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34 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
chilling, disturbing, eerie - definitely worth perservering, 31 Dec 1999
By A Customer
Outwardly the novella appears to be a straightforward ghost story, narrated by the governess the 'victim' of this story A governess is offered the position of taking under her care two small charges - brother and sister - whose parents have passed away. Their uncle whom is their legal guardian assigns them to the care and protection of a young governess twenty years of age.Placed in supreme authority of the big ramnbling country house over the children and servants - the young governess becomes aware of malevolent presences within and around the house. She sees the ghosts of the previous valet and governess both of whom passed away a while back. Convinced the two ghosts are after the souls of her two young charges, she resorts to desperate measures and round the clock care to keep the children safe and solve the mystery of the relationship between the previous inhabitants and her dependants. However a disturbing relationship develops between her and that of her sole charges - most noticably Miles, the young boy. It is this eerie theme of sexual and social unrest that makes the novel so disturbing. Much of the novel is told through the viewpoint of the governess. It is only by studying the dialogues between her and her charges that the truth, her behaviour, her ulterior motives, finally becomes apparent. Henry James does a fine job of creating an eerie atmosphere, keeping the reader in suspense. His delicate allusions to the strange forces of evil keep the plot from becoming obvious. A second reading of the novel is essential in order to realise fully the truth that is constantly hinted at throughout the novel. The Turn of the Screw succeeds due to its ambiguity and projection of mental imbalance, all the more powerful as events are told from the governess' viewpoint. The reader has to sift and judge the account on an objective basis in order to be able to perceive the truth.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Terrifying ghost story, 27 Jun 2008
Unlike some of the other reviewers here I still think this is the creepiest book I've ever read, and all the more terrifying for the fact that James never articulates what's going on - he simply leaves your imagination to float free and conjure up all your worse nightmares. Yes, he's never an easy read (though this is far more accessible than Wings of the Dove, The Golden Bowl etc) but I think his very stately, mannered sentences and diction actually add to the horror of the story. Don't read this if you're expecting Stephen King or The Exorcist - James expects his readers to make the effort to read properly. Someone called this (possibly James himself?)'the most poisonous little tale I could imagine' and I think that's a perfect description - when I re-read it, it was on the tube with bright lights and lots of people around as I couldn't face reading it at home alone!
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
critical debate,, 10 Dec 2008
* Henry James's The Turn of the Screw has inspired a divided critical debate, the likes of which the literary world has rarely seen. When the short novel was first published in 1898, it was published in three different versions, as a serial in Collier's Weekly and in book form with another tale, in both American and English editions. James later revised the story and published it in 1908 in the twelfth volume of the New York Edition of The Novels and Tales of Henry James. It is the 1908 version that the author preferred and to which most modern critics refer. However, no matter what version readers encounter, they may find themselves falling into one of two camps supported by critics to this day. Either the story is an excellent example of the type of ghost story that was popular at the end of the nineteenth century or it is a psychoanalytic study of the hallucinations of a madwoman.
* As a ghost story, then the tale details the classic struggle between good and evil and dealings with the supernatural. If one takes it as a psychoanalytic study, then the story emphasizes sexual repression and the sources of insanity. In either case, The Turn of the Screw has delighted readers for more than a century and continues to serve as one of the many examples of James's literary artistry, among such other notable works as The American, The Ambassadors, and The Portrait of a Lady.
* Adaptations:
1. The Innocents, 1961, Deborah Kerr
2. The Nightcomers [1972] director Michael Winner: When their parents die in an accident, Flora and Miles are cared for by Miss Jessel (Beacham) the governess and Mrs Grose (Hird) the housekeeper. But it is really Quint (Brando), the Irish servant, who really runs the house and particularly Miss Jessel who submits herself totally to him. The children see Quint as a fascinating source of knowledge and believe everything he says is true, however skewed his vision on life may be. It is this influence on Flora and Miles that leads to Quint's ultimate demise...
3. Benjamin Britten's interpretation of the 1898 Henry James tale performed at Fulbeck Hall in Lincolnshire. Richard Hickox conducts.
4. A Jealous Ghost ~A.N. Wilson
5. * 1959, with Ingrid Bergman
6. * 1974, with Lynn Redgrave
7. * 1982, with Helen Donath
8. * The Haunting of Helen Walker (1985, Valerie Bertinelli)
9. * Otra vuelta de tuerca (1985)
10. * 1990, with Amy Irving
11. * 1990, with Helen Field
12. * 1992, with Patsy Kensit
13. * Presence of Mind [1990] starring: SADIE FROST, HARVEY KIETEL, LAUREN BACALL: Henry James' classic tale of terror "Turn of the Screw" receives its most stunning screen adaptation to date in this 19th Century period thriller. Upon the death of her incestuous father, a young woman is called on to serve as a Governess for two children, Miles and Flora. Their Uncle, the master, became the guardian of the youngsters after the loss of their parents. Seduced by the charm of their Uncle, she accepts his one condition: to take sole responsibility for them and never trouble him. Although happy with the location and nature of her job, the Governess soon encounters problems with the two children and the estate housekeeper. When she stumbles upon a secret room, the Governess discovers dark secrets and begins to understand the reason behind the children's eerie behaviour.
14. * 1999, with Jodhi May
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