THE TURN OF THE SCREW BY

HENRY JAMES

1898
 PLOT

The novel starts off with a prologue about a group of teenagers in an

abandoned house in the middle of no where telling ghost stories. One of the
teenagers, Douglas, tells everyone that he has a story that is scarier than the
ones told earlier. The story is about his sisters governess and her experiences
in the past. He starts telling her story and that’s where The Turn of the Screw
begins.
The governess is a young women who gets a job taking care of two young
orphans, Miles and Flora, because their uncle doesn’t have time for them.
They live in an old country home in Bly along with many servants and a
housekeeper named Mrs. Grose. The governess soon finds out that the
children are being haunted by their uncles former valet Peter Quint, and their
former governess Miss Jessel who both died mysteriously a long time ago.
After many occurrences of Peter and Miss Jessel terrorizing the governess and
trying to possess the children, Flora suddenly becomes ill and the governess
orders Mrs. Grose to take Flora away to her uncle. The governess and Miles
are now alone in the house until Peter appears and the governess, holding
onto Miles for dear life, orders Peter to leave them. She then looks down to
 PLACE

The Turn of the Screw takes place in an old isolated country mansion called
Bly in Essex, England. The mansion is very old and eerie, and has a
haunted feeling to it.
 CHARACTERS
• The governess: the book’s protagonist and main narrator, she has been
assigned to take care of the two childrens Miles and Flora
• Mrs. Grose: a longtime servant at Bly
• Miles and Flora: the two childrens of the story
• The uncle: the children’s uncle, the man who hired the governess
• Peter Quint: the main antagonist, he used to be the children’s uncle’s valet
until he mysteriously died. He now haunts Bly in search of possessing
Miles.
• Miss Jessel : she’s the children’s deceased governess, she’s the second
ghost that the governess ecounters.
 THEMES

The Supernatural
The main theme of the novel is the supernatural refers to the fact that there are
two ghosts in this story and is the base of the novel. It has an affect on the
characters minds and actions and what the ghosts physically do to the governess
and possibly even the children. The supernatural could be just in the governesses
mind, or it could be shockingly real.