I got this as an arc on Netgalley and it will come out in June. I love learning about my sapphic ancestors. Queer people and queer love are nothing new.

Great read!!! The storyline is interesting to read. The story about queer couple during the old days. There so much parts in the story about the towns, the people tho there some parts i feel a bit draggy. It was quite a slow read for me since the storyline was flat. I love the art style. Very pretty!! The way the story was told in 12 boxes per pages. It was refreshing reading it that way!!

I know it’s nonfiction so it kind of gets a pass, but just a warning that this book is slow!

I requested it on NetGalley for historical lesbians depicted by Tillie Walden (whose work I have previously enjoyed) and it was educational and charming, and the sepia art was great, and the little asides and quips about the wider time period at the chapter breaks were impeccable!

Queer people have always been here!

This was nice but not at all what I expected. This is a historical graphic novel biography of two women who were the bestest of gal pals and definitely not lesbian lovers, they just happened to never get married and lived together. It was gorgeous and definitely had me bawling at the end.

But it is also very episodic, it doesn’t try to stuff the lives of these two real people into a consistent narrative structure, cause that’s not how human lives usually work. So the story is instead told in one- to two-page long vignettes from Charity and Sylvia’s lives, following them from when they first met all the way to their deaths. I was initially a bot taken aback, because it wasn’t what I was expecting, but as I kept reading I enjoyed it more and more. It is very slow-paced and uneventful at times, but results in a gorgeous, heart warming whole by the end.

I really liked the art style, it was very pretty and I feel like it really managed to capture the time period quite well. But it was a bit difficult at first because the beginning had a number of young blonde women who all looked very similar, so I kept getting them confused - the characters get more distinctive as the story goes on and this isn’t a problem for long though.

Tropes and such:
- lesbians in 19th century New England
- biography in vignettes
- slow-paced graphic novel
- a heart-warming ending (did make me cry tho)
- loads of religion but barely any homophobia

This was a really wonderful telling of the true story of Charity Bryant and Sylvia Drake. I think it is so important that we keep the memory of these people alive, to show that we have always been here and we always will be and Tillie Walden has done this beautifully. It took me a little bit of time to get used to the way this is presented in a series of vignettes, of small moments that happened throughout these womens' lives as at first I wasn't sure who anyone was but once I was used to it I did like it, and it was reflective of how Tilly pieced together their story from the letters, poems and journal entries that were left behind (I also loved that photographs of the source materials were shown at the end!). The art style is beautiful and my only criticism really is that while I found the layout to be interesting (a 3×4 grid) it did make some scenes a little bit difficult to make out what was happening as the text tended to take up most of the box and it wasn't easy to tell who was speaking. Overall though this was a really great read, especially for pride month.

Charity and Sylvia moved a lot more slowly than I expected, quietly recounting the womens' lives together with only a short initial focus on their becoming a pair. I found this approach to be gently moving - even pages without any text felt emotionally resonant. I'm always a fan of Tillie Walden's drawing, and here the sepia tones added a historical feel.
If I was to have one niggle, it's that (as mentioned in the acknowledgements) there are a great many characters, many of whom have the same name and look alike. This is the reality of long family trees, but it did occasionally make it difficult to keep track of who was who - and I felt like I lost some attachment to the surrounding cast because of it.
As someone who isn't American, I appreciated the snippets of wider-US history of the time - this wider context was especially important given the time period these events took place in. This acknowledgement of the tumultuous and violent start to the USA was an interesting counterpoint to a recounting of two women living the majority of their lives in one small town.
All in all, this was an interesting change of genre for Tillie Walden - and she retains her ability to bring emotional depth and resonance to her works throughout.

Reading any Tillie Walden book is always a delight and this is certainly no different. This follows the lives of two women and their relationship as they grow older together in the 1800’s, and the best part is its a true story! Queer people have always existed and this is a great example of that.

Walden has clearly done a bunch of research and the inclusion of actual letters and poems written by the real people was a delightful addition. I can’t wait to look through the documents and Walden’s research on Charity and Sylvia.

I loved the choice in page layout as well, every page is made of 12 panels and when it breaks the formula in various ways it is very impactful. I always love Walden’s art and this certainly delivered her signature style.

It’s definitely on the slower side story wise but I didn’t have much issue with it as I was just extremely invested in finding out more about their lives. It’s a book you’ll definitely want to savour.

Thank you Drawn & Quarterly and NetGalley for the ARC.

This stunning graphic novel tells the story of Charity Bryant and Sylvia Drake, and is both beautifully drawn and sensitively told. I was fully absorbed in their story, and it serves as a reminder that our lives are very different to those in the past, but at the same time we are very much the same. There is a human touch to the way they move through their lives in this book, with births and deaths and giggles and gossip, and I was in so deep that I let out an uncontrollable sob at the end. I couldn’t help looking around at the life I have with my own wife, hoping that Charity and Sylvia would know how much we feel for the queer women that went before us, who faced challenges of their time, but loved with their whole hearts anyway.

I am so grateful to have come across and then been given access to this graphic novel, during pride month no less. Charity and Sylvia follows characters of the book's namesake, a biographical account of the real lives of a lesbian couple in the early 19th century. I'm unaccustomed to reading a graphic novel so dense, and I'm so glad I pushed through the slight overwhelm in the beginning. Walden's illustrations are beautiful, her storytelling prowess displayed through both visual art and text. I'm wildly impressed by the degree of research required for something of this magnitude; the afterword dissolved me into tears. I am so very grateful for the archivists, historians, preservationists, and all associated parties for the retention of this story. Learning that nearly every record of correspondence throughout the book is directly taken from real letters between the women in question made my heart soar. The narrative structure of the book kept it easily digestible and smartly paced. The design choices really shine when Walden takes a moment to break the 12-panel form and highlight a moment of shared intimacy. Queer people have always existed, and in a time where attempts are being made to contest and even erase our history, stories like these are more important than ever. Walden has handled Charity and Sylvia's story with so much grace and tenderness; this is a story I will be thinking about a lot in the months and years to come. Many thanks as always to NetGalley and Drawn & Quarterly for access to this ARC!

I first found Tillie Walden's work as a baby gay in college. On a Sunbeam remains one of the first pieces of queer media I read after coming to terms with my own identity, and it holds a special place in my heart. Now, a decade later, I'm a new resident of Vermont and was floored to learn that Charity & Sylvia weren't just the first known same-sex couple in Vermont - they're the first we have proof for in the country! Walden brings this complex bit of history to life with a thoughtfulness and richness only she could achieve. Their story is rendered as a deeply human, moving graphic novel that is absolutely worth your time.

Thank you to Netgalley and Drawn & Quarterly for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A human and compelling example of the power of the archival record. Renowned graphic novelist Tillie Walden’s latest Charity and Sylvia biographies the women of the title. At the start of our story in February 1807, Sylvia Drake was an unwed woman assisting in the care of her sister’s family. Charity Bryant is new to the town of Weybridge, Vermont and war a former teacher. Charity has moved to Weybridge to start over and escape rumors that have dogged her for years, in this new town she is setting up a tailoring practice.

Their meeting would be the start of a 44 year relationship as an openly Lesbian couple in a small town. It is not always an easy life, and not just because it was the late 19th century. They faced the disapproval of their families, rumors and unwanted advances from neighbors and passerby’s. But they still managed to be nearly inseparable and build a life and home together.

Alongside their lives, Walden ahas broken the narrative in to five sections documenting their full lives and placing them in context with events from the region and the greater American story. In the afterword, Walden spoke of how it is largely a work of nonfiction, but aspects had been shifted for the sake of narrative. Much of the content is based on their surviving correspondence. Walden draws also from Charity’s poetry showing how despite their surroundings they were true to themselves and their desires for love and companionship, even counter to the expectations of their families and community.

As a graphic novel, Walden wonderfully adjusts page contend and layouts. Having zoomed in sections helping show intimacy between the two, or their hands at work as tailors while they discuss issues in their lives. Walden also shows much of the landscape that shaped their day to day or the ways people of this time lived much more seasonally.

Recommended to readers of history, biographical works or graphic nonfiction.

The front cover of Charity & Sylvia, the new graphic biography by acclaimed American cartoonist Tillie Walden, recreates the striking 19th-century portrait of two women, silhouetted in profile and framed by braided human hair carefully arranged in a heart-shaped detail, that inspired this volume. They are the eponymous Charity Bryant and Sylvia Drake, an openly lesbian couple who quietly made a life for themselves in rural 1800s Vermont.

Stitched together from an extensive archive of letters, journals and poetry, Walden’s moving, sepia-toned volume is narrated through both women during their time together as they navigate questions of identity, community and faith.

The story begins when Charity, a family friend of the Drakes, arrives from Massachusetts to rural Vermont. As the relationship between Charity and Sylvia develops, Walden infuses the book with a visual language of the mundane, drawing the reader’s eye to household sundries and everyday minutiae as she builds the story world through wordless panels of homesteading, domestic tasks, sewing patterns (both Charity and Sylvia earn their living as tailors) and impending weather as the seasons change.

