Florence and Giles / The Turn of the Screw

by John Harding, Henry James

A sinister Gothic tale in the tradition of The Woman in Black and The Fall of the House of Usher1891. In a remote and crumbling New England mansion, 12-year-old orphan Florence is neglected by her guardian uncle and banned from reading. Left to her own devices she devours books in secret and talks to herself - and narrates this, her story - in a unique language of her own invention. By night, she sleepwalks the corridors like one of the old house's many ghosts and is troubled by a recurrent dream in which a mysterious woman appears to threaten her younger brother Giles. Sometimes Florence doesn't sleepwalk at all, but simply pretends to so she can roam at will and search the house for clues to her own baffling past.After the sudden violent death of the children's first governess, a second teacher, Miss Taylor, arrives, and immediately strange phenomena begin to occur. Florence becomes convinced that the new governess is a vengeful and malevolent spirit who means to do Giles harm. Against this powerful supernatural enemy, and without any adult to whom she can turn for help, Florence must use all her intelligence and ingenuity to both protect her little brother and preserve her private world.Inspired by and in the tradition of Henry James' s The Turn of the Screw, Florence & Giles is a gripping gothic page-turner told in a startlingly different and wonderfully captivating narrative voice.

Genres: Fiction, Book Club, Gothic, Retellings, Mystery, Horror

537 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 5, 2011

Reviews

[Hanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would have marked 5 stars if only for giving me a book to read myself into the way I used to when I was about 10. It brought back times when I "just had to finish" regardless of time, school, food and other trivialities and yet I was afraid to turn another page, too terrified to find out what happened.

You have to love the heroine if you ever read anything in bed hiding the flashlight so no adult interrupts. Oh it brings you to appreciate your lighted Kindle even more. The travails of the heroine in this aspect prove extremely engaging and entertaining. Once you're hooked there is no stopping and things start to get more and more complex.

So the book deserves every star because it is extremely well paced, thought through and uniquely voiced. The final twist(s) give you chills even if you traced the hints and it isn't (or shouldn't be) a surprise.

What I'm surprised about is people finding "too many questions unanswered" in this book. To me everything is very neatly wrapped up, all explanation provided, the things left to ponder on left so deliberately, not by lack of skill or thought.

[Danielle Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though not a traditional gothic horror novel, Florence and Giles borrows elements from this genre and twists it into an entertaining psychological thriller. My only real issue with the novel was the narrator's diction. She insisted on creating words (inspired by Shakespeare's neologisms) which she deemed accurately portrayed the story- though she was merely turning adjectives into verbs, i.e. "it colded outside," instead of "it was cold outside." This interrupted the flow of the prose as I had to take a step back and decipher the word/meaning. It seemed nonessential to the progress/style of the story and simply came across as laziness on the author's part.

[Elana · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s one of those novels that are much more fun to analyze than to read. A clever riff on “The Turn of the Screw”, with a bit of even more obscure Victorian Gothic, such as “East Lynne”, thrown in. A doubly unreliable first-person narrator (if you don’t know what a doubly unreliable narrator is, neither did I. But soon you’ll be able to read my article about it). A peculiar diction which is supposed to indicate Florence’s occluded state of mind. Perfect. But also rather boring. I may inflict it on my students but if you don’t have to write a paper about double unreliability, you may be better off reading something less clever.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book of two halves for me. I loved the pre-governesses section, in which Florence develops her clandestine reading habit and her delightful, idiosyncratic vocabulary. Her identification and habitation of an apparently inaccessible tower is a good metaphor for her passion for reading, and the comic romance business with Theo is very engaging. I felt this vein of narrative was ill-suited to the 'evil governess' section, with its gothic stylings and implications of unreliable narration. There is no doubt, however, that the denouement is very well executed, and I found that hurtled towards its conclusion.

[Amann Sharda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gothic masterpiece. Real atmosphere is rare for me to feel in fiction - this had it in full force. Shocking twist, perfectly paced, and a convincing & compelling narrator - a worthy tribute to Henry James’ TOTS.

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was just brilliant, very gothic and dark. But also strangely loveable characters.

[Katherine McGowan · Rating 5 out of 5]

By far the best adaptation of The Turn of the Screw I have read. A book that will haunt you long after you have turned the last page. A taute, atmospheric read.

[Liesbeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this AFTER I finished " the girl who couldn't read", which I absolutely loved.
In a way I'm glad I read the second book first, as I'm not sure I would have read both of them the other way round.
Florence and Giles, I'm in two minds about this book.
It goes on a bit too long, the darkness of the setting becomes a tad depressing, there's no relieve from it at any point.
Florence started to grate on me after a while. I wanted to feel sorry for her, but failed to do so more and more as the story progressed.
Her special language, clever, but why? And no explanation is being given for this.
And why did she not alarm the house keeper sooner, she'd known her for virtually all of her life?
All her caring for Giles, but not poor Theo??
Having said all that, it's incredibly original and well written.

[W Accelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so drawn in with the narrative at the start, truly believing that the new governess, Miss Taylor was a mythical creature with an evil plan. It was only halfway through when it was brought up that the rest of the characters were unable to witness the 'strange happenings', that I started to question Florence's mental state of mind, and how calculative & clever she is for a 12 year old.

I would have liked to hear from the servants of the house in the end, for them to express some doubts towards the supposed series of events that happened while they were gone. I also expected there to be more suspicion from Hadleigh regarding the whole situation, for there to be a hint of future investigations.

Nevertheless, this was an excellent read, captivating and awfully chilling.

[Plamen Enchev · Rating 3 out of 5]

История, разказана от името на Флорънс – момиче, живеещо в имението на чичо си – Блайт Хаус. Останала без родители, тя е поверена на грижите на прислугата на имението. Според чичо ѝ жените не трябва да са грамотни и затова, въпреки наличието на огромна библиотека, на Флорънс е забранено да се учи да чете. Тя обаче е привлечена от книгите и тайно от всички опознава света на буквите и се влюбва в него. Нейното братче Джайлс, напротив, е изпратено в училище, където трябва да получи образованието си.
Още: https://flame16.blogspot.com/2018/09/...

[Jodie Downes · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is narrated by Florence in her own language, which I loved - something different and fresh. The path of sibling love never does run smoothly but this time it's Florence who will do anything to protect her little brother Giles. I have a great, clear picture of Blithe House in my head and was running the corridors with them throughout. A wonderfully broody tale, a slow burner which adds to its gothic style. Something I'd read again

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a wonderful find and I'd recommend it to anyone who likes atmospheric, creepy books. I was actually pleased I wasn't alone in the house whilst reading it. Florence is a delightful 12 year old girl living with her younger brother in an enormous, dilapidated house with only a few old servants to keep them company. The trouble starts with the arrival of a governess, very much in the vein of Turn of the Screw. That's where the similarity ends though; I enjoyed this novel far more.

[Renee Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

I purchased the audio book and I suspect I would have enjoyed the story more if I hadn't. Although my dissatisfaction with it was not confined to that alone. The story was tedious and uneventful until the creepiness finally set in but the ending fell flat for me. The writing was good though, which is why I couldn't bring myself to give it less than three stars.

[Mark Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in about 2 days and found it difficult to put down It is an excellent story, but i think I guessed early on how it was going to end.The characters draw you in and the atmosphere of the book is excellent. The description of Blithe house is wonderful. I would recommend it

[Pages · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like small gothic horror books. I got it for 99p on the kindle store. It's eerie and slow and creepy- small children with a nanny in a great big old house. I kinda guessed what was happening - comes from reading too much Agatha Christie- but a good read nonetheless.

[Grainne Owens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully sinister and gothic. This book and it's macabre characters slowly creep out of the binding until it feels like your sitting in that freezing, mist shrouded, echoing New England mansion! Thoroughly enjoyable!

[L.K. Chapman · Rating 5 out of 5]

The twists and turns in this book kept me guessing right to the end, and I really liked Florence’s character- the way she narrates the story is very endearing, with wonderful phrases such as “I brained an idea”.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm rather at odds about this one. Certainly a page turner with lots happening. I just disliked the narrator's special language but she was a weird girl. And i found her heartlessness a bit much to take. But certainly gothic and creepy. well rounded off tho i only got a sense of evil at the end.

[Ally · Rating 3 out of 5]

If this were 100 pages shorter I would have loved it, as it was I struggled to finish.

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was really creepy!

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

now this, Essie Fox, is how you write a gothic horror.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I SO wanted to love this book.
The ending was just so disappointing. I wanted more!

[Natasha Walsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

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[Peanut Head . · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this was going to be really chilling. A great front cover but it failed to deliver the scary stuff for me.

[Asghar Abbas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved everything about this book. Even the ending, which I saw coming like a dark rook on a pure white snow.

[Kandyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good mystery.... The personal dialogue was difficult for me to follow, but ultimately a suspenseful tale.