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.
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.