The Turn of the Screw is a gothic fiction and ghost novella, a genre James was interested in without wanting to resort to the typical ghost clichés he was not fond of. However, the poor care-taker may have read the entire situation wrong. The governess is charmed by Flora and Miles’ outwardly beauty, and does everything in her power to try to keep them safe from the fiendish ghouls roaming the towers, windows and fields. He instructs her to communicate with him only when strictly necessary. Flora and Miles are orphaned, and have been left in the care of their uncle, who has little time and interest in them. Flora and MilesĪ young woman lands her first job: she gets hired to be a governess for two young children. Strange creatures seem to lurk in the shadows, creeping closer and closer with every day and night… and they want the children. Even when strange things start happening around the country house where she works. He became a British subject as a way to protest the entry of the United States of America in the First World War.Įager to impress, the young governess takes his orders rather seriously. James was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in up to three occasions, in 1911, 19. He was a keen observer, and toyed around with his characters’ psyche, which is why he is considered a precursor to stream-of-consciousness writing. Often, the characters would represent what Henry James considered to be the best, but also the worst, that could be found at each side of the Atlantic. James is considered a key exponent of Trans-Atlantic literature, often juxtaposing figures from the Old World and the New World in his novels, and describing their interactions and clashes, their strengths and weaknesses. In the second half of his life, he would relocate permanently to European soil. Later, he would also meet and be influenced by British authors, such as Dickens and George Eliot. His ties to Europe brought him in close contact with many continental and British authors which would later influence his work, such as the French naturalists, in particular Balzac, and he would also end up befriending many of them.

The turning book henry james