Lighthousekeeping - by Jeanette Winterson (Paperback)

About the Book

Silver, an orphaned girl, is taken in by the mysterious old keeper of a lighthouse on the Scottish coast, who tells her stories about a 19th-century clergyman who lived two lives: a public one mired in darkness and deceit and a private one bathed in the light of passionate love.

Book Synopsis

Lighthousekeeping tells the tale of Silver ("My mother called me Silver. I was born part precious metal, part pirate."), an orphaned girl who is taken in by blind Mr. Pew, the mysterious and miraculously old keeper of a lighthouse on the Scottish coast. Pew tells Silver stories of Babel Dark, a nineteenth-century clergyman. Dark lived two lives: a public one mired in darkness and deceit and a private one bathed in the light of passionate love. For Silver, Dark's life becomes a map through her own darkness, into her own story, and, finally, into love.

One of the most original and extraordinary writers of her generation, Jeanette Winterson has created a modern fable about the transformative power of storytelling.

From the Back Cover

"An inspired meditation on myth and language." --The New Yorker

Lighthousekeeping tells the tale of Silver ("My mother called me Silver. I was born part precious metal part pirate."), an orphaned girl who is taken in by the blind Mr. Pew, the mysterious and miraculously old keeper of a lighthouse on the Scottish coast. Pew tells Silver stories of Babel Dark, a nineteenth-century clergyman. Dark lives two lives: a public one mired in darkness and deceit, and a private one bathed in the light of passionate love. For Silver, Dark s life becomes a map through her own darkness, into her own story, and finally, into love.
"Pew's yarns, and later Silver's, are not just about love and loss . . . but about narrative itself, and the ways in which life refuses to conform to the boundaries of a story, just as desire rebels at the limits of the world." Village Voice

"Intimate, romantic, elegant and charmingly literary, Winterson s new novel is a poetic narrative that reaffirms the power of storytelling to provide hope when times are most desperate, and to give life--and light--when matters seem most dark." Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"Winterson weaves a beautiful and coherent tapestry . . . she achieves a quality that justly can be called visionary." Los Angeles Times

Jeanette Winterson is the author of eight novels, a short-story collection, a book of essays, and a children s picture book. She has won numerous awards, including the Whitbread First Novel Award, the John Llewelyn Rhys Prze, and the E. M. Forster Award. She lives in Oxfordshire and London.
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Review Quotes

UK PRAISE FOR LIGHTHOUSEKEEPING

"A brilliant, glittering piece of work, the kind that makes you gasp out loud at the sheer beauty of the language." -THE INDEPENDENT

"There is something rare and rather beautiful about Jeanette Winterson's writing. Never needlessly embellished, often darkly droll, it is spare but rich; timeless yet fresh . . . as poignant as it is powerful." -TIME OUT LONDON

About the Author

JEANETTE WINTERSON is the author of several works of fiction, essays, and, most recently, a children's picture book. Her numerous awards include the Whitbread First Novel Award, the John Llewelyn Rhys Prize, and the E. M. Forster Award. She lives in Oxfordshire and London.