In 1985 Jeanette Winterson's first novel, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit , was published. It was Jeanette's version of the story of a terraced house in Accrington, an adopted child, and the thwarted giantess Mrs Winterson. It was a cover story, a painful past written over and repainted. It was a story of survival. This book is that story's the silent twin. It is full of hurt and humour and a fierce love of life. It is about the pursuit of happiness, about lessons in love, the search for a mother and a journey into madness and out again. It is generous, honest and true.

By:   Jeanette Winterson
Imprint:   Jonathan Cape
Country of Publication:   United Kingdom
Dimensions:   Height: 25mm,  Width: 222mm,  Spine: 144mm
Weight:   440g
ISBN:  

9780224093453

ISBN 10:   0224093452
Pages:   240
Publication Date:   November 2011
Audience:   General/trade ,  ELT Advanced
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Awaiting stock  
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Jeanette Winterson OBE is the author of ten novels, including The Passion, Sexing the Cherry and Written on the Body, a book of short stories, The World and Other Places, a collection of essays, Art Objects as well as many other works, including children's books, screenplays and journalism. Her writing has won the Whitbread Award for Best First Novel, the John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial Prize, the E. M. Forster Award and the Prix d'argent at Cannes Film Festival. Visit her website at www.jeanettewinterson.com

The prose is breathtaking: witty, biblical, chatty and vigorous all at once. She defines the pursuit of happiness not as being content (which is fleeting and a bit bovine ), but as the impulse to swim upstream , the search for a meaningful life. This breathless, powerful book is that search -- Emily Strokes Financial Times Vivid, unpredictable, and sometimes mind-rattling memoir... This book... which had been funny enough to make me laugh out loud more times than is advisable on the No 12 bus - turns into something raw and unnerving. -- Julie Myerson The Observer This is certainly the most moving book of Winterson's I have ever read... but it wriggles with humour... At one point I was crying so much I had tears in my ears. There is much here that is impressive, but what I find most unusual about it is the way it deepens one's sympathy, for everyone involved. -- Zoe Williams The Guardian In the 26 years since the publication of her highly acclaimed first novel, Oranges are Not the Only Fruit, Jeanette Winterson has proved herself a writer of startling invention, originality and style. Her combination of the magical and the earthy, the rapturous and the matter-of-fact, is unique. It is a strange and felicitous gift, as if the best of Gabriel Garcia Marquez was combined with the best of Alan Bennett... This remarkable account is, among other things, a powerful argument for reading... This memoir is brave and beautiful, a testament to the forces of intelligence, heart and imagination. It is a marvellous book and generous one. -- Cressida Connolly The Speactator An inspirational memoir written in beautiful exact prose that celebrates the wildness of the ordinary. Winterson's understanding of who she is . is both appallingly funny and deeply moving. Essential reading for anyone with a snitch of an interest in writing -- Rachel Burns The Times