The Turn of the Screw, Henry James
The Turn of the Screw, Henry James
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The Turn of the Screw
An iconic Gothic Horror masterpiece where a young governess battles sinister ghosts for the souls of two innocent children. Are the spirits real, or is she losing her mind?

Author: Henry James

Narrator: John Montoya

Unabridged: 4 hr 27 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: John Montoya

Published: 04/07/2026

Categories: Fiction, Horror, Classic, Gothic

Synopsis

Evil hides in the quietest corners of the English countryside.Hired to care for two remarkably beautiful and angelic orphans at the remote Bly estate, an eager young governess believes she has found the perfect position. But her idyllic countryside haven shatters when she begins seeing shadowy figures stalking the grounds—figures who do not belong to the living. As the sinister apparitions of Peter Quint and Miss Jessel close in on her charges, she realizes she is the only thing standing between the children and a terrifying, unmentionable doom.You will absolutely devour this foundational pillar of the Gothic Horror genre. Dripping with creeping atmospheric dread, psychological suspense, and the eerie isolation of a haunted Victorian manor, it is the ultimate ghost story. Fans of unreliable narrators and slow-burn terror will find themselves captivated by its masterful tension and unresolved, chilling ambiguity.Henry James (1843–1916) was an acclaimed American-British author renowned for his deep psychological complexity and pioneering narrative techniques. Widely regarded as a transitional figure between literary realism and modernism, his haunting masterpieces continue to define classic literature today.

About Henry James

American-born writer Henry James (1843–1916) authored 20 novels, 112 stories, 12 plays, and a number of literary criticisms.

James was born in New York City into a wealthy family. In his youth, James traveled back and forth between Europe and America. He studied with tutors in Geneva, London, Paris, Bologna, and Bonn. At the age of nineteen, he briefly attended Harvard Law School, but he was more interested in literature than law. James published his first short story, "A Tragedy of Errors," two years later and then devoted himself entirely to literature. In the late 1860s and early 1870s, he was a contributor to the Nation and Atlantic Monthly. His first novel, Watch and Ward, first appeared serially in the Atlantic.

After living in Paris, where he was a contributor to the New York Tribune, James moved to England. During his first years in Europe, James wrote novels that portrayed Americans living abroad. Between 1906 and 1910, he revised many of his tales and novels for the so-called New York edition of his complete works. Between 1913 and 1917, his three-volume autobiography-A Small Boy and Others, Notes of a Son and Brother, and The Middle Years (released posthumously)-was published. His last two novels, The Ivory Tower and The Sense of the Past, were left unfinished at his death.

Among James's masterpieces are Daisy Miller, The Portrait of a Lady, The Bostonians, and The Wings of the Dove. In addition, James considered his 1903 work The Ambassadors his most "perfect" work of art.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Justin on November 01, 2021

I hate when I don't love a classic. It makes me feel stupid, like I'm too ignorant to comprehend literary brilliance. I'm particularly disappointed in myself for not loving The Turn of the Screw, because I'm such a huge fan of all things ghastly and Gothic. And this is both! But it's true. I didn't c......more

Goodreads review by Sasha on January 02, 2015

Turn of the Screw is a pretty cool story. It's about a governess who either heroically attempts to protect her two charges from malevolent ghosts or goes dangerously bonkers. James leaves it ambiguous and I love that kind of story. Ambiguity works for me. Four stars for the plot. Kindof an abrupt en......more

Goodreads review by Traveller on April 12, 2017

Now you see me, ...now you don’t.. What the... Meaning, understanding and certainty all become elusive chimera in this ambiguous game of hide-and-seek that Henry James plays with us. Have you ever been in one of those weird situations where you wondered if you were losing your mind, doubting whethe......more

Goodreads review by Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽ on October 10, 2019

Me at 50%: And 75%. And 90%. I was actually really excited to read this classic Henry James novella, a gothic ghost story published in 1898. A young woman is hired to be the governess for two young orphans by their uncle, whose good looks and charm impress the governess. She wants to impress him in t......more

Goodreads review by Vit on November 27, 2024

Some persons always record what did happen to them… And the story is a manuscript of a governess: “She was young, untried, nervous…” And there is a man who has hired her… And there are orphans she governed… He had been left, by the death of their parents in India, guardian to a small nephew and a smal......more

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