Henry James 
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James 

Henry James was born in the United States, in New York City, on April 15, 1843 and is considered an American writer, though he spent most of his life in England and, a year before his death in London on February 28, 1916, became a British citizen. He is regarded as one of the key literary figures of the 19th century.

James is known especially for the novels in which he portrays Americans encountering Europeans. His style of writing, often verbose and indirect, can make him difficult to read. Often, too, he writes from the point of view of the characters within a tale, exploring issues related to consciousness and perception.

His imaginative use of point of view, interior monologue, and narrators who were not necessarily reliable, brought depth and interest to his fiction. The Aspern Papers is one of his most notable short novels, along with The Turn of the Screw. In addition to fiction he published articles, books of travel, autobiography, biography, criticism, and plays. Among his masterpieces are Daisy Miller (1879), The Portrait of a Lady (1881), The Bostonians (1886), What Maisie Knew (1897), The Wings of the Dove (1902), and The Golden Bowl (1916), several of which are available in this series, Classics Condense by Cowley.

About the author

JOSEPH COWLEY, born October 9, 1923, graduated from Columbia University in 1947. He served two and a half years with the Army Air Force during World War II. The last few months were spent as a bombardier with the Eighth Air Force, for which he was awarded a Bronze Star. He earned his M.A. from Columbia in 1948 and taught English at Cornell University before entering sales. Most of his career was as an editor with Research Institute of America, writing on selling and management. He retired in 1982 to devote himself to his own writing.

His published work includes novels: The Chrysanthemum Garden, Home by Seven, Landscape With Figures, Dust Be My Destiny, and The House o on Huntington Hill; plays: The Stargazers, Twin Bill, and A Jury of His Peers; short fiction: The Night Billy Was Born and Other Love Stories, and Do You Like It and Other Stories; and the non-fiction books: John Adams: Architect of Freedom (1735-1826), and (with Robert Weisselberg) The Executive Strategist, An Armchair Guide to Scientific Decision-Making. His favorite writings can be found in The Best of Joseph Cowley.

He has adapted many of the classics for ESL students and others who may want a faster, easier read, including Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Kreutzer Sonata by Leo Tolstoy, The Golden Bowl, The Aspern Papers, and The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James, and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. He is also writing a book on old age called Journey to the End of Time: Reflections on life and Aging.

Joseph Cowley is listed in Who’s Who, International Who’s Who of Writers and Authors, Who’s Who in the World, the Cambridge Blue Book, 2000 Outstanding Intellectuals of the 21st Century, and other volumes. He is also a member of The Authors Guild of America.