8vo, first edition, one of 1,500 copies, PRESENTATION COPY INSCRIBED BY THE AUTHOR ON FRONT ENDPAPER IN MONTH OF PUBLICATION ("To Madame Paul Bourget | her faithful old friend | Henry James | Lamb House | Oct: 13th 1898"), advertisements at the end, original light blue cloth, lettered in gilt on upper cover and spine, four irises in blind on upper cover, publisher's device in blind on lower cover, minor staining and offsetting to endpapers, minor and wear discoloration to covers

Madame Paul Bourget, authorial presentation inscription

Edel & Laurence A52a

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, when appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

A FINE CONTEMPORARY PRESENTATION COPY. For the author's close friend Paul Bourget and his wife Madame Bourget see also lots 120, 128, 131, 139 and 141. This is the first book edition of one of James's most compelling novellas, the terrifying and unsettling The Turn of the Screw, about the apparent haunting of a governess's young charges by a pair of ghostly servants. James received the germ of the story from Edward White Benson, the archbishop of Canterbury (see Oxford DNB).