The Turn of the Screw (opera) not to betray him. Hysterical, Miles confesses that he took the letter. The Governess demands to know who put Miles up to it. Miles blurts out Quint's name. At the mention of his name, Quint's ghost vanishes and Miles falls dead on the floor. A weeping Governess cradles the dead child in her arms, singing aloud of her grief and wondering if she did the right thing after all. For the children's music, Britten drew words and melody from a number of traditional British nursery rhymes, including "Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son" and "Lavender's Blue". Of particular note is Miles'
The Sense of an Ending It is perhaps his greatest achievement that, in his hands, the unknowable does not mean the implausible." "The Guardian's" Justine Jordan said "With its patterns and repetitions, scrutinising its own workings from every possible angle, the novella becomes a highly wrought meditation on ageing, memory and regret." Boyd Tonkin from "The Independent" said "The Sense of an Ending" is "A slow burn, measured but suspenseful, this compact novel makes every slyly crafted sentence count." Anita Brookner, writing for "The Daily Telegraph", said the novel is not a thriller, but a tragedy, which resembles Henry James's "The Turn of the Screw".