United States
The Turn of the Screw
Third Edition©2010 Henry James; Edited by Peter G. Beidler
Coupled with documents that put the text in historical context and critical essays that offer contemporary criticisms from several perspectives, this edition of The Turn of the Screw gives you a deeper understanding of the novel and the time in which it was written.
Table of Contents
PART ONE The Turn of the Screw: The Complete Text and Revisions Introduction: Biographical and Historical Contexts Photograph of Henry James and William James (1900) The Complete Text Jamess Revisions to The Turn of the Screw PART TWO The Turn of the Screw in Cultural Context THE VICTORIAN GOVERNESS IN FACT GEORGE GOODWIN KILBURNE, "The Introduction." MARIA EDGEWORTH, "It is the worst thing in the world to leave children with servants." (1798) ANNA JAMESON, "The occupation of governess is sought merely through necessity." (1846) MARY MAURICE, "Many were the daughters of clergymen." (1847) MARIA ABDY, "Our governess left us, dear brother." (1838) ANONYMOUS, "My first application was made at the Governesses Institution in Harley Street." (1858) Illustration, Governesses Benevolent Institution in Harley Street ANONYMOUS, "The only profession open to an educated woman of average ability." (1858) ANONYMOUS, "An epidemic madness to make them governesses." (1859) THE VICTORIAN GOVERNESS IN FICTION Illustration, Title page for The Roving Bee (1855) ELIZABETH POPE WHATELY, "Her anxiety and her responsibility cannot well be shared by any one." (1855) ROSA NOUCHETTE CAREY, "It was decided that I should come on trial as Sybils governess." (1888) THE VICTORIAN GHOST IN FACT JOHN LA FARGE, Illustration (1898) ERIC PAPE, Five Illustrations (1898) REV. B. F. WESTCOTT, "A sufficient number of clear and well-attested cases." (1851) EDMUND GURNEY, "The testimony of trustworthy and intelligent witnesses." (1886) WILLIAM T. STEAD, "The absurd delusion that there is no such thing as ghosts." (1897) MRS. VATAS-SIMPSON, "There must be some foundation for the rumours." (1885) MISS C., "I plainly saw the figure of a female dressed in black." (1885) MRS. G. "What has happened to the children?" (1889) THE VICTORIAN GHOST IN FICTION TOM GRIFFITHS, Illustration, "The Haunted House." (1891) EDWARD BULWER LYTTON, "Really haunted? -- and by what? -- ghosts?" (1859) RHODA BROUGHTON, "Him! but who is him?" (1872) HENRY JAMES, "In Gods name who is he -- what is he?" (1891) REACTIONS, 1898 "A horribly successful study of the magic of evil." "The deep mistake of writing the story." "The most monstrous and incredible ghost-story." "A tale of the Poe sort." "Lesbian love" and "pederastic passion." HENRY JAMES RESPONDS, 1998 To Arthur C. Benson: "The ghostly and ghastly." To Louis Waldstein, M.D.: "My bogey-tale dealt with things so hideous." To H. G. Wells: "I had to rule out subjective complications." To Frederic W. H. Myers: "The most infernal imaginable evil and danger." HENRY JAMESS PREFACE TO THE 1908 EDITION PART THREE The Turn of the Screw: A Case Study in Contemporary Criticism A Critical History of The Turn of the Screw Reader-Response Criticism and The Turn of the Screw What Is Reader-Response Criticism? Reader-Response Criticism: A Selected Bibliography A Reader-Response Perspective WAYNE C. BOOTH, "He began to read to our hushed little circle": Are We Blessed or Cursed by Our Life with The Turn of the Screw? Psychoanalytic Criticism and The Turn of the Screw What Is Psychoanalytic Criticism? Psychoanalytic Criticism: A Selected Bibliography A Psychoanalytic Perspective: GREG W. ZACHARIAS, "The extraordinary flight of heroism the occasion demanded of me": Fantasy and Confession in The Turn of the Screw Gender Criticism and The Turn of the Screw What Is Gender Criticism? Gender Criticism: A Selected Bibliography A Gender Studies Perspective: PRISCILLA L. WALTON, "He took no notice of her; he looked at me": Subjectivities and Sexualities in The Turn of the Screw Marxist Criticism and The Turn of the Screw What Is Marxist Criticism? Marxist Criticism: A Selected Bibliography A Marxist Perspective: BRUCE ROBBINS, "The dont much count, do they?": The Unfinished History of The Turn of the Screw Combining Perspectives on The Turn of the Screw Combining Perspectives: SHEILA TEAHAN, "I caught him, yes, I held him": The Ghostly Effects of Reading (in) The Turn of the Screw Glossary of Critical and Theoretical Terms About the Contributors
Henry James
Henry James (1843-1916) was an iconic figure of nineteenth century literature. Among his many masterpieces are The Portrait of a Lady, The Bostonians, The Europeans, The Golden Bowl, and Washington Square. As well as fiction, James produced several works of travel literature and biography, and was one of the great letter writers of any age. A contemporary and friend of Robert Louis Stevenson, Edith Wharton, and Joseph Conrad, James continues to exert a major influence on generations of novelists and writers.
Peter G. Beidler
Peter G. Beidler is the Lucy G. Moses Emeritus Distinguished Professor of English at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA.  He has published more than one hundred articles on Chaucer, Native American fiction, and American literature.  Among his more than two dozen books and book-length editing projects is Ghost, Demons, and Henry James: "The Turn of the Screw" at the Turn of the Century (1989).  More recently he coauthored A Readers Guide to the Novels of Louise Erdrich (1999, with Gay Barton), and his most recent book, A Readers Companion to J. D. Salingers The Catcher in the Rye (2009).  He taught as a Fulbright professor in China 1987-88.  In 1983 the Council for Advancement and Support of Education and the Carnegie Foundation named Beidler National Professor of the Year .  He spent the 1995-96 academic year as the Robert Foster Cherry Visiting Distinguished Teaching Professor at Baylor University, and he has won a number of teaching awards.
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