 stars, stands.
    • 3/5
      Disappointed after hearing all the praise of this novella, possibly was more shocking in its day and I’ve now become jaded by ghost stories. Lots of gothic atmosphere, tension and uncertainty. While the language wasn’t all that difficult, the style and manner of writing made it a bit difficult to get through. Long sentences with many clauses served to confuse me and lose the gist at times. Not really an enjoyable read so it felt longer and I was glad when it ended. Can’t recommend, but glad I filled in the gap of my reading of classic literature.
    • 3/5
      This started with a lot of promise - young woman starts a job as a governess at a country estate, sees ghosts and is very worried about her two young orphaned charges. It took way too long to read for a short novel, because it had too many words, if you know what I mean.
    • 4/5
      I honestly don't remember much about this now? It was neither as impressive nor as unimpressive as I have heard. Fairly atmospheric, decent ambiguous ending. I'm glad I read it, if only because now I will get it when other books or movies are referencing it.
    • 3/5
      I had never gotten around to reading this classic ghost story and it seemed appropriate for the pre-Halloween season. I am sure it was shocking in its time, but compared to Stephen King or Dean Koontz it's pretty tame.
    • 5/5
      Chilling! That ending is utterly chilling!
    • 3/5
      At Bly, a country estate in 19th century England, a young woman is hired as a governess for two young children who have been recently orphaned after the death of their parents. The home belongs to the children’s uncle who, although their legal guardian, wants nothing to do with them. At first, all is seemingly well, as the governess is thoroughly charmed with the beauty, intelligence, and disposition of her charges. Soon enough, though, things take a serious turn for the worse when she begins to see the ghosts of two former employees of the estate who seem to have malicious intentions toward the children. But are these apparitions real and, if so, why is the governess the only one who can see them? Alternatively, is she slowly descending into madness, or afflicted by some other malady? What are the secrets that the children seem to be protecting? How does the uncle’s apparent indifference factor into the situation? What explains the ultimate fates that the children and the governess experience?Those are all excellent questions. Of course, one of the things that has kept The Turn of the Screw relevant fiction for more than a century is that Henry James never really answers any of them. Instead, he offers a psychologically complex gothic horror story that allows readers to decide—or at least try to—for themselves what actually happens. Certainly, the author’s innovations in this tale were hugely influential on many subsequent artists; over the years, the novella has inspired works in literature, film, theater, and even opera. What the book is not, unfortunately, is a particularly interesting or compelling narrative in the modern context. James wrote with a bloated, overly wordy style that severely minimized the impact of the suspense in the tale. Although described by some critics as “chillingly evil” and “sinister,” I found the story to fall well short of those marks, with the horrific elements often buried in long passages of verbose inner monologue from a very unreliable narrator. So, while I am glad to have read the book for its historical importance, it was not one that I especially enjoyed.
    • 4/5
      Another genre classic that I hadn't read for a long time-and this time with good reason. James' way with a convoluted sentence often makes me want to scream, and having to backtrack to work out his intended focus does not make for a smooth flow in reading experience.

      That said, there is a definite power in this tale, and it builds nicely in dread and atmosphere to a chilling conclusion. It is definitely a classic of the genre, but the movie THE INNOCENTS showed how it could have been done in a more straightforward, yet still distinctly superior, fashion, and Peter Straub's retelling in GHOST STORY is also a superior version.

      Could easily have been a 5 star tale, and saying that, I've nudged it up from 3 to 4 this time around. It could be a long, long time before I want to read it again though.
    • 2/5
      I have no freaking idea what I just read. It ended--if you can even call that an ending, which is up for debate--and I went back and re-read the last six chapters. It didn't really help.W.T.F????2 stars for a strong start and a cool story idea...he lost me after that.