In addition to the titular novella, this edition includes the short stories of 'The Romance of Certain Old Clothes', 'The Last of the Valerii', 'Sir Edmund Orme', 'Owen Wingrave', The Friends of the Friends', 'The Third Person', and 'The Jolly Corner.' The stories vary in quality and tone, ranging from highly strung gothic tales, to comedic stories with a light touch. All are united by an infusion of the supernatural and the uncanny, along with James' signature turgid prose. As an enjoyer of gothic literature and classic novels, I am usually able to accept antiquated language (sometimes revel in it) and even put up with tiresome melodrama, but I have never been able to get onboard with Henry James. Reading his sentences is akin to struggling with a mouthful of particularly sticky toffee. His excessive wordiness clogs up one's throat to an intolerable degree, suffocating the reader. That aside, what did I think of the collection?
Unfortunately, although there are a few good ideas scattered amongst this tales, the way James delivers them is difficult to get past. Some stories are instantly forgettable, many end with the sudden death of a character, and one is an almost postmodern exercise in psychoanalytical introspection. 'The Last of the Valerii' has pretty much no ghostly presence in it at all, the horror comes from someone going through a brief phase of pagan worship - not exactly a ghost story in my opinion. I should spare some words on the main novella of the collection, The Turn of the Screw. Despite being a stronger offering than the smaller tales orbiting it, the obsessive and neurotic nature of the governess is annoying and grating. The tales lends itself to many ambiguities, with numerous interpretations in circulation, including the theory that the ghosts are all in the narrator's mind. There are also darker insinuations that one or both of the children are being sexually abused.
Rating: 2/5
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