Best of James: The Turn of the Screw (Illustrated)

A nice edition with 9 illustrations from the original publication in Collier's Magazine in 1898. The Turn of the Screw is an 1898 horror novella by Henry James that first appeared in serial format in Collier's Weekly magazine in 1898. Classified as both gothic fiction and a ghost story, the novella focuses on a governess who, caring for two children at a remote estate, becomes convinced that the grounds are haunted. In the century following its publication, The Turn of the Screw became a cornerstone text of academics. The novella has had differing interpretations, often mutually exclusive. The novella has been adapted numerous times in radio drama, film, stage, and television, including a 1950 Broadway play, the 1961 film The Innocents, and a 2020 modern adaptation named The Turning. The title "turn of the screw" refers to making a story more terrifying and dramatic by having a child threatened. It is a reference to the old-fashioned thumbscrews used for torture.