In 1985 Jeanette Winterson's first novel, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit,
was published. It was Jeanette's version of the story of a terraced house
in Accrington, an adopted child, and the thwarted giantess Mrs Winterson.
It was a cover story, a painful past written over and repainted. It was a
story of survival. This book is that story's the silent twin. It is full of
hurt and humour and a fierce love of life. It is about the pursuit of
happiness, about lessons in love, the search for a mother and a journey
into madness and out again. It is generous, honest and true.