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The Turning
One of the greatest ghost stories ever told,
The Turn of the Screw
is now a feature film from Universal Pictures premiering January 24th, produced by Steven Spielberg and starring Finn Wolfhard and Mackenzie Davis
This unsettling collection brings together eight of Henry James's tales exploring ghosts and the uncanny, including his infamous ghost story, "The Turn of the Screw," a work saturated with evil. James's haunting masterpiece tells of a nameless young governess sent to a country house to take charge of two orphans, Miles and Flora. Unsettled by a dark foreboding of menace within the house, she soon comes to believe that something malevolent is stalking the children in her care. But is the threat to her young charges really a malign and ghostly presence or something else entirely? This collection also includes "The Jolly Corner," "Owen Wingrave," and further tales of visitations, premonitions, madness, grief, and family secrets, where the living are just as mysterious and unknowable as the dead. In these chilling stories, Henry James shows himself to be a master of haunting atmosphere and unbearable tension.
This unsettling collection brings together eight of Henry James's tales exploring ghosts and the uncanny, including his infamous ghost story, "The Turn of the Screw," a work saturated with evil. James's haunting masterpiece tells of a nameless young governess sent to a country house to take charge of two orphans, Miles and Flora. Unsettled by a dark foreboding of menace within the house, she soon comes to believe that something malevolent is stalking the children in her care. But is the threat to her young charges really a malign and ghostly presence or something else entirely? This collection also includes "The Jolly Corner," "Owen Wingrave," and further tales of visitations, premonitions, madness, grief, and family secrets, where the living are just as mysterious and unknowable as the dead. In these chilling stories, Henry James shows himself to be a master of haunting atmosphere and unbearable tension.
336 pages, Paperback
Published December 31, 2019
36 people are currently reading
348 people want to read
About the author
Henry James
4,567 books3,949 followersHenry James was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the son of Henry James Sr. and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James.
He is best known for his novels dealing with the social and marital interplay between émigré Americans, the English, and continental Europeans, such as The Portrait of a Lady. His later works, such as The Ambassadors, The Wings of the Dove and The Golden Bowl were increasingly experimental. In describing the internal states of mind and social dynamics of his characters, James often wrote in a style in which ambiguous or contradictory motives and impressions were overlaid or juxtaposed in the discussion of a character's psyche. For their unique ambiguity, as well as for other aspects of their composition, his late works have been compared to Impressionist painting.
His novella The Turn of the Screw has garnered a reputation as the most analysed and ambiguous ghost story in the English language and remains his most widely adapted work in other media. He wrote other highly regarded ghost stories, such as "The Jolly Corner".
James published articles and books of criticism, travel, biography, autobiography, and plays. Born in the United States, James largely relocated to Europe as a young man, and eventually settled in England, becoming a British citizen in 1915, a year before his death. James was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1911, 1912, and 1916. Jorge Luis Borges said "I have visited some literatures of East and West; I have compiled an encyclopedic compendium of fantastic literature; I have translated Kafka, Melville, and Bloy; I know of no stranger work than that of Henry James."
He is best known for his novels dealing with the social and marital interplay between émigré Americans, the English, and continental Europeans, such as The Portrait of a Lady. His later works, such as The Ambassadors, The Wings of the Dove and The Golden Bowl were increasingly experimental. In describing the internal states of mind and social dynamics of his characters, James often wrote in a style in which ambiguous or contradictory motives and impressions were overlaid or juxtaposed in the discussion of a character's psyche. For their unique ambiguity, as well as for other aspects of their composition, his late works have been compared to Impressionist painting.
His novella The Turn of the Screw has garnered a reputation as the most analysed and ambiguous ghost story in the English language and remains his most widely adapted work in other media. He wrote other highly regarded ghost stories, such as "The Jolly Corner".
James published articles and books of criticism, travel, biography, autobiography, and plays. Born in the United States, James largely relocated to Europe as a young man, and eventually settled in England, becoming a British citizen in 1915, a year before his death. James was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1911, 1912, and 1916. Jorge Luis Borges said "I have visited some literatures of East and West; I have compiled an encyclopedic compendium of fantastic literature; I have translated Kafka, Melville, and Bloy; I know of no stranger work than that of Henry James."
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
January 10, 2020
Bwahahaha - horror is back and it is back with a vengeance! Welcome to The Turning....
Growing up in the 70s, I cut my teeth reading Stephen King's original books, you know, their first publication back in the day and when I couldn't get more of King, I turned to the classics like Shelley's Frankenstein, a love story (!), Shirley Jackson and Henry James. My favorite of all was Henry James and his terrifying short stories. Every now and again someone makes a movie about the Turn of the Screw and 2020 is apparently the year for major film producers to go all out trying to outdo one another. The Turning is a compilation of James' short stories as a movie tie-in for the first 2020 release, The Turning. It is a great, and horrifying re-grouping of James' most noteworthy scary tales. If you love classic horror then this should be a must read for you! I loved having them collected all together. Yes, it is in his original stilted Victorian prose but, for me, that just makes it all the better.
As a side note, the director who brought us The Haunting of Hill House also is creating a sequel based on James' short stories called "The Haunting of Bly Manor." You will want to read The Turning to be fully prepared for this spine=tingling, nerve-rattling sequel when it airs in a few months!