She also builds out family trees for both women through backstories (including standout sections chronicling their childhoods) and daily conversations that provide context for those appearing in later scenes. Through an array of vignettes locked into a 12-panel grid, the characters move from church pews to kitchens, bedrooms, dinner tables, gardens and carriages travelling to and from neighbouring towns and states.

Walden’s grid of panels also ingeniously segments the types of conversations able to be had within each of these separate spaces, as readers get to know the women, both as the townsfolk did and as they knew each other. Palpable shifts in both narrative and pictorial tone occur; affectionate exchanges between the two female leads are often obscured by dark cross-hatchings, while scenes of the Weyburn congregation during service are detailed and well-lit, as Walden contrasts the reverend’s sombre sermons with Charity’s wry, muttered responses. Such humour also permeates many supporting pages featuring other townsfolk, including a tongue-in-cheek one-pager outlining “Some of the Choice Words That Have Been Said About Miss Charity Bryant” by disapproving neighbours.

Though much of the book is comprised of external conversations, the mental labour of reckoning with the complexities of religion and human morality is always present; as newly appointed pastor Eli Moody notes amongst the onset of American expansion, “slavery and brutality continue… Jesus died for us, but who are we?”

The same question of character weighs heavily on Sylvia, who is plagued by shame about how her relationship to Charity could affect her connection to God, and her place in His kingdom. This particular narrative thread is truly the heart of the book, skilfully woven and beautifully resolved by the author.

Amidst church and chores, life in Weybridge is slow and steady, until it isn’t, and seemingly trivial occurrences often hold devastating consequences. When possible, though, community provides hope and help; in one vignette titled “How the People of Weybridge Continue to Survive and Continue to Perish,” Walden outlines the ways in which townsfolk have aided each other in times of need.

But the author does not shy away from mortality, which also hangs heavy as she documents the deaths in both women’s families while highlighting their complicated relationships to their own siblings. As a young woman, Charity’s refusal to raise an orphaned niece and nephew results in being sent away for “choosing her own life” instead, the aftermath of which, incidentally, leads her straight to Sylvia.

By choosing their own lives, and each other, both women were able to simply exist while maintaining a 44-year union through quiet devotion and resilience. Here, Walden’s rich portrayal of Charity Bryant and Sylvia Drake grants the couple a form of continued existence — both on the page and as a vital part of New England queer history.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

4 ⭐

I haven't read anything like this before. A solemn, beautiful account of the lives of two sapphic women of United States history. Tillie Walden is the queen of sequential illustrated storytelling, at least in my books. The muted colour palette and delicate application of inks immerses you into the story so quietly and smoothly, like slipping in to a warm bath. Walden does a fantastic job of enveloping the reader in the story's mood, which in this case is a soft melancholy with moments of both joy and heartbreak. I really appreciated the inclusion of the wider historical context, such as who was president, what wars were going on, new technologies etc. This was both emotional and informative and extremely well done! I can tell this was thoroughly researched with love, care, and a great attention to detail. I believe Walden deeply cares for Charity and Sylvia, as well as all the other people present in their respective lives.

If you're expecting an historical, romantic romp, maybe curve your expectations a little bit. This is more of a reverent, graphic biography. I cannot WAIT for Walden's next release!

Charity and Sylvia is a graphic interpretative history of the lives of Charity Bryant and Sylvia Drake, real, historical lesbians living together in the early years of the American republic. Walden has helpfully created an accompanying website (charityandsylvia.com), which details her artistic process, provides historical references, and clarifies which details were embellished and which have historical evidence.

This is a beautiful and emotional encapsulation of two women who made a home for themselves at a time when doing so would seem impossible to most people, past and present. Walden has done an excellent job weaving a narrative that feels respectful to history while remaining comprehensible and entertaining to read. Despite the many, many family members, I was able to keep track of the characters just fine. I also appreciated that Walden provided context on the state of the nation in parts and was willing to show that neither America nor Charity and Sylvia were beyond fault. Excellent book; I cried multiple times.

After reading, I am very grateful for the following things (in no particular order): 1. Obergefell v. Hodges 2. Insulation/AC 3. Birth control and the freedom to use it 4. Living in the non-snowy South 5. Grocery stores

I do, however, envy the sense of community and sharing in Weybridge depicted here, and I would love an adult cradle.