A magical, wonderful modern classic about the destinies of Napoleon’s faithful cook and the daughter of a Venetian boatman.

Set during the tumultuous years of the Napoleonic Wars, The Passion intertwines the destinies of two remarkable people: Henri, a simple French soldier, who follows Napoleon from glory to Russian ruin; and Villanelle, the red-haired, web-footed daughter of a Venetian boatman, whose husband has gambled away her heart. In Venice’s compound of carnival, chance, and darkness, the pair meets their singular destiny.

In her unique and mesmerizing voice, Jeanette Winterson’s “concentrated, beautifully detailed prose” (The New York Times) unfurls a “historical novel quite different from any other” (Vanity Fair).

“Recalls García Márquez … Magical touches dance like highlights over the brilliance of this fairy tale about passion, gambling, madness, and androgynous ecstasy. ” —Edmund White