** spoiler alert ** Ghost story novella from Henry James that took way too long for me to finally finish. Plot involves an unnamed narrator telling a story on Christmas Eve involving a governess in England. The governess is hired by a man who is the guardian of his niece (Flora) and nephew (Miles) after the death of their parents. The uncle is clearly not terribly involved in the well being of the children.

The governess is a bit apprehensive, especially when she finds out that little Miles has been kicked out of school, but both the kids seem so very sweet and charming. Then the governess begins to see things, including a strange man in a tower and glaring at her through the dining room window. The governess is told that the strange man was the former valet, Peter Quint, who is now dead. Uh oh.

The governess becomes super protective, but the governess continues to see ghosts, including a woman dressed in black who is thought to be Miss Jessel, her predecessor who is also dead. More ghosts, or maybe just the kids and the housekeeper messing with governess, ensue as she becomes more and more on edge. The governess resolves to stay strong and not get the heck out of the house. Gradually, though, she thinks Quint and Jessel are using the children to continue their relationship beyond the grave. The governess keeps trying to convince others that the ghost is there and to take action and sadly, little Miles dies.

Of course, the best part of the entire novella is the whole unreliable narrator aspect. The governess is quite possibly mad and obviously the possibility that she is seeing all these ghosts because she is crazy makes the story much more interesting. Henry James is in many ways brilliant (this is my second James novel), but he is as hard to get through as anyone. The story is far from a page turner and although the unreliable narrator stuff is really good, it really does not frighten you the way that modern stories can. Even for gothic lit, I have read things that give me more of the creeps. A solid read though, just not really a quick one.