Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.

The Turn of the Screw

ebook
Always available
Always available

The Turn of the Screw is s ghostly Gothic tale by Henry James. A masterpiece in ambivalence and the uncanny, The Turn of the Screw tells the story of a young woman who is hired as governess to two seemingly innocent children in an isolated country house. As the tale progresses she begins to see the ghost of her dead predecessor. Or does she? The story is so ambivalent and eerie, such a psychological thriller, that few can agree on exactly what takes place. James masters "the strange and sinister embroidered on the very type of the normal and easy" in this chilling Victorian classic.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

  • Formats

  • Languages

  • Levels

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      May 30, 2016
      An unnamed narrator recalls a Victorian-era Christmas Eve gathering at an old house, in which guests share ghost stories. One guest, named Douglas, presents the group with a faded old manuscript, purporting to be the firsthand account of a young governess who was hired to care for two orphaned children. She arrives at a secluded country estate and soon becomes aware that the ghosts of the former groundskeeper and the children’s previous governess haunt the house and its surrounding grounds. The governess is convinced that the malevolent spirits are out to harm the young children, and it is up to her to thwart their evil intent. Both narrators offer fine performances of this classic story. Elliot presents the book’s prologue in an appropriately British stiff-upper-lip style that contrasts perfectly with Rawlins’s narration, which fully embraces the emotionally charged turmoil and desperation of the governess as she slowly unravels at the escalating horror around her.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      February 27, 2017
      Prebble’s strong, cultured voice pulls listeners directly into the deep suspense of James’s famous Gothic tale. He plays the unnamed narrator who, at the start of the novel, prepares his audience for what is posed as a most sinister ghost story involving young children and their newly appointed governess. Then actor Landor takes over to relate the story as a first-person account from the governess. She reads with an accent that sounds a bit upper-class for a country governess, but no matter; her diction is extremely clear, which is essential to allowing the listener to traverse James’s long, complex sentences. She is entirely convincing both as the emotional governess and as Mrs. Grose, the housekeeper, as the two try to extricate their young charges, eight- and 10-year-old Flora and Miles, from the grasp of the two ghosts who inhabit their gloomy country house. The story remains ambiguous to the end: Are the children manipulated by the ghosts? Are the ghosts real? Is the governess simply mad? With the help of both Prebble and Landor, listeners will be at the edge of their seats.

Formats

  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook
  • Open EPUB ebook

Languages

  • English

Levels

  • Lexile® Measure:1090
  • Text Difficulty:7-9

Loading