The Turn of the Screw

Anne Flosnik's soft voice leads listeners into a novel of Victorian England that is unlike those of contemporary literature. The obtuse language and structure might leave contemporary readers bewildered. Highly developed characters appear with Henry James's signature style, which provides illuminating social commentary on politics, class, and status. Flosnik assumes the upper- and lower-class accents of nineteenth-century England, delivering the different voices with the rendition of a theatrical performance--even crying a little now and then. The plot--seemingly inconsequential--appears slowly from a fog of ideas. The adept narrator exploits the beauty of language from a complex thinker who elaborates his characters using interior monologues and points of view. Readers, beware--this is not an easy listen. J.A.H. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

May 30, 2016
An unnamed narrator recalls a Victorian-era Christmas Eve gathering at an old house, in which guests share ghost stories. One guest, named Douglas, presents the group with a faded old manuscript, purporting to be the firsthand account of a young governess who was hired to care for two orphaned children. She arrives at a secluded country estate and soon becomes aware that the ghosts of the former groundskeeper and the children’s previous governess haunt the house and its surrounding grounds. The governess is convinced that the malevolent spirits are out to harm the young children, and it is up to her to thwart their evil intent. Both narrators offer fine performances of this classic story. Elliot presents the book’s prologue in an appropriately British stiff-upper-lip style that contrasts perfectly with Rawlins’s narration, which fully embraces the emotionally charged turmoil and desperation of the governess as she slowly unravels at the escalating horror around her.