The Passion

The novel "Passion" is included in the BBC's "100 novels that created the modern world" list.

In this fascinating, exquisite book, Europe during the Napoleonic Wars becomes the setting of a touching romance. Henri is a naïve French soldier who works in Bonaparte's kitchen and adores the conqueror until his starving and sickly army begins to disintegrate. Having lost his illusions, seeking to desert from deserted positions in the harsh Russian winter, young Henri meets Villanelle, a mysterious Venetian woman, and falls in love with her. Passion pushes Henri on a reckless quest for adventure, where he loses his beliefs and convictions and finds himself in an emotional maze from which he may be unable to escape.

The plot of the novel dissolves in a fantastic mixture of myth, fact, and modernism, and the unique, mesmerizing voice of Janet Winterson combines reality with fantasy, dream, and imagination, creating a hypnotic and stunning narrative.

The European Union supported the translation and publication of this book under the "House of Europe" program.