The Turn of the Screw

The Turn of the Screw is a haunting novella by Henry James that delves into the unsettling world of the supernatural. Set in a remote English estate, the story follows a governess who is tasked with caring for two orphaned children. As she becomes increasingly convinced that the estate is haunted by malevolent spirits, the line between reality and imagination begins to blur.

Through the governess's eyes, readers are drawn into a chilling atmosphere where innocence and evil coexist. The tension escalates as she grapples with her growing fears and the enigmatic behavior of the children, leaving listeners to ponder the nature of perception and the reliability of the narrator.

James masterfully crafts a narrative that explores themes of isolation, obsession, and the complexities of human psychology. With its ambiguous ending and rich symbolism, The Turn of the Screw invites listeners to question what lies beneath the surface of the mind and the shadows of the past.

Chapters

Select a chapter to play

Chapter 00	17:52	Read by Nikolle Doolin
Chapter 01	11:44	Read by Nikolle Doolin
Chapter 02	10:19	Read by Nikolle Doolin
Chapter 03	16:24	Read by Nikolle Doolin
Chapter 04	15:34	Read by Nikolle Doolin
Chapter 05	11:30	Read by Nikolle Doolin
Chapter 06	23:04	Read by Nikolle Doolin
Chapter 07	13:36	Read by Nikolle Doolin
Chapter 08	16:39	Read by Nikolle Doolin
Chapter 09	17:08	Read by Nikolle Doolin
Chapter 10	14:30	Read by Nikolle Doolin
Chapter 11	12:39	Read by Nikolle Doolin
Chapter 12	10:08	Read by Nikolle Doolin
Chapter 13	16:31	Read by Nikolle Doolin
Chapter 14	11:49	Read by Nikolle Doolin
Chapter 15	9:59	Read by Nikolle Doolin
Chapter 16	9:20	Read by Nikolle Doolin
Chapter 17	13:17	Read by Nikolle Doolin
Chapter 18	9:12	Read by Nikolle Doolin
Chapter 19	10:01	Read by Nikolle Doolin
Chapter 20	13:48	Read by Nikolle Doolin
Chapter 21	17:17	Read by Nikolle Doolin
Chapter 22	12:02	Read by Nikolle Doolin
Chapter 23	11:47	Read by Nikolle Doolin
Chapter 24	17:10	Read by Nikolle Doolin

Reviews

Wonderful narration

(5 stars)

Wmnoffaith1

If you enjoy Henry James, or this genre, you'll like this recording. The only one better I've heard is Emma Thompson 's Audible recording. I know a few reviewers have complained they can't get through it, or the book is too hard. You have to realize this was written at a time when education was at it's peak. People had much bigger vocabularies, and they painted pictures with words. If this isn't to your taste, you'd be better off sticking to books written after the 60s or 70s. The word count per sentence is less, they're easier to understand, and they are aimed at a lower grade level. Modern libraries today can give you the rating of each book, and it's score and difficulty rating because they have all been ranked for students, so you can find the difficulty rating you are comfortable with, and then check to see what the rating is before you attempt a book.

Odd classic, good recording

(4 stars)

notmyname

This really is an odd book -- strangely inconclusive. The recording is very professional in sound quality and also pretty professional in reading style. The female reader is lushly expressive, to the point of sounding sentimental. In fact this overlush quality convinced me that the narrating governess really is a delusional hysteric (a matter of much debate, for some reason). The child characters' voices strike me as well done too. If the Librivox intro grates on your ear, as another reviewer mentioned, skip ahead and listen to a bit of the text itself -- you may find it more to your taste. One word I noticed was mispronounced: "interminably."

Great narration

(4 stars)

Mary Havens

This is my second time with The Turn of the Screw and I vastly prefer this audio version over the print. I had a hard time with the print. Nikolle Doolin did an excellent job and really brought these characters to life. I was not a fan of her sign on/sign off but that's small potatoes. Thanks for making James enjoyable!

(5 stars)

A LibriVox Listener

The text is wordy yet the narrator has done an excellent job in keeping the interest high and adding enough emotion to make the story really get under your skin. Well done!

Disappointing

(2 stars)

Richard Hertz

Really dull for me. It felt like the author was trying to build suspense, but it went on and on. The ending was anticlimactic

(0.5 stars)

Elll WZ

The book is fine. But the reader is putting such unsuitable and excessive emotion into it that it becomes a torture to listen to it.

(1 star)

Tassie

The reader sounds like she's computer generated. Just couldn't go further than Ch1. Will need to find the book for myself.