Henry James

This gothic classic, “The Turn of the Screw” is one of the most famous ghost stories of all time. On Christmas Eve, Douglas reads a manuscript written by a former acquaintance, the governess, whom Douglas claims to have known and who is now dead. The manuscript tells the story of how the young governess is hired by a man who has become responsible for his young nephew and niece after the tragic deaths of their parents. He is uninterested in raising the children. The governess’s new employer gives her full responsibility for the young siblings and explicitly states that he is not to be bothered with communications of any sort. Set in a remote estate this critically acclaimed novella tells the tale of a governess who, looking after two children, becomes convinced that the grounds are haunted. This story has been adapted many times for film and television, most recently in The Turning (2020). Famed for its ability to create an intimate sense of confusion and suspense, this novella is a must-read for all horror and ghost story fans.

The Turn of the Screw

Harry Levin

Sent to Paris by a wealthy matron to retrieve her son, Strether becomes sidetracked by intriguing complications

The Ambassadors

A literary historian develops a scheme to gain possession of love letters written by an American poet, and a governess tries to protect the two young children in her care from the ghosts she believes are haunting them.

The Turn of the Screw and The Aspern Papers

A lecture on the art of fiction, given by the English critic Walter Besant on April 25, 1884, and an answer to the lecture by American writer Henry James in the same year.

The Art of Fiction

Since 1917 The Modern Library prides itself as "The modern Library of the world's Best Books". Its paperback series feature treasured classics, major translations of great works, and rediscoveries of keen literary and historical merit. Featuring introduct

The Bostonians

Contains two compelling novellas; one, a moral tale of youthful spirit, the other, a terrifying ghost story.

Daisy Miller and the Turn of the Screw

Daisy Miller, an innocent yet bold American girl, runs afoul of the European code of conduct at the turn of the twentieth century.

Daisy Miller

The Portrait of a Lady is a novel by Henry James. It is one of James's most popular long novels, and is regarded by critics as one of his finest. The Portrait of a Lady is the story of a spirited young American woman, Isabel Archer, who in "affronting her destiny", finds it overwhelming. She inherits a large amount of money and subsequently becomes the victim of Machiavellian scheming by two American expatriates. Like many of James's novels, it is set in Europe, mostly England and Italy. Generally regarded as the masterpiece of James's early period, this novel reflects James's continuing interest in the differences between the New World and the Old, often to the detriment of the former. It also treats in a profound way the themes of personal freedom, responsibility, and betrayal.

The Portrait of a Lady

CHAPTER I What determined the speech that startled him in the course of their encounter scarcely matters, being probably but some words spoken by himself quite without intention—spoken as they lingered and slowly moved together after their renewal of acquaintance. He had been conveyed by friends an hour or two before to the house at which she was staying; the party of visitors at the other house, of whom he was one, and thanks to whom it was his theory, as always, that he was lost in the crowd, had been invited over to luncheon. There had been after luncheon much dispersal, all in the interest of the original motive, a view of Weatherend itself and the fine things, intrinsic features, pictures, heirlooms, treasures of all the arts, that made the place almost famous; and the great rooms were so numerous that guests could wander at their will, hang back from the principal group and in cases where they took such matters with the last seriousness give themselves up to mysterious appreciations and measurements. There were persons to be observed, singly or in couples, bending toward objects in out-of-the-way corners with their hands on their knees and their heads nodding quite as with the emphasis of an excited sense of smell. When they were two they either mingled their sounds of ecstasy or melted into silences of even deeper import, so that there were aspects of the occasion that gave it for Marcher much the air of the “look round,” previous to a sale highly advertised, that excites or quenches, as may be, the dream of acquisition.

American Literature

The Beast in the Jungle

Joseph Conrad once said of his friend Henry James, As is meet for a man of his descent and tradition, Mr. James is the historian of fine consciences. As it turns out, James was also incredibly gifted at writing exceptional ghost stories. This collection including, The Beast in the Jungle and The Jolly Corner, features James's finest supernatural tales, along with criticism, a discussion of the legacies of James's writing, and provocative study questions.

The Turn of the Screw, the Aspern Papers and Two Stories

James's troubling late-Victorian mystery of an unsolved literary riddle and sudden death has inspired endless speculation.

The Figure in the Carpet

The American A social comedy about Christopher Newman, an American businessman on his first tour of Europe. Along the way, he finds a widow from an aristocratic French family.

The American

In Three Volumes

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. 'The place, with its grey sky and withered garlands, its bared spaces and scattered dead leaves, was like a theatre after the performance-all strewn with crumpled playbills.' Revered as one of the greatest ghost stories ever told, James's The Turn of the Screw is an eerie Victorian masterpiece. When an inexperienced governess goes to work at Bly, a country house in Essex to look after a young boy Miles and his sister Flora, all manner of strange events begin to occur. The governess spots a ghostly man and woman around the grounds and is told by the housekeeper that the valet and previous governess haunt the house. It soon becomes clear that the children are inexplicably connected to these ghosts in some way and the young governess struggles to protect the children, although from exactly what, she is not sure. Exploring the psychological and sexual fears of an era, this ambiguous, suspenseful and anxiety-inspiring novella remains one of Henry James's most well-known tales.

Collins Classics - The Turn of the Screw

James's masterly novel set in nineteenth-century New York society is a devastating study of innocence destroyed. When plain Catherine Sloper acquires a dashing, determined suitor, her father, convinced that the young man is a fortune-hunter, decides to end their romance. Torn between her desire to win her father's approval and her passion for the first man to notice her, Catherine faces an agonising dilemma, and becomes all too aware of the limits on her freedom.

Washington Square

In Henry James''s "Daisy Miller, a young American woman ventures into sophisticated European society, where her naivete provokes scandal and tragedy. Graham Greene called "Washington Square "the only novel in which a man has successfully invaded the feminine field and produced work comparable to Jane Austen''s." Each work weaves an intricate tale of marriage, money, and manners.

Daisy Miller and Washington Square

This is the story of a spirited young American woman, Isabel Archer, who "affronts her destiny" and finds it overwhelming. She inherits a large amount of money and subsequently becomes the victim of Machiavellian scheming by two American expatriates. Like many of the author's novels, it is set mostly in Europe and reflects his interest in the differences between the New World and the Old, often to the detriment of the former. It also explores the themes of personal freedom, responsibility, betrayal, and sexuality.

Melville's short stories are masterpieces. The best are to be appreciated on more than one level and those presented here are rich with symbolism and spiritual depth. Set in 1797, Billy Budd, Foretopman exploits the tension of this period during the war between England and France to create a tale of satanic treachery, tragedy and great pathos that explores human relationships and the inherently ambiguous nature of man-made justice. Tales such as Bartleby, Benito Cereno, The Lightning Rod Man, The Tartarus of Maids or I and My Chimney, show the timeless poetic power of Melville's writing as he consciously uses the disguise of allegory in various ways and to various ends.

Ghost Stories of Henry James

Giro di vite

A collection of short novels includes the title work, a chilling classic of psychological terror, as well as "Daisy Miller," "The Aspern Papers," "An International Episode," "The Altar of the Dead," and "The Beast of the Jungle." Reissue.

Henry James

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