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Henry James
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Turn Of The Screw And The Aspern Papers, The Paperback – 31 July 2003

by Henry James (Author)
3.8 3.8 out of 5 stars 6,736 ratings
Edition: 1st
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Oscar Wilde called James's chilling The Turn of the Screw 'a most wonderful, lurid poisonous tale'. It tells of a young governess sent to a country house to take charge of two orphans, Miles and Flora. Unsettled by a sense of intense evil within the house, she soon becomes obsessed with the belief that malevolent forces are stalking the children in her care. Obsession of a more worldly variety lies at the heart of The Aspern Papers, the tale of a literary historian determined to get his hands on some letters written by a great poet - and prepared to use trickery and deception to achieve his aims. Both show James's mastery of the short story and his genius for creating a haunting atmosphere and unbearable tension. Anthony Curtis's wide-ranging introduction traces the development of the two stories from initial inspiration to finished work and examines their critical reception.
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  1. ISBN-10
    0141439904
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0141439907
  3. Edition
    1st
  4. Publisher
    Penguin
  5. Publication date
    31 July 2003
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    12.95 x 1.52 x 19.81 cm
  8. Print length
    272 pages
  9. See all details
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Product description

About the Author

Henry James was born on 15th April 1843 in Washington Place, New York to a wealthy and intellectual family and as a youth travelled between Europe and America and studied with tutors in Geneva, London, Paris, Bologna and Bonn. He briefly and unsuccessfully studied law at Harvard but decided he preferred reading and writing fiction to studying law. His first novel, Watch and Ward, was published in 1871 after first appearing serially in Atlantic Monthly. After a brief period in Paris, James moved first to London and then later to Rye in Sussex. He became a British citizen in 1915 to declare his loyalty to his adopted country as well as to protest against America's refusal to enter the war on behalf of Britain. Henry James was a prolific writer and critic and from around 1875 until his death he maintained a strenuous schedule of publications in a variety of genres- novels, short story collections, literary criticism, travel writing, biography and autobiography. He died in 1916.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin; 1st edition (31 July 2003)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0141439904
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0141439907
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 12.95 x 1.52 x 19.81 cm
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.8 3.8 out of 5 stars 6,736 ratings

About the author

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Henry James

Henry James

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Henry James (1843-1916), the son of the religious philosopher Henry James Sr. and brother of the psychologist and philosopher William James, published many important novels including Daisy Miller, The Wings of the Dove, The Golden Bowl, and The Ambassadors.

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3.8 out of 5 stars
3.8 out of 5
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Top reviews from Australia

Dion
3.0 out of 5 stars it was ok, I found it a bit long and wordy
Reviewed in Australia on 31 August 2022
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I usally like some classic but this one not so much
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in Australia on 1 January 2016
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Left me wanting to know more...ideal thriller.
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Georgina Eliason
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in Australia on 25 May 2015
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Good but not as sastisying as the astern papers
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Daryl
4.0 out of 5 stars A great gothic ghost story, ambiguous and mystifying
Reviewed in Australia on 22 August 2022
I really enjoyed this audiobook of James's novella. Emma Thompson gives a great performance with her very iconic voice, bringing all of the characters to life and adding the emotion required flawlessly. If you have never read this book before then this short audiobook is well worth listening to.

As a book from the late 19th century, it brings out the attitudes of the time. The class divides between The Governess and Mrs Grose, the illiterate assistant housekeeper. Throughout the book, The Governess treats her as one of the "simple folk". This acts as a timely reminder that the history we read and see is generally written about a very thin layer of society.

The interplay between The Governess and MIles, the 10-year-old boy and the oldest of her charges, is also intriguing. You can see the entrenched beliefs over gender roles and the continual playing for affection and the upper hand between the two of them.

There are several subplots running through the book. The child has been cast out of his school for some reason, and she is there to find out why and to fix the situation. The daughter, Flora, whose relationship with The Governess quickly goes downhill, and the ghosts that appear throughout the story.

Ultimately it's an ambiguous book where the reader is the one who makes up their own mind about the story. I really enjoyed this for a number of reasons, and will likely read it again in book form at some point in the future.
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Cornelius Horgan
3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
Reviewed in Australia on 19 April 2015
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good
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Mitali Sahoo
5.0 out of 5 stars This is my favourite book by Henry James, perfect for horror fans.
Reviewed in India on 14 February 2022
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This is my favourite book by Henry James, perfect for horror fans. The book was delivered in perfect condition and the cover is stunning!
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Mitali Sahoo
5.0 out of 5 stars This is my favourite book by Henry James, perfect for horror fans.
Reviewed in India on 14 February 2022
This is my favourite book by Henry James, perfect for horror fans. The book was delivered in perfect condition and the cover is stunning!
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One person found this helpful
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Reinold F.
5.0 out of 5 stars What happened?! fascinating mystery, reads as a manga. (AmazonClassics Edition)
Reviewed in the United States on 9 December 2019
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After finishing it I re-read parts to look for clues, and even went to internet to check theories. I seldom do that! :O This is a ghost story that reads also as a detective story and a psychological thriller. Read it as a ghost story and it's about a wealthy and invisible man that has set, being by design or by fear, a cursed place with wicked and beautiful people with an agenda over two children, the apparition of the ghosts is formidable and scary through their silent threat. As a detective story it is about murders and hidden romances, for moments seems a way to plan an assassination; each utterance is a clue, each data has a background, the ghosts could be an alibi. And lastly it could be psychological, the narration is told at first by a group that accepts the existence of ghosts, and then by the governess hired by the wealthy gentleman under stressing conditions; she tells us her story but we cannot trust her, she hides her feelings, if she is convinced (and convinces others) about the ghosts existence is in grounds of mostly her word. There is a clear answer? there is not, but it is done in a way that it gives you curiosity to read it again.

I mention it reads as a manga for the language used, Japanese authors tend to write characters to be a tad more dramatic, they speak in a suspicious and indirect way, a tone similar to: '"he" is arriving', 'this is "his" choice', the awe felt through the revelations,the persecutions and in general dynamic narration. I love this book, I am not sure if I could recommend it though, I have a fascination with 19th century British literature, a fascination that few share. If you like that period as me then "The Turn of the Screw" is amazing. Without this story maybe the cinema genre of ghosts would not exist as we know it.

The AmazonClassics Edition is excellent. I wouldn't be surprised if it is the best available: it has useful X-Ray, modern typography and a limpid and comfortable to read formatting, as always the only absence is the original year of publication in the first page. Beyond that minor detail is a pleasure to read it in this edition, the text is pure as if had just been published, just a short author biography at the end. Highly recommended.
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rjs
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent but needs a very close read or you will ...
Reviewed in Canada on 28 January 2018
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Excellent but needs a very close read or you will miss the story and its complexity. The narrator inserts prepositional phrases in the main verb phrase which can make following the story difficult at times; also, antecedents of personal pronouns can be confusing in the dialogues. Make the effort and be amazed.
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Elisavet
5.0 out of 5 stars 👍👍
Reviewed in Spain on 5 November 2019
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Muy contenta con la entrega y con la calidad del libro
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Viridiana H
2.0 out of 5 stars No estoy segura
Reviewed in Mexico on 8 January 2018
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No estoy segura si es una edición completa o resumida. El tamaño del libro me deja dudando si es que se trata de un resumen o esta completo.
No pude encontrar nada de información en la contraportada ya que no hay nada, ni siquiera editorial. A mi parecer es un proyecto de una nueva editorial, al menos eso parece.
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