But Miles’s steadfast refusal to reveal the cause of his expulsion is troubling, as are the staff’s whispered stories about the previous governess, Miss Jessel, and her lover, the mysterious valet, Peter Quint, both of whom are now dead ...

But this vagueness may actually enrich the novel because it creates possible ambiguity about Olive's motives. Henry James (1843 – 1916) was an American-British writer who spent most of his writing career in Britain.

"For other novelists the value of Henry James's Notebooks is immense and to brood over them a major experience.