'The Turn of the Screw' - Serialised Reading Schedule (Patreon)

Reading a story in its original serialised publication is a deeply rewarding experience.

You become the “first reader” for whom the author wrote.

Delaying our gratification, spreading a 100-page story across 12 weeks, and discussing each instalment with other avid readers really allows us to live in the world.

We wonder about what’s going to happen next, the suspense mounts across months rather than days, and we gain a deeper, more robust appreciation for the story.

So, for those up for the challenge, we’ll be reading ‘The Turn of the Screw’ by Henry James in this fashion.

This gothic ghost story is perfect reading for the season, and will take us right up to Christmas. 

The Victorians had a tradition of reading serialised ghost stories across the Christmas season and discussing the tales with those they loved. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to resurrect such a tradition?

'The Turn of the Screw' - Serialised Reading Schedule 

Here’s how the communal reading will work:

At the end of each month, we will have a group discussion thread. Similar to the well-loved monthly group book discussion, but for ‘The Turn of the Screw’ specifically.

We will have three of these discussions, where you are encouraged to let us know what you make of the story thus far (that means no spoilers or jumping ahead in the schedule):

• End of October = prologue up until chapter five
• End of November = chapters six to fifteen
• End of December = chapters sixteen to twenty-four (story finished)

This works out to ~20-30 pages read per month, just a handful of pages read per week. 

So the reading demands on this one are relatively low. 

This makes for a perfect group reading experience for those who only wish to read a few pages a day/every other day. It’s also quite low-maintenance to fit around our Big Reads, and makes for a nice side story to dive into when we need a breather from the likes of Hugo, Proust, Cervantes, and so on.

If you want a really authentic serialised experience, the video above shows the weekly page/chapter allowance. 

Following along with the original schedule would mean reading just the prologue on week one, then waiting a week to reading chapters one and two, then waiting a week to read chapter three. 

If you follow this schedule, you’ll notice some fiendish cliffhangers built into the tale. The original readers would have spent the whole week desperate to know what happens next.

For recommended editions of ’The Turn of the Screw’, here are a few different options:

• Free Gutenberg edition 
• Oxford World Classics
• Collier's Weekly version 

My edition of the story is housed in the Everyman hardback of the second volume of Henry James' works (here). 

I also highly recommend obtaining an audiobook version of the story, as the first readers would have listened to/read the story aloud.

The Emma Thompson narration of The Turn of the Screw (here) comes free as part of one's Audible membership and is fantastic.

So from the end of this month through to the end of next, discussion concerning the first five chapters is fair game and highly encouraged. 

The first ‘Turn of the Screw’ reading thread will go up in a couple of weeks, which gives us some time to get our hands on a copy of the story and rifle through the opening chapters, resisting the urge to binge the work.

Feel free to focus on any aspect of the story that most captures your imagination:

• Character development/construction
• Is the work scary, unnerving, chilling?
• What you think might happen next
• Suspense, pacing, cliffhangers
• Henry James’ writing style

The governess and myself will be waiting at the country manor for you to arrive.

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Video Timestamps:

• 0:00 resurrect a reading tradition
• 1:00 why you shouldn't binge The Turn of the Screw
• 2:00 The Turn of the Screw
• 3:00 Stephen King on Henry James
• 3:30 how Henry James wrote this tale of terror
• 4:30 how Henry James writes women in crisis
• 5:30 original serialised reading schedule
• 6:00 how to read like a Victorian
• 6:30 the power of delayed gratification
• 7:55 12-week reading schedule
• 8:30 how to appreciate cliffhangers
• 9:40 how to replicate the original reading experience
• 10:30 how to restrain yourself
• 11:30 other Halloween reading projects
• 13:00 recommended audiobook for Turn of the Screw
• 13:30 read and listen simultaneously
• 13:40 read the tale aloud

Let us know if you'll be partaking in this chilling group read. And have you ever read a story in this fashion before?

Happy reading, everybody!