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The Turn of the Screw and Other Stories (Oxford World's Classics) Kindle Edition

by Henry James (Author), T. J. Lustig (Editor) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 638 ratings
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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 little Miles. But Peter Quint is dead.

Like the other tales collected here - `Sir Edmund Orme', `Owen Wingrave', and `The Friends of the Friends' - `The Turn of the Screw' is to all immediate appearances a ghost story. But are the appearances what they seem? Is what appears to the governess a ghost or a hallucination? Who else sees what she sees? The reader may wonder whether the children are victims of corruption from beyond the grave, or victims of the governess's `infernal imagination', which torments but also entrals her?

`The Turn of the Screw' is probably the most famous, certainly the most eerily equivocal, of all ghostly tales. Is it a subtle, self-conscious exploration of the haunted house of Victorian culture, filled with echoes of sexual and social unease? Or is it simply, `the most hopelessly evil story that we have ever read'?

The texts are those of the New York Edition, with a new Introduction and Notes.
ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
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  1. Print length
    328 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    OUP Oxford
  5. Publication date
    April 17, 2008
  6. File size
    765 KB
  7. Page Flip
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  8. Word Wise
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  9. Enhanced typesetting
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Henry James (1843–1916) was born in New York and died in London. In addition to many short stories, plays, and books of criticism, autobiography, and travel, he wrote some twenty novels, the first published being Roderick Hudson (1875). They include The Europeans, Washington Square, The Portrait of a Lady, The Bostonians, The Princess Casamassima, The Tragic Muse, The Spoils of Poynton, The Awkward Age, The Wings of the Dove, The Ambassadors, and The Golden Bowl.

Susie Boyt (introduction and notes) is the author of four novels and a memoir, My Judy Garland Life.

Philip Horne (editor) is a professor of English at University College London. He is an authority on 19th century literature, specifically Charles Dickens and Henry James. He has edited several editions of James’s work, including The Tragic Muse for Penguin Classics.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B095HYTD2N
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ OUP Oxford; Reprint edition (April 17, 2008)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 17, 2008
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 765 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 328 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 638 ratings

About the author

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Henry James

Henry James

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Henry James (1843-1916), the son of the religious philosopher Henry James Sr. and brother of the psychologist and philosopher William James, published many important novels including Daisy Miller, The Wings of the Dove, The Golden Bowl, and The Ambassadors.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
638 global ratings
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Top reviews from the United States

Sturmey Archer
5.0 out of 5 stars The Turn of the Screw
Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2021
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In The Turn of the Screw, James explores the fuzzy boundary between ambiguity and psychosis. Like Shirley Jackson, 70 years later, he mines a rich vein of narrative in which the suspense derives largely from the uncertainty about what is real and what is the product of a fevered mind.

Much of that ambiguity stems from the way so much communication between the characters is unspoken. James may have been drawing inspiration from real life here and experimenting with a narrative style where dialog often consists of a few words followed by eloquent gazes and meaningful gestures.

"She smiled and smiled and we met; but it was all done in silence by this time flagrantly ominous."

This is important in navigating the knife edge between reality and uncertainty because so much of what the governess learns and expresses occurs in these interstitial spaces between the words. It is precisely this departure from a literature style that relies on literal communication that makes the governess a sympathetic narrator and lends a balancing credence to her point of view.

"We could only exchange, on this, one of our deeper mutual understandings, and it was Mrs. Grose who first brought up the plumb with an almost elated 'You see!'.".

