The Turn of the Screw Audiobook By Henry James cover art

The Turn of the Screw

Preview

Try for $0.00
Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.

The Turn of the Screw

By: Henry James
Narrated by: Emma Thompson, Richard Armitage - introduction
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $14.95

Buy for $14.95

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

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.
Classics Ghosts Gothic Haunted Scary Fiction British Literature
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Critic reviews

"[Narrator] Emma Thompson gives the performance we expect from an Oscar winner. Most listeners don't think of Henry James as a passionate writer, but passion is there, and Thompson brings it out - and adds some of her own.... Thompson's reading will teach new listeners how to read the text - and perhaps James in general - and to understand why he's considered a genius." ( AudioFile)

Featured Article: The Best Celebrity Narrated Audiobooks


It’s likely you have an actor who you can’t wait to see in a new movie or television series. Your favorite performer just might also be an acclaimed audiobook narrator. It’s always a delight to pick up a familiar story and find an unexpected famous friend in the narrator’s booth, especially when that celebrity has a spectacular talent for narration. Discover some of literature’s greatest stories brought to life by some of Hollywood’s greatest talents.

What listeners say about The Turn of the Screw

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,150
  • 4 Stars
    1,581
  • 3 Stars
    1,076
  • 2 Stars
    406
  • 1 Stars
    183
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    3,735
  • 4 Stars
    718
  • 3 Stars
    292
  • 2 Stars
    83
  • 1 Stars
    66
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,731
  • 4 Stars
    1,256
  • 3 Stars
    1,168
  • 2 Stars
    447
  • 1 Stars
    272

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent story; disappointing performance

Would you try another book from Henry James and/or Emma Thompson and Richard Armitage - introduction ?

Love this story. And Emma Thompson. Who would think that her reading would be such a let-down?! I would not recommend it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Olde story

I truly enjoyed this book simply because it was narrative by Emma Thompson rocked it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Ghost story

This audible version matches up with the Wisehouse Classics (2015) Kindle version not Penguin or Modern Library. Emma Thompson does an exceptional job narrating this ghost story by Henry James--a quick, entertaining novel that can be read in less than five hours.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Amazing female protagonist for the era

Saw this on sale on Audible performed by the inimitable Emma Thompson and since I had just finished reading “The Fifth Heart” –a novel which features Henry James as a protagonist—decided it was high time I actually read something by James.

Atmospheric, gothic, vaguely unsettling . . . there is much to admire about the way in which James structured and revealed his story, but what struck me the most was how he was able to write in the voice of a female protagonist. This does not seem to me to be a skill that most gentlemen of his time would have cultivated. Indeed, it is stunning that a man of his era realized that women had interior lives and deep thoughts worth examining at all. His young governess stands out as a fully realized person, much better brought to life than many characters even in modern fiction. Of course, Emma Thompson’s performance might have had a lot to do with that impression, but still I do not think she could have created this generous, loving and conflicted heroine had not James built her of very good bones.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Colossal performance.

Emma Thompson's narration was sublime. She created a dark, desperate energy that made the story something far more than it was on paper.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Classic story is a little dated

This is a classic story told very well. The character development and scene description is superb, but the "horror" of the story is a little pale for modern readers. Emma Thompson is an extraordinary reader ... wonderful to listen to!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I love a classic ghost story!

I worked on this opera and was interested in the source material, and I loved it! I love the opera more, but that's just because music enhances eeriness 10x!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Ambiguity at its finest.

Emma has a magnanimous voice that suits this tale beautifully. The ambiguity Henry James keeps throughout is enough to keep a good reader hooked. I loved this book and this rendition. It is definitely one to think about.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wow

Excellent performance. I'd never read Henry James, but this is an excellent intro to this author. Lean back, relax and enjoy the Victorian eloquence of James.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A Classic Ghost Story!

A dark sinister ghost story that keeps your attention until the end. I have read this book 3 or 4 times, listening to it brings the book alive!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!