1891. In a remote and crumbling New England mansion, 12-year-old orphan
Florence is neglected by her guardian uncle and banned from reading. Left
to her own devices she devours books in secret and talks to herself - and
narrates this, her story - in a unique language of her own invention. By
night, she sleepwalks the corridors like one of the old house's many ghosts
and is troubled by a recurrent dream in which a mysterious woman appears to
threaten her younger brother Giles. Sometimes Florence doesn't sleepwalk at
all, but simply pretends to so she can roam at will and search the house
for clues to her own baffling past. After the sudden violent death of the
children's first governess, a second teacher, Miss Taylor, arrives, and
immediately strange phenomena begin to occur. Florence becomes convinced
that the new governess is a vengeful and malevolent spirit who means to do
Giles harm. Against this powerful supernatural enemy, and without any adult
to whom she can turn for help, Florence must use all her intelligence and
ingenuity to both protect her little brother and preserve her private
world. Inspired by and in the tradition of Henry James' sTHE TURN OF THE
SCREW, FLORENCE & GILESis a gripping gothic page-turner told in a
startlingly different and wonderfully captivating narrative voice.