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Cover of The Passion by Jeanette Winterson

The Passion

Jeanette Winterson

  • 176 pages · about 3 hours
  • First published 1987
  • 28 editions
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1 About this book

Jeanette Winterson’s novels have established her as one of the most important young writers in world literature. The Passion is perhaps her most highly acclaimed work, a modern classic that confirms her special claim on the novel. Set during the tumultuous years of the Napoleonic Wars, The Passion intertwines the destinies of two remarkable people: Henri, a simple French soldier, who follows Napoleon from glory to Russian ruin; and Villanelle, the red-haired, web-footed daughter of a Venetian boatman, whose husband has gambled away her heart. In Venice’s compound of carnival, chance, and darkness, the pair meet their singular destiny.

In her unique and mesmerizing voice, Winterson blends reality with fantasy, dream, and imagination to weave a hypnotic tale with stunning effects.

  • Relationships
  • Romance, historical
  • Europe, history
  • 1800-1815 Napoleonic Wars
  • Social life and customs
  • Soldiers
  • Wives
  • Russia (federation)

2 About Jeanette Winterson

Born 1959

Jeanette Winterson (born 27 August 1959) is an English author. Her first book, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, was a semi-autobiographical novel about a lesbian growing up in an English Pentecostal community. Other novels explore gender and sexual identity, and her later ones the relations between humans and technology. Her novels have been translated into almost 20 languages. She also broadcasts and teaches creative writing.

Bio adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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