Relying on the unspoken communication between the characters like this is a brilliant device and serves to make this novella a fascinating read.
9 people found this helpful
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5.0 out of 5 stars Serious ghost stories
Reviewed in the United States on November 19, 2020
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James' classic ghost story packaged together with three other of his ghost stories. Without the other three "Turn of the Screw" could seem like an early foray into the unreliable narrator genre but with them it becomes clear that James takes the topic seriously. In the end it seems safe to say that he believed that some people believe they can see ghosts, without offering an opinion on whether or not he himself believed in them.
10 people found this helpful
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Brittany Reid
4.0 out of 5 stars Hysteria or Possession
Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2020
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Product came in beautifully. The story itself was interesting and gives the debate of hysteria vs. Possession.
2 people found this helpful
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Barbara M. Trevino
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book.
Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2022
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Book in good condition and a terrific read.
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Darline Henderson
3.0 out of 5 stars Music soothes
Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2024
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My husband is a Jack of all trades. He’s building a small jewelry box for our granddaughter and a very dear friend’s daughter. The tunes are so elegant and recognizable….!!! It’s the beginning of something very beautiful..!!! I hope that they will save them for a those who come after.
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Keren
5.0 out of 5 stars Good Condition
Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2020
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The package came in and the book was just as it said in the description! Good condition.
3 people found this helpful
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Susan Lovell
5.0 out of 5 stars Hey, it’s Henry JAMES,,!!
Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2020
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Turn Of the Screw is a classic, Henry James is a 19th century genius...but everyone knows that...not necessary to do a review!
4 people found this helpful
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amelia
5.0 out of 5 stars My daughter loved it
Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2020
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She finished this book in one sitting!
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Mel
5.0 out of 5 stars Came in excellent conditions
Reviewed in Mexico on April 15, 2023
Verified Purchase
I really enjoy th Penguin Clothbound Classics! This one is a beautiful blue on blue. The book is fantastic so far! I am reading The Turn of the Screw alongside the audible read by Emma Thompson and doing one chapter a week. Makes it sooo much better! I got this idea from a Booktuber- Benjamin McEvoy. The ither short stories so far very interesting.
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Mel
5.0 out of 5 stars Came in excellent conditions
Reviewed in Mexico on April 15, 2023
I really enjoy th Penguin Clothbound Classics! This one is a beautiful blue on blue. The book is fantastic so far! I am reading The Turn of the Screw alongside the audible read by Emma Thompson and doing one chapter a week. Makes it sooo much better! I got this idea from a Booktuber- Benjamin McEvoy. The ither short stories so far very interesting.
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Andrea Balducci
4.0 out of 5 stars A well crafted 19th century psychological "horror" story
Reviewed in Italy on May 5, 2024
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The Turn of the Screw is a classic of the horror genre, although a modern reader might not enjoy it as the archetypical ghost story per se.
In fact, this book is in my opinion only as marginally a horror story as it is a sort of psychological horror written in the 19th century.
I am telling this because I've been misled myself by many reviews and comments online that praised this work by H.J. as one of the most chilling and enthralling pieces of classic English literature.

By and large, there are apparitions and a haunted house but the center of gravity of the whole work is the uncanny progression of actions and events narrated by the governess of Bly house, filtered out and interpreted by her beliefs, impressions and inner states. Consequently, the reader is somewhat left with the dilemma if what the governess tells is factual reality or ensues from a feeble mind whose faltering workings brings about a mere delusion.
I would like to spend a word upon Henry James's writing style, which I found not the easiest to read: his writing is mostly convoluted, with long-winded structures that build complex interactions between characters, most of the time going on within their minds. Only after this stage the action sometimes takes place.
As I said, most of the book delves into the psychological dimension of the characters and their (at least one in particular) power to build an idiosyncratic reality, and the the style is also aptly attuned to this end, thus rendering this tale a complex read (at least for my taste), yet enjoyable if you take the time and the effort to seize its complexity.

In conclusion, if you are looking for a classic ghost story with creaking doors, haunting bloodthirsty demons set to scare people around or ominous apparitions besetting poor wretched dwellers... this book is not for you. On the other hand, if you are looking for an uncanny story, beautifully written in 19th century style and loosely connected with supernatural beings and inner working of a susceptible mind, then go for it.
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🐈‍⬛
4.0 out of 5 stars Super Buch
Reviewed in Germany on December 19, 2023
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Die Farbe ist ein etwas knalligeres dunkleres blau als auf den Bild, aber trotzdem eine schöne Farbe.
Das Buchcover ist nicht glatt sondern hat eine Art Stoff(?) drum, was ich persönlich echt toll finde, zudem hat es eine Schnur, die man quasi als Lesezeichen benutzen kann, was ich auch echt praktisch finde. Ich hab das Buch noch nicht gelesen, aber es beinhaltet 7 Kurzgeschichten und die Novelle "Turn of the Screw" natürlich, zusätzlich beinhaltet es noch chronology, introduction, further reading und a note on the text.
Ein einziger Minuspunkt ist, dass die Seiten ein wenig durchscheinen, man sieht also auf einer seite die rückseite und die seite dahinter ein wenig durchscheinen, was mich aber eigentlich nicht stört.
Eine zusätzliche kleine Info, die vielleicht interessant sein könnte: Die Serie Haunt of Bly Manor (auf Netflix zu finden) ist auf dieses Buch basiert, wenn euch also die Serie gefallen hat oder interessant für euch aussieht, ist dieses Buch garantiert was für euch.
2 people found this helpful
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Jax
5.0 out of 5 stars Cloth covered boo
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 23, 2023
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Bought as a present, recipient delighted
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Pedro
3.0 out of 5 stars Not really what I wanted
Reviewed in Belgium on November 12, 2023
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The book is the same book that in the description/pics of the product, but it's not the version/edition I wanted (my mistake)... this is the Oxford edition with (4 tales from H.J.), the Pinguin classics is better (+ than 4)
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