Tuesday Tea and Tomes: 'The Turn of the Screw' with Bonus Feature, "Return of the Screw"!

Henry James'  "The Turn of the Screw", scary tale which inspired a sequel

Were the ghosts at Bly real?  - or  were they the product of an agitated imagination of a young woman?  Was the author of the story a believer of spirits witnessed in his native Washington Park? 

Only two of these questions have been debated by literary critics for over a century, but we at BTS postured one of our own. In addition, this haunting story inspired our own sequel "Return of the Screw" (skip below for the other "masterpiece").

"The Turn of the Screw" is a gothic tale which takes place in a large English country estate, Bly,  owned by a handsome gentleman. The well-to-do man hires a young, impressionable governess to take charge of his two clever and handsome wards. Upon the governess' arrival at Bly, she is befriended by a cheerful housekeeper, but Mrs. Grose is not the only inhabitant who takes a keen interest in the new resident.

The arch at Washington Park, early home to James and close to tea

The author of this ghost story, published in 1898, is Henry James, who grew up in lower Manhattan's tony Washington Square. His father had inherited a great deal of money which gave him the freedom to spend the majority of his time on intellectual pursuits. In the James' household, young Henry was exposed to such esteemed visitors  as Ralph Waldo Emmerson and Bronson Alcott (father of a recently featured Tea at Tomes author, Louisa May Alcott).

Although born in the United States, Henry James spent the last forty years of his life in Europe. He was living in London when he wrote "The Turn of the Screw" and, although a short book (less than ninety pages), there is no economy of phrases in each sentence and more commas and dashes than a BTS blog.  It was first serialized for Collier's Weekly, which may account for the wordiness (we have no excuse!) but it's still a "page-turner", griping the readers from the very beginning with a tale promising to be horrible, dreadful and "beyond everything".

Whether the ghosts at Bly  are real or imagined has been argued by scholars for years. It could be nothing more than a haunted house story or it could be a more layered tale of one who imagines sites that no one else can view (a "Sixth Sense" application). 

"The Turn of the Screw" and last year's visit to Henry Jame's childhood neighborhood, inspired our sequel to 19th century classic, "Return of the Screw".  While, we believe it may not elicit  century-long debates on its meaning, it may beg the question "why?". 

Chris and I in Washington Park, August of 2019

ReTurn of the Screw: Washington Park

In a somewhat related event - and as I think of it now, it makes the absurd more explainable! - last August, my husband, Chris, and I were visiting my son, Matthew, who lives in New York City.  On our way to a delightful afternoon tea at Laduree, in lower Manhattan, we stopped for a rest in Washington Park. Yes, the very stomping grounds of a young Henry James! It was a hot summer day and by the time we reached the park, we had clocked in a thirty minute walk from our mid-town hotel and needed a rest. 

At the moment we found a brief respite from the heat and fatigue on a vacant park bench, I felt a slight warm breeze - or,  as I reflect now - more of a puff of mystifying smoke -  engulfing our temporary sanctuary.  It was easy to dismiss it as forgettable or city bus emissions, but something made me uneasy. Was this force due to our heat-induced lethargy or something more sinister, preternatural?

It is only now, in the comfort of my blog/diary, that I can reveal the truth of that day. Chris said he  did not see the specter, but I did!  Hours later, after tea, I thought back to that lugubrious recess at the park. Did Chris really not  see what was beckoning to us at Washington Square or did he choose to let me believe he did not see it? Was this the haunt of famous authors? Those who had written "Portrait of a Lady" or "The First Beatnik in Outerspace"?

I did not admit this to anyone until today. As I looked back on photos taken at Washington Park, nothing out of the ordinary was revealed. However, when I applied the "slate" filter which rendered my photo - or shall I say now, my true evidence! - a ghostly figure appeared. There is no doubt now. Even Mrs. Grose would have seen that pipe-smoking apparition.