1985. Book: Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit
Jeanette Winterson’s first novel – about growing up in England’s ‘grim North’ – proved to be remarkably successful for her. Published in 1985 it won the Whitbread Award for First Novel in the same year. Five years later it was adapted for television by the BBC.
The story documents the experiences of a young girl who is adopted into an intensely religious household. Whilst embracing the family’s fundamentalist views for the first few years of her life, her developing attraction to other girls soon sets her on a course for conflict with her family and the church.
There seems to be some uncertainty in literary circles as to whether the book is autobiographical, semi-autobiographical or entirely fictitious. Either way, and despite her own lesbianism, Winterson is adamant that it’s not ‘gay fiction’:
“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.”
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