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The Turn of the Screw
by James, Henry
- Used
- Condition
- UsedAcceptable
- ISBN 10
- 0140620613
- ISBN 13
- 9780140620610
- Seller
-
Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
UsedAcceptable. Cover has some rubbing and edgewear. Access codes, CD's, slipcovers and other accessories may not be included.
Synopsis
The Turn of the Screw is a short novel or a novella written by U.S. -born British author Henry James. Originally published in 1898, it is ostensibly a ghost story that has lent itself well to operatic and film adaptation. Due to its ambiguous content and narrative skill, The Turn of the Screw became a favorite text of New Criticism. The account has lent itself to dozens of different interpretations, often mutually exclusive, including those of a Freudian nature.
Reviews
On May 24 2023, a reader said:
The Turn Of The Screw is a gothic novella by British author Henry James in which an inexperienced young governess, a parson's daughter, takes a position at a country house looking after two children. The master of the house, their uncle, gives her full authority, wanting no communication about the children.
Her welcome to the house by the housekeeper, Mrs Grose, is genuine, and she is immediately taken with the little girl, Flora. Her brother Miles arrives a few days later, inexplicably dismissed from his boarding school: he seems to be a delightful boy.
Things change when the unnamed governess spots first a man (who is apparently the ghost of the master's valet, Peter Quint) and then a woman, the ghost of the previous governess, Miss Jessel. From just their gaze, she discerns that these two are after the children.
She manages to drag information about them and their relationship from the reluctant Mrs Grose and, between them, they decide they have to protect the children from the harm they believe the apparitions intend. Her vigils yield more sightings of the two, and the governess is even more certain of their ill intent.
As time progresses, though, the governess begins to wonder if it is too late: the children seem to already be happily in the thrall of these two. Should she, against instructions, contact their uncle?
For a twenty-first Century reader, this classic, however well written, will likely be a chore to read, a characteristic of the dense nineteenth Century prose being verbosity: why use one word when ten or fifteen will do, and the small print doesn't help the reader's search for the relevant point in each sentence.
For example, "Yet when he at last arrived the difficulty of applying them, the accumulations of my problem, were brought straight home to me by the beautiful little presence on which what had occurred had as yet, for the eye, dropped neither stain nor shadow" is a sentence that might be distilled into a few words, if only the meaning could intuited, but really, life's too short to bother. In this case, maybe the movie will be better than the book.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Goodwill (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 2Y6RUU002HB1_ns
- Title
- The Turn of the Screw
- Author
- James, Henry
- Book Condition
- UsedAcceptable
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Binding
- Paperback
- ISBN 10
- 0140620613
- ISBN 13
- 9780140620610
- Publisher
- Penguin Books
- Place of Publication
- London
- This edition first published
- October 30, 1998
Terms of Sale
Goodwill
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including original shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives damaged or not as described.
Address changes and cancellations after shipment may result in only a partial refund amount that does not include shipping postage. This also applies to returns/refunds made for discretionary returns.
Address changes and cancellations after shipment may result in only a partial refund amount that does not include shipping postage. This also applies to returns/refunds made for discretionary returns.
About the Seller
Goodwill
Biblio member since 2021
Brooklyn Park, Minnesota
About Goodwill
The mission of Goodwill Easter-Seals Minnesota is to assist people with barriers to education, employment and independence in achieving their goals. We envision strong communities where all people are economically self-sufficient.More than a store...we prepare people for work.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Rubbing
- Abrasion or wear to the surface. Usually used in reference to a book's boards or dust-jacket.