Fleeing her home after believing herself guilty of a crime, Olivia Keene stumbles upon the grand estate of Lord Bradley, who gives her a post to confine her lest she reveal a dark secret of his.

Katherine Ashley, the daughter of a poor country squire, happily secures an education and a place for herself in the Tudor court of Henry VIII. As a dying favor to the doomed Anne Boleyn, Kat becomes governess and surrogate-mother to the young Elizabeth Tudor--ultimately emerging as the lifelong confidante to Queen Elizabeth I.

This volume contains two acclaimed short works by the great American writer Henry James (1843-1916). His famous novella The Turn of the Screw, concerning the governess of two small children, brilliantly illustrates James's theory of the horror story. A true psychological thriller, it leaves open the question whether the children are being "corrupted" by malevolent spirits or by their neurotic mistress. The Lesson of the Master is a richly told tale...