‘At that time I could not imagine what would become of me, and I didn’t care. It was not judgement day, but another morning’

This is the story of Jeanette, adopted and brought up by working-class evangelists in the North of England to be one of God’s elect. Passionate, headstrong and shielded by her mother’s grand disapproval of a sinful world, she seems destined for life as a missionary. And then she meets Melanie.

At sixteen, Jeanette faces a world of uncertainty as she breaks from the church and her community for the young woman she loves. Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit is a warm, witty and daring novel that gives voice to irrepressible desire.

Meet ten of literature’s most iconic heroines, jacketed in bold portraits by female photographers from around the world.