Jeanette
Winterson was born in Manchester in 1959. She was adopted by a Pentecostal couple who intended to
raise her up to become a missionary, a rather anachronistic idea even then. There were few books in the house, but
one of these was Malory’s “Morte d’Arthur”, and this got Jeanette into
reading. She was not encouraged in
her reading, so often read out of sight in the outdoor toilet. Jeanette left home at 16 after she fell
in love with another girl. For the
next few years, she supported herself with evening and weekend jobs, one of
which was to work as an assistant in a lunatic asylum for a year. Jeanette continued with her education,
and managed to get a place at Oxford University (St. Catherine’s College). After
Oxford, she wrote her first novel, “Oranges
are not the only fruit”, which was published in 1985. The novel did very well, so much so
that Jeanette was asked to dramatise it for the BBC in 1990, and this serial was
also a hit, with Jeanette’s screenplay winning a BAFTA. “Oranges are not the only fruit” had
also won the Whitbread First Novel Award.
Shortly after her debut novel, “Boating
for Beginners” was published, which Jeanette Winterson has described as “a
comic book with pictures”. “The
Passion” was published in 1987, after which Jeanette Winterson became a
full time writer. “Sexing the Cherry” was published in 1989, followed by “Written on
the Body” in 1992, “Art &
Lies” in 1994, “Gut
Symmetries” in 1997, “The.Powerbook”
in 2000, and “Lighthousekeeping”
in 2004. “The Stone Gods” is
the title of the next novel by Jeanette Winterson. The novel made the news in March 2007 when a proof copy was
found in a London underground station months prior to publication.
Somewhat improbably, Jeanette Winterson produced a
fitness book in 1986 called “Fit for
the Future”. She also wrote
the screenplay for “Great
Moments in Aviation”. A book of essays was published in 1995 (“Art
Objects”), a book of short stories in 1998 (“The World
and Other Places”), and a childrens book “The King
of Capri” in 2003. Jeanette
Winterson favours an inventive, cerebral style that is far removed from the
autobiographical nature of her first hit, “Oranges are not the only
fruit”. She was chosen as one of
the 20 “Best of Young British Writers” published by Granta. In 2000, she won a landmark case where
she gained control of her internet domain name, which had already been
registered by a cybersquatter. The
cybersquatter, Cambridge academic Mark Hogarth, had been trying to charge 3% of
gross book earnings in return for the domain names. She lives in Oxfordshire,
and also in a Spitalfields eighteenth century house that she saved from
ruins. Jeanette Winterson owns a
food store called Verde’s which specializes in slow food.
The White Room
– a
Jeanette Winterson short story
The
Final Sacrifice – a Jeanette Winterson story published in “The Independent”
in 2002
The
Secret Life of Us – Jeanette Winterson article on art in “The Guardian”
Marriage
is for love, not life – another Jeanette Winterson article. Other Jeanette Winterson articles
follow:
How
would we feel if blind women claimed the right to a blind baby?
Hungry
for change – an article on obesity
The
men not fit to head the Church of England
Sex,
violence and Mary Whitehouse – Jeanette Winterson’s reaction to the death
of Mary Whitehouse
Everyday
country folk – Jeanette Winterson’s essay on life in the country
What
planet is Doris on? – Jeanette Winterson’s reaction to Doris Lessing’s
assertion that men are suffering too much abuse in the battle of the sexes
A
porn reader – Jeanette Winterson writes about pornography following Richard
Desmond’s acquisition of “The Daily Express”
Love
smells different – Jeanette Winterson writes about becoming a godmother
Soul
purpose – Jeanette Winterson on inner-city trees
Strange
Times – Jeanette Winterson on adoption
Jeanette’s
feast – an article on Christmas and food
I
have been threatened – an article regarding security on late-night trains
Wine
rots your brain? I drink half a
bottle a day
We’re
Gay. What’s the problem?
Rain Taxi
–
Vincent Francone’s interview with Jeanette Winterson
Jeanette
Winterson in Poland – features an interview with Jeanette from 2005
Redemption
Songs – Maya Jaggi’s comprehensive profile of Jeanette Winterson for “The
Guardian” from 2004
Of
Love and Other Demons – Christina Patterson’s interview from 2004
The
Evening Standard – Yasmine Gibson’s interview from 2004
Nexus – Ian Henschke’s
interview with Jeanette Winterson
Tea
with the Holy Terror – Sizi Feay’s interview from 2002
A
Writer’s Life: Jeanette Winterson – Helen Brown’s interview for “The
Telegraph”
God’s
gift to women – Maureen Freely details Jeanette Winterson’s low 90’s
Rogue Element –
Laura Miller’s 1997 interview with Jeanette Winterson
In
Profile: Jeanette Winterson – B. Ruby Rich’s 1997 interview
The Serial Killer in Jeanette Winterson’s “Sexing
the Cherry” – Kevin Patrick Mahoney’s essay
Bonded by language:
Jeanette Winterson’s “Written on the Body” – Brian Finney’s essay
Expression
in a diffuse landscape: contexts for Jeanette Winterson’s lyricism – Susann
Cockal’s essay
Writing
a history of difference: Jeanette Winterson’s “Sexing the Cherry” and Angela
Carter’s “Wise Children” – Jeffrey Roessner’s essay
Fiery
Constellations: Winterson’s “Sexing the Cherry” and Benjamin’s materialist
historicity – Angela Marie Smith’s essay
The following essays are not
online, and can only be accessed in literary journals, which may be available
for you to view in your local university library.
Burns,
Christy L. "Powerful Differences: Critique and Eros in Jeanette Winterson
and Virginia Woolf"
MFS Modern Fiction Studies - Volume 44, Number 2, Summer 1998, pp. 364-392
The Johns Hopkins University Press
Merleau,
Chloe Taylor "Postmodern Ethics and the Expression of Differends in the
Novels of Jeanette Winterson"
Journal of Modern Literature - Volume 26, Number 3/4, Summer 2003, pp. 84-102
Indiana University Press
