“The Turn of the Screw” as one of the best British horror novels

As I have proved in the previous posts many classic of the World Literature are British, but does it include the horror gendre? Well, in my mind, yes!

One example can be the iconic “Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus” by Mary Shelley (1818), which has introduced the well-known,  grotesque creature. Some amazing modern British authors are James Herbert (“The Rats”) and Ramsey Campbell (“The Mummy”)… and of course we simply cannot forget the notorious "Dracula" by Irish writer Bram Stoker.

 Today, I’m going to tell you more about my favourite British horror novella “The Turn of the Screw”, published in 1898 by Henry James…

The book's action occurs in the country house – during the Christmas Eve. A group of people is sharing ghost stories. One man, named Douglas, decides to read a manuscript written by his now dead friend, a former governess. It tells us a mysterious story connected with her first job. The woman’s employer was the wealthy uncle of two orphans, Miles and Flora. The girl was living alone (well, excluding the service) in a large old mansion, while the boy was in a boarding school. The gentleman gave to the woman the full responsibility of children and the house… on one, strange condition – she was never, EVER to bother him. The woman was, at first, charmed by the mansion and the girls. Then, a few days after her arrival, she received a letter informing that the boy had been expelled from school and was going back home. She decided not to disturb the master about this fact, as Miles seemed very well-mannered and eager to learn. The governess tried her best to satisfy the children, but with the passage of time, she began to suspect that there was something wrong, evil about their behaviour. Meanwhile she started to see the figures of a young man and woman. Her obssesion only grew when they turned out to be the ghosts of the two employees, who had recently passed away under suspicious circumstances… What did they want? What was the cause of their deaths? Did Miles and Flora have something to do about it? And, of course, what happened to the governess? Read and find out :).

 At first, “The Turn of the Screw” might seem like a typical ghost story… but, belive me, it’s much more than that! What’s unique about the book, because of the manuscript’s first-person narrative, the reader can’t be really sure if the ghosts haunting the governess are real. They could be only a  part of her imagination, as nobody execept the woman seemed to notice them. Perhaps the great responsibilities were too overwhelming and caused her mental breakdown? Or maybe the mysterious ghosts were simply very careful?

If you don’t have enough time to read the whole novella, I recommend watching its adaptation, a black-and-white film “The Innocents”, made in 1961 year. It perfectly captures the book's mood and style… and it was also made in the UK.

+ Some images from the film, I hope they’ll encourage you to watch it :D

J. R. R. Tolkien – the British master of high-fantasy

If you’re into fantasy fiction I bet you’ve heard about "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" (or more properly "The Hobbit, or There and Back Again"). These are the most notorious works by the legendary British writer - John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, known simply as J. R. R. Tolkien.

J. R. R. Tolkien was born in 1892 in Bloemfontein, South Africa. At age four, after his father’s death, his family moved to England, near Birmingham. After his mother’s death in 1904, he became a ward of a Catholic priest. Tolkien attended King Edward’s School (Birmingham) and Exeter College (Oxford). He later became a Lecturer in English Language And Literature at the Universities of Leeds and Oxford. In middle 1920s he translated  the famous "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" and completed a translation of the "Beowulf". In 1937 Tolkien published the notorious fantasy novel "The Hobbit". What’s interesting, he created over 100 illustrations to it. The book was such a succes that he decided to write a sequel – 17 years later he published "The Lord of the Rings". Although regarded the second book as a single work, it is divided into three parts: "The Fellowship of the Ring", "The Two Tower", and "The Return of the King" (often published separately). Tolkien retired from professorial duties in 1959. He died in 1973 (at the age of 81).

Perhaps, Tolkien’s biography might seem boring at first glance, but when we take a closer look… we realise it’s just the opposite!

At the age of 16, J.R.R. Tolkien met Edith Mary Bratt. The two fell in love, but they were forbidden to meet (or even correspond!) until his 21th birthday. That day he wrote to the woman, but unfortunately she was already engaged to somebody else! Tolkien didn’t give up though and eventually Edith accepted Tolkien's proposal. They got married in 1916 and were happily married for 55 years (until her death). They had four children.

Furthermore, the First and the Second World War had a great impact on Tolkien and his works. During WWI he was an ordinary soldier, fighting in the trenches. He took part in the Battle of the Somme - two of his good friends were killed then. The horryfing events have influenced his works – which is most apparent in the Middle-earth wars and battles. Take the Mûmakil elephants as an example. Their devastating strength was inpirated by tanks. The famous words said by Gandalf - “You shall not pass” - were an allusion to a common WWI propaganda slogan (“No pasarán!”).

Tolkien is without a doubt one of the most influential figure in modern fantasy fiction. Some of the names he made up, such as “hobbit” were even added to the Oxford dictionary! His works were sold in over 250 million copies. "The Hobbit” is a set book in many schools worldwide… and of course his novels "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" were adapted to films several times (the most famous were directed by Peter Jackson).

So, that’s it J. Don’t forget about the original “LOTR” writer! If you enjoyed my work check out my other posts. See ya!

Bibliography

·      http://www.biography.com/people/

·      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._R._R._Tolkien

·      http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/zgr9kqt

·      http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/

+ Some of the Tolkien’s drawings (Colored by H. E. Riddett). Enjoy ;)

"The Jungle Book” as an example of the British Empire Colonies’ impact on Literature

British Empire had colonies all over the world for over four centuries. No wonder they have had an impact on British literature (and vice-versa). Enabled to travel to the places previously beyond European’s imagination and inspirated by their culture, many British writers have created works about these exotic places. One work is a novel "A Passage to India" written by E. M. Forster in 1924, which shows life in India under the British rule. Another example, probably the most famous is Rudyard Kipling’s "The Jungle Book".

J.R. Kipling (1865-1936) was an English journalist and a writer. He received the 1907 Nobel Prize in Literature. Kipling was born in Bombay.  Although ha was educated in England at the United Services College, he returned to India in 1882 for about six-and-a-half years . He worked for Anglo-Indian newspapers there. He became a writer of poems ("Mandalay", "Gunga Din") and short stories ("The Man Who Would Be King").  In early 1890s Kipling has published his most notorious work - "The Jungle Book".

"The Jungle Book” is a collection of moral stories featuring humanlike animals (tigers, snakes ect.). They were originally published in magazines between 1893 and 1894, when the author lived in Naulakha. Each tale was illustrated, in part by Kipling’s father.

One of the main characters of the novel, appearing in 3 stories (“Mowgli’s Brothers”, “Kaas Hunting”, and “Tiger Tiger!”), is a boy – Mowgli. He was probbably abandoned by his parents as a little child and brought up in the jungle by wolves. The boy has to survive in the animal world. One of the greatest of dangers is the tiger named Shere Khan. His best friends are Baloo the bear, Bagheera the black panther and Akela (an indian wolf). Some of the most significant characters of the remaining 4 novel’s stories are Rikki-Tikki, the mongoose who protected an indian family against the cobras and Kotick, a rare white-furred northern fur seal.

The book has been adapted many times for film (most recently in 2016). It is a set book in many schools, all over the world. It's not at all surprising– it shows a mysterious world of wild animals and exotic nature of India. What is interesting, the jungle shown in the book has an actual set of legal codes and every animal must respect them.

All in all, I believe "The Jungle Book” is one of the greatest novels related to India, showing the beauty of its nature and morals of its people. I strongly recommend this book to all of you. Believe me, you won’t regret it, J.

Bibliography

• http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudyard_Kipling

+ A picture from wikipedia with all areas of the world that were ever part of the British