A good old-fashioned ghost story.

Or is it?

Ghosts that the governess can see and that the children can't. Or can they?
As is his wont, James doesn't explicitly say. You have to read between the lines and guess at what was left unsaid. Compounded by being told third-hand and originating with a narrator who is young, naive and impressionable at best. And at worst the cause of all of the disorders of the household.

Despite all of James' typical tortured sentences, the conclusion of this book was simple, clear, and stunning. It left me breathless.