The creepy kid motif has been popular in movies for decades–think Damien (aka the Antichrist) in The Omen and the child characters in The Shining, The Sixth Sense, and The Ring. The Turn of the Screw is the granddaddy of them all.

The book opens with a group of travelers gathered in an inn, telling stories to pass the time. One character begins to read from a manuscript of a governess he claims to have known, but who is now dead. It is her story that makes up the rest of this short novella.

The governess takes charge of two young orphaned children whose uncle remains in London and, strangely, demands that the governess never contact him regarding the children. Flora is already at the country house and Miles, her brother, joins them after being expelled from his boarding school under mysterious circumstances. As the days go by the governess begins to see strange things–or apparitions?–at the country house, and the children seem to be wrapped up with these occurrences in unsettling ways. From that point to the end of the novella the governess’s world–or is it her mind?–unravel, leading to a final scene you won’t soon forget.

The first time I read this novella I did so in one sitting. It is deliciously eerie–the country house atmosphere is ominous, the children enigmatic, and the story from a dead woman’s hand. Read it here.

(If you’d like to recommend for a Featured Book Friday, email us at support[at]dailylit[dot]com.)

Thanks again for all your support.

Sincerely,
Susan Danziger
Founder and CEO, DailyLit
susan@dailylit.com

NPR’s List of “Best Beach Reads Ever”
Our usual Big Read is on vacation this month (it’s August, after all!). Instead, we thought we’d highlight books on DailyLit that made NPR’s list of “Best Beach Reads Ever” (as determined by its audience). Here they are—all available for FREE on DailyLit:
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen;
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain;
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy;
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas;
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott;
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll;
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte;
Dracula by Bram Stoker;
and Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. FREE for the taking.

Get Organized, Get Away, Get Thrills: New Books on DailyLit
—Get Organized: Staying organized doesn’t come easily to most kids—or to most parents for that matter. I’m definitely signing up for this series on Organizing the Disorganized Child: Tips and Tricks. It’s being made available for FREE on DailyLit thanks to HarperStudio, which is coming out with Organizing the Disorganized Child this fall.

—Get Away: August may be a popular vacation month, but if you can’t get away, escape with our Travel Books. Check out the 100 Places Every Woman Should Go or head out on safari with Whatever You Do, Don’t Run: True Tales of a Botswana Safari Guide.

—Get Thrills: If you’d rather read for thrills, we’re offering more short stories from best-selling author Jeffery Deaver in More Twisted and a pulp sci-fi classic, Star Ways, by award-winning author Poul Anderson.
Reader Challenge: Summer in 6 Words
With summer starting to wind down (ugh, can’t believe I said that!), this month’s reader challenge highlights a favorite back-to-school assignment. Tell us what you did on your summer vacation in—you guessed it—six words, and share your odes to summertime in our Reader Challenge Forum.
Tips and Tricks on DailyLit

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—Keep Track: You can create Booklists on DailyLit to keep track of books you like or books you want to read. And, when you finish your current book, the next book on your To-Read list will automatically start coming to you.

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