The Turn of the Screw and Other Horrors
The Best Ghost Stories of Henry James: Annotated and Illustrated : 9
(Author) Henry JamesHe was not one for terror, or even horror. His fiction is impressionistic, psychological, and "courtly," but it has one pervasive emotion to it: unease -- discomfort, awkwardness, and a lurking shame buried in intentional secrecy. The fear of truth. The terror of exposure, of reality and confrontation. Henry James has long been heralded as a master of transatlantic realism, a cosmopolitan observer of human nature, and a bone-dry contributor to the novel of manners - a blue-blooded chronicler of polite society's stifled human dramas in the tradition of Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Gustave Flaubert, Balzac, Turgenev, Tolstoy, Kipling, and de Maupassant - a thoroughly European pedigree befitting a man who left the United States in his youth and returned only twice before his death. And yet, for all his love of manners, whit, upper middle class malaise, and psychological realism, James returned time and time again throughout his career to a genre which seemed so at odds with his oeuvre: the Gothic ghost story. His most famous and influential supernatural tale, The Turn of the Screw, is considered by many - including Stephen King - to be the exemplar of the ghost story: a tale of haunted children, demonic possession, sexual frustration, and psychological terror. But this was not a one hit wonder: James wrote eighteen weird tales - most of which were ambiguously supernatural, and the best of this output is included in this volume - phantom women in black veils, haunted clothes guarded by a jealous ghost, evil doppelgangers with mutilated fingers, murderous portraits which ensure the family honor, sexually-charged liaisons between the living and the dead, a spectral stalker haunting the woman who drove him to suicide, and more.
Henry James
Henry James was an American novelist and critic known for his psychological realism and exploration of the complexities of human relationships. His most notable works include "The Portrait of a Lady," "The Turn of the Screw," and "The Wings of the Dove." James' writing style is characterized by intricate prose, detailed character development, and nuanced exploration of social conventions and moral dilemmas.
James is considered one of the most important figures in 19th-century American literature, often credited with shaping the modern novel through his innovative narrative techniques and deep psychological insight. His impact on the literary genre of the novel is profound, with many critics and writers citing him as a major influence on their work.
One of Henry James' most famous works is "The Turn of the Screw," a ghost story that explores the themes of innocence, corruption, and the supernatural. The novella is widely regarded as a masterpiece of psychological horror and has been adapted into various film and stage adaptations. Henry James' contributions to literature continue to be celebrated and studied for their profound insights into the human condition and the complexities of human experience.
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The Complete Writings of Henry James on Art and Drama
Volume 1, Art