Growing up in the 70s, I cut my teeth reading Stephen King's original books, you know, their first publication back in the day and when I couldn't get more of King, I turned to the classics like Shelley's Frankenstein, a love story (!), Shirley Jackson and Henry James. My favorite of all was Henry James and his terrifying short stories. Every now and again someone makes a movie about the Turn of the Screw and 2020 is apparently the year for major film producers to go all out trying to outdo one another. The Turning is a compilation of James' short stories as a movie tie-in for the first 2020 release, The Turning. It is a great, and horrifying re-grouping of James' most noteworthy scary tales. If you love classic horror then this should be a must read for you! I loved having them collected all together. Yes, it is in his original stilted Victorian prose but, for me, that just makes it all the better.
As a side note, the director who brought us The Haunting of Hill House also is creating a sequel based on James' short stories called "The Haunting of Bly Manor." You will want to read The Turning to be fully prepared for this spine=tingling, nerve-rattling sequel when it airs in a few months!
July 1, 2020
I will start by saying I did not enjoy this book at all. I had such a hard time getting through each story. The stories are very wordy and anticlimactic. I found my mind wondering when I was reading not a good sign. He explained to much and just went on about things that didn't even matter. These stories were not scary or even chilling, I was bored out of my mind. I did read every story and the only ok one was The Turn Of The Screw. This was just not my cup of tea.
February 4, 2021
The Turn of the Screw follows a nameless narrator as she settles into her new role as caretaker of Miles and Flora, the children at Bly Manor. Although they seem like sweet children they soon turn out to be rather unsettling. The narrator only has Mrs. Grose, the housekeeper, for support as she tries her hardest to care for the children who have dark secrets. The narrator is set on uncovering why Miles has been expelled from school and the reason behind the children’s strange behaviour but what she finds is uncanny and abstract.
This story is haunting and I was holding my breath as I read it! There are apparitions, creepy children, an old manor and overshadowing wilderness which has all the makings of a good horror story.
The story itself is worth the read but is certainly open to interpretation due to its inconclusive details and abrupt end.
I also enjoyed the other stories in this collection, my favourites being The Romance of Certain Old Clothes and The Third Person.
This story is haunting and I was holding my breath as I read it! There are apparitions, creepy children, an old manor and overshadowing wilderness which has all the makings of a good horror story.
The story itself is worth the read but is certainly open to interpretation due to its inconclusive details and abrupt end.
I also enjoyed the other stories in this collection, my favourites being The Romance of Certain Old Clothes and The Third Person.
March 22, 2020
Is am obviously not a great student of horror. These tales did not age well for me, and unfortunately the long drawn out sentences, thoughts, and paragraphs added to my difficulties.
March 3, 2020
The only thing that kind of dampened my enjoyment of this story collection was the antiquated English that it used. At some points I had to reread a passage several times for the intent to stick, which is no fault of Henry James' as this is how they wrote and spoke! I just had some trouble comprehending. There were some good spooky stories here that were pretty captivating! And I was very glad to read the story that inspired "The Turning" film adaptation.
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May 4, 2020I couldn't get into it, and to be honest didn't even finish it. I'm not sure if it was the way it was written, with the long sentences. Seems like old english. I tried reading it before watching the movie, but hopefully I'll get scared by the movie atleast. I'm not rating this book since I did not read it completely. I feel that would be unfair.
July 20, 2020
Language and style of writing made it hard to follow the plot of every story.
October 17, 2020
I've always found James to be a bit dense to get through, but these short stories were worth the read. "The Jolly Corner," especially, left me shivering.
October 19, 2020
Like most of the reviews, I seem to agree that this one is not for me. The stories of Henry James were the source material for the series The Haunting of Bly Manor. In a rare twist, the tv series was in fact perfectly splendid. While the source material is certainly not (in my opinion).
I don't mind the writing style due to the time the work was published. Personally I felt there was a disconnect. I'm not sure where, but I wouldn't say that I recommend this one.
I don't mind the writing style due to the time the work was published. Personally I felt there was a disconnect. I'm not sure where, but I wouldn't say that I recommend this one.
September 10, 2020
The language is beautiful and the characters intriguing. Tension is always rising and James is very good at revealing information slowly. However, almost every ending in this collection felt anticlimactic.
Sometimes, I was in the dark about what was unfolding because it had gone over my head (more due to the Victorian [?] writing).
Sometimes, I was in the dark about what was unfolding because it had gone over my head (more due to the Victorian [?] writing).
October 27, 2020
I hope the movie is a lot better than the book. Granted it was written in the late 1800s, but I felt like I was reading horror stories written by Jane Austen. The sentences ran on, and used three times as many words as would be used today to convey the same message. I really wanted to finish the entire book. I made it to the last story and then had to give up.
October 31, 2020
Scary story with the reflection of the time when it was written and open for interpretations.
February 26, 2020
This might be one of the worst books I’ve read in a long time. If you’re looking for something to thrill you, scare you, or excite you this is NOT it.
December 30, 2019
This is Henry James and this book contains some of the creepiest stories I've ever read.
It's wonderfully written, atmospheric, and really creepy.
A great read, highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
It's wonderfully written, atmospheric, and really creepy.
A great read, highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews