Author | Jeanette Winterson |
---|---|
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Genre | Semi-autobiographical |
Publisher | Pandora Press |
Publication date | 21 March 1985 |
Media type | Print (Paperback) |
ISBN | 0-8021-3516-1 |
OCLC | 15792328 |
Followed by | Boating for Beginners |
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit is a novel by Jeanette Winterson published in 1985 by Pandora Press. It is a coming-of-age story about a lesbian who grows up in an English Pentecostal community. Key themes of the book include transition from youth to adulthood, complex family relationships, same-sex relationships, organised religion and the concept of faith.
It has been included on both GCSE and A-Level reading lists for education in England and Wales, [1] and was adapted by Winterson into a BAFTA-winning 1990 BBC television drama serial of the same name.
The book is semi-autobiographical and is based on Winterson's life growing up in Accrington, Lancashire. "I wrote about some of these things in Oranges, and when it was published, my mother sent me a furious note". [2] A parallel non-fictional account of her life at this time is given in her 2011 memoir, Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? [3] Although the protagonist of Oranges bears the author's first name, John Mullan has argued that it is neither an autobiography nor a memoir, but a Künstlerroman. [4]
The main character is a young girl named Jeanette, who is adopted by evangelists from the Elim Pentecostal Church. She believes she is destined to become a missionary. The book depicts religious enthusiasm as an exploration of the power of love. As an adolescent, Jeanette finds herself attracted to another girl, and her mother's group of religious friends subject her and her partner to exorcisms. [5]
The novel is divided into eight sections, each of which is named after one of the first eight books of the Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, and Ruth.) [6] Each chapter often contains references and allusions to their corresponding book in the Bible.
The novel contains references to numerous literary works, historical figures and aspects of popular culture:
The novel is interspersed with short stories that bear many resemblances to (and draw influences from) traditional Biblical stories of the Old Testament, tales of Arthurian Legend (specifically to Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur ) and other popular fairy tales.
The novel won Winterson the Whitbread Award for a First Novel in 1985.
Although it is sometimes referred to as a "lesbian novel", [7] Winterson has objected to this label, arguing, "I've never understood why straight fiction is supposed to be for everyone, but anything with a gay character or that includes gay experience is only for queers". [5]
A television adaptation of the book was made and aired by the BBC in 1990, starring Charlotte Coleman and Geraldine McEwan, which won the Prix Italia in 1991. [8]
The book was released on cassette by BBC Audiobooks in 1990, also read by Coleman. [9]
A two-part dramatisation, adapted by Winterson and starring Lesley Sharp, was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2016. [10]
The novel has been included on both GCSE and A-Level reading lists for education in England and Wales, including the OCR English Literature A-Level module "Literature Post-1900". [1]
Dame Carol Ann Duffy is a Scottish poet and playwright. She is a professor of contemporary poetry at Manchester Metropolitan University, and was appointed Poet Laureate in May 2009, and her term expired in 2019. She was the first female poet, the first Scottish-born poet and the first openly lesbian poet to hold the Poet Laureate position.
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Jeanette Winterson is an English author.
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Goblin Market is a narrative poem by Christina Rossetti. It tells the story of Laura and Lizzie who are tempted with fruit by goblin merchants. In a letter to her publisher, Rossetti claimed that the poem, which is interpreted frequently as having features of remarkably sexual imagery, was not meant for children. However, in public Rossetti often stated that it was intended for children, and went on to write many children's poems. When it appeared in her first volume of poetry, Goblin Market and Other Poems, it was illustrated by her brother, the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti.
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Charlotte Ninon Coleman was an English actress best known for playing Scarlett in the film Four Weddings and a Funeral, Jess in the television drama Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, and her childhood roles of Sue in Worzel Gummidge and the character Marmalade Atkins.
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Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit is a 1990 BBC television drama miniseries, directed by Beeban Kidron. Jeanette Winterson wrote the screenplay, adapting her semi-autobiographical first novel of the same name. The BBC produced and screened three episodes, running to a total of 2 hours and 45 minutes. The series was released on DVD in 2005.
The World and Other Places is a collection of short stories by Jeanette Winterson O.B.E in the style of postmodernism.
Patricia Olive "Pat" Kavanagh was a British literary agent.
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Lighthousekeeping is a 2004 novel by Jeanette Winterson. The novel depicts the perilous unbalanced psychology of the narrating character Silver, who becomes an apprentice to a lighthouse keeper. and follows in Winterson's typically mythological and metaphorical writing, exploring themes of storytelling, love and history.
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