Jeanette Winterson
born Aug. 27, 1959, Manchester,
Eng.
British novelist noted for her quirky,
unconventional, and often comic novels.
Educated at St. Catherine’s College,
Oxford, Winterson held various jobs while
working on her writing. Her first novel,
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (1985), won a
Whitbread Award as that year’s best first
novel. It concerns the relationship between
a young lesbian and her adoptive mother, a
religious fanatic. The Passion (1987), her
second work, is a picaresque historical
novel that chronicles the adventures of
Villanelle, an enslaved Venetian woman who
is rescued by Henri, a cook from Napoleon’s
army. Attempting to reach Venice, the two
travel through Russia in winter.
Winterson’s other novels include Sexing
the Cherry (1989); Written on the Body
(1992); Art and Lies (1994), about
dehumanization and the absence of love in
society; Gut Symmetries (1997); The
PowerBook (2000); Lighthousekeeping (2004),
an exploration of the nature of storytelling
told through the tale of an orphaned girl
sent to live in a Scottish lighthouse; and
The Stone Gods (2007), a foray into science
fiction. Art Objects: Essays on Ecstasy and
Effrontery, which covers various topics such
as Gertrude Stein, modern literature, and
lesbianism, was published in 1995. Winterson
also produced a collection of short stories,
The World and Other Places (1998), and
screenplays for television. She was named an
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
in 2006.
