by Henry James
First published 1898
A young governess arrives at a remote country estate to care for Miles and Flora, two orphaned children. She spots a strange figure on the stairway landing near the window, who vanishes upon seeing her. An overwhelming sense of malevolence permeates the house. The governess becomes convinced that supernatural forces are pursuing the children under her protection. Her obsession with these threatening presences grows as she struggles to shield Miles and Flora from danger. The collection also includes The Aspern Papers, where a literary scholar will stop at nothing to obtain letters written by a famous poet. He employs cunning and lies to reach his goal. Both stories explore how obsession consumes their protagonists, whether driven by protective instincts or scholarly ambition.
Genres: literary-fiction, 20th-century, mystery, horror, 19th-century, gothic
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, suspenseful
Tropes: unreliable-narrator
Setting: England
Period: 19th-Century
272 pages · Paperback · Penguin Books