''The Passion'' is a 1987 novel by British novelist

Jeanette Winterson Jeanette Winterson (born 27 August 1959) is an English writer. Her first book, '' Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit'', was a semi-autobiographical novel about a sensitive teenage girl rebelling against convention. Other novels explore gender pol ...

. The novel depicts a young French soldier in the Napoleonic army during 1805 as he takes charge of Napoleon's personal larder. The novel won the

John Llewellyn Rhys Prize The John Llewellyn Rhys Prize was a literary prize awarded annually for the best work of literature (fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama) by an author from the Commonwealth aged 35 or under, written in English and published in the United Kingdo ...

. Publication and subsequent sales of the novel allowed Winterson to stop working other jobs, and support herself as a full-time writer. Though nominally a historical novel, Winterson takes considerable liberties with the depiction of the historical setting and various strategies for interpreting the historical—making the novel

historiographic metafiction Historiographic metafiction is a term coined by Canadian literary theorist Linda Hutcheon in the late 1980s. It incorporates three domains: fiction, history, and theory. Concept The term is used for works of fiction which combine the literary dev ...

. The novel also explores themes like passion, constructions of gender and sexuality, and broader themes common to 1980s and 90s British fiction. Parts of the novel are set in Venice—Winterson had yet to visit the city when she wrote about it, instead the depiction was entirely fictional.

Reception

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

described the novel as " fascinating" and demonstrating "considerable powers" comparing the novel to the works of

Robertson Davies William Robertson Davies (28 August 1913 – 2 December 1995) was a Canadian novelist, playwright, critic, journalist, and professor. He was one of Canada's best known and most popular authors and one of its most distinguished " men of letters" ...

. On 5 November 2019, ''

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadc ...

'' listed ''The Passion'' on its list of the 100 'most inspiring' novels.

References

Novels by Jeanette Winterson 1987 British novels Historical novels Postmodern novels Fiction set in 1805 Novels set during the Napoleonic Wars Novels set in Venice Bloomsbury Publishing books 1980s LGBT novels {{postmodern-novel-stub