The Passion (novel)
The Passion is a 1987 novel by British novelist Jeannette Winterson. The novel depicts a young French soldier in the Napoleonic army during 1805 as he takes charge of Napoleon's personal larder.[1] The novel won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize.[2] Publication and subsequent sales of the novel allowed Winterson to stop working other jobs, and support herself as a full-time writer.[3]
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.[4] The novel also explores themes like passion, constructions of gender and sexuality, and broader themes common to 1980s and 90s British fiction.[4] 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.[3]
Reception
Kirkus Reviews described the novel as " fascinating" and demonstrating "considerable powers" comparing the novel to the works of Robertson Davies.[1]
References
- ^ a b "THE PASSION by Jeanette Winterson". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 2016-04-05.
- ^ "Witherson, Jeanette: The Passion". faculty.webster.edu. Retrieved 2016-04-05.
- ^ a b Bilger, Audrey (1997-01-01). "Jeanette Winterson, The Art of Fiction No. 150". Paris Review. No. 145. ISSN 0031-2037. Retrieved 2016-04-05.
- ^ a b Sánchez, José Francisco Fernández (1996-01-01). "PLAY AND (HI)STORY IN JEANETTE WINTERSON'S "THE PASSION"". Atlantis. 18 (1/2): 95–104. JSTOR 41054816.