
The Turn of the Screw
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Buy Now for $16.99
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Narrated by:
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Emma Thompson
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Richard Armitage - introduction
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By:
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Henry James
About this listen
Academy Award, Golden Globe, and Emmy winner Emma Thompson lends her immense talent and experienced voice to Henry James' Gothic ghost tale, The Turn of the Screw.
When a governess is hired to care for two children at a British country estate, she begins to sense an otherworldly presence around the grounds. Are they really ghosts she's seeing? Or is something far more sinister at work?
Having performed in films based on some of the greatest works in literature - including Sense and Sensibility, Howards End, Much Ado About Nothing, and Henry V - Thompson is no stranger to the classics, and she lends a graceful eloquence to this moody, macabre story. Joined by listener favorite Richard Armitage, who performs the prologue, Thompson reinvigorates this psychological thriller of life, death, evil, and the unknown.
Public Domain (P)2016 Audible, Inc.Critic Reviews
Classic
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Emma Thompson is perfection!
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confusing rating
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Amazing
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Typical James
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A creepy tale told with flowing, languid prose that had this listener rapt and sighing with both the beauty of Jame's words and the horror of his story as with all the best horror tales this is left largely to your imagination and with that, there is no limit but the one you impose on yourself.
Thompson is Electrifying
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Emma Thompson brings a classic to life
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As a book from the late 19th century, it brings out the attitudes of the time. The class divides between The Governess and Mrs Grose, the illiterate assistant housekeeper. Throughout the book, The Governess treats her as one of the "simple folk". This acts as a timely reminder that the history we read and see is generally written about a very thin layer of society.
The interplay between The Governess and MIles, the 10-year-old boy and the oldest of her charges, is also intriguing. You can see the entrenched beliefs over gender roles and the continual playing for affection and the upper hand between the two of them.
There are several subplots running through the book. The child has been cast out of his school for some reason, and she is there to find out why and to fix the situation. The daughter, Flora, whose relationship with The Governess quickly goes downhill, and the ghosts that appear throughout the story.
Ultimately it's an ambiguous book where the reader is the one who makes up their own mind about the story. I really enjoyed this for a number of reasons, and will likely read it again in book form at some point in the future.
An outstanding performance by an iconic actor
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In my view, the ebb and flow was missing, therefore what should have been ghoulish, terrifying encounters lacked impact.
I’ve just finished Portrait of a Lady and the comparison could not be more stark.
I also think perhaps the author struggled with the female voice as narrator, although I am by no means a Henry James expert!
Disappointed
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The monster
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