The Turn of the Screw

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.

February 27, 2017
Prebble’s strong, cultured voice pulls listeners directly into the deep suspense of James’s famous Gothic tale. He plays the unnamed narrator who, at the start of the novel, prepares his audience for what is posed as a most sinister ghost story involving young children and their newly appointed governess. Then actor Landor takes over to relate the story as a first-person account from the governess. She reads with an accent that sounds a bit upper-class for a country governess, but no matter; her diction is extremely clear, which is essential to allowing the listener to traverse James’s long, complex sentences. She is entirely convincing both as the emotional governess and as Mrs. Grose, the housekeeper, as the two try to extricate their young charges, eight- and 10-year-old Flora and Miles, from the grasp of the two ghosts who inhabit their gloomy country house. The story remains ambiguous to the end: Are the children manipulated by the ghosts? Are the ghosts real? Is the governess simply mad? With the help of both Prebble and Landor, listeners will be at the edge of their seats.

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


Henry James's novella tells the story of a governess whose two young wards are visited by sinister ghosts--or are they? Here is one of literature's original unreliable narrators. Written as a framed story, the audiobook has two narrators. Simon Prebble reads for an unnamed Christmas Eve party guest, and, although his part is relatively brief, he draws out initial anticipation for the ghost story. Rosalyn Landor carries the remainder of the narration from the perspective of the governess, whose written experience is read aloud by a friend. Landor adopts an earnest tone that expresses the tension within the story. Landor's emotion in the governess's and housekeeper's interchanges is intense, echoing the fear and uncertainty expressed in James's dialogue. Both Prebble and Landor's performances communicate the haunting quality of this troubling ghost story. D.M.W. � AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine