The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, 1898
When it comes to the Gothic, few books hold a flickering candle to Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw. It’s spooky to be sure, but there’s a lot more to it than that — in The Turn of the Screw, Henry James not only capitalizes on our primitive fear of the unknown, but he pulls no punches when it comes to our emotions. Many readers heading into The Turn of the Screw looking for a simple ghost story will find themselves with a lot more than that …
Dragonwyck by Anya Seton, 1944
If you’ve ever read Anya Seton’s Dragonwyck, it will come as no surprise that this book was an immediate bestseller upon its release in 1944. Two years later, it was adapted into a movie — also titled Dragonwyck — starring Vincent Price and Gene Tierney, and was a massive success. Given that Dragonwyck was only Anya Seton’s second novel only …