Goddesses: A Graphic History: A journey to discover the most sacred female deities

by Monica Foggia, Lisa Salsi (Illustrator)

A visually rich and narratively bold exploration of sacred feminine power, retold through the journey of a curious modern-day seeker. 

From the series that brought A Graphic History and A Graphic History, comes A Graphic History. This latest volume reclaims goddess traditions from around the world, blending mythology, ritual, and feminist history. 

With a foreword by poet and author Nikita Gill – who also makes a guest appearance in illustrated form as one of the novel’s characters – this graphic history guides readers on a transformative journey led by the mysterious figure of Lilith. Travelling across time and place, readers encounter powerful deities and rediscover long-lost rituals and symbols – from Celtic England to ancient Egypt and beyond – revealing how goddess figures continue to shape our understanding of power and identity.  

Across its chapters, readers will  Sacred stories timeless myths reinterpreted through a modern feminist lens. A global journey: deities, rituals, and symbols from cultures across the world. Seasonal each leg of Lilith’s journey tied to a season, representing growth, change, and transformation. Empowering of matriarchy, self-love, and female friendship. Visual striking artwork and lyrical narration that bring myth and meaning to life, from the same artist behind A Graphic History.  
As with the previous books in the series, Goddesses: A Graphic History combines meticulous research with artistic flair, offering readers a fresh and inclusive way to engage with ancient traditions. 

This is a book to inspire curiosity, reflection and reverence for the sacred feminine – perfect for display on any altar, coffee table, or collector’s shelf. 

Genres: Graphic Novels, Feminism, Nonfiction

128 pages, Hardcover

Published November 11, 2025

About the author

Monica Foggia is a teacher, author, and radio presenter. She is helping produce a graphic novel on the artist David Hockney.

Reviews

[Carrie]

I'm disappointed that in a book "the most sacred female deities" featured goddesses from primarily European cultures. They even called out the European bias in the book and had four goddesses in one spread and then only one Egyptian goddess who had her own spotlight.

I think a narrower focus is fine but the pitching this as a large journey of discovering different goddesses from various cultures really felt like cutting many cultures out of a long and detailed conversation.

[Rebecca]

Good, but I wish it had been longer and gone into a bit more depth.

[Libby]

Thank you to Leaping Hare Press for sending me a copy of this book. I am always in awe of how stunning your books are and this graphic novel lived up to that standard!🐇✨

For a beginner who’s intrigued by goddess myths and female traditions related to the divine, this book is a great introduction into some of the female deities that are woven into history from cultures within Europe and Egypt.

The feminist reflections, present in anecdotal elements of the dialogue, become more covert towards the end of the book once the protagonist has concluded their travelling - as the protagonist is searching for stories and knowledge about the female divine, so the book navigates this like a travel diary of sorts - and awakened a version of themselves that focuses on reclamation, autonomy, and disbanding from patriarchal values. But I would have loved for this to have been explored in more depth as this seemed to be the poignant message of the protagonist’s self-discovery story.

This is the first graphic novel I have ever read and I did find the dialogue quite blunt and fast-paced, but I am uncertain if this is common in this genre! However, this aspect was balanced out by beautiful infographic pages with further details about female deities which were easily digestible and beautifully illustrated.

Overall, this book, personally, serves as a reminder that divinity can be found within our present selves, and the history of what the goddesses represented can be applied to current day self-discovery. And if you have a special interest for graphics, this book is overwhelmingly abundant in beautiful illustrations!


Trigger warnings for future readers: sexual assault and abandonment

[M.]

Thank you to Edelweiss for giving me access to an ARC of this book for review. Opinions are my own.

Goddesses: A Graphic History is a stunning and emotionally charged exploration of the divine feminine through history. It does a great job of blending mythology, history, spirituality and feminist reflection. The pastel toned illustrations give the book a gentle and dreamlike feel and the writing is powerful and quotable.

There's a beautiful foreword by writer and poet Nikita Gill which perfectly sets the tone. The story strikes a good balance of being both informative/didactic and narrative - something that often is hard to find in graphic novels.

A few themes stand out throughout this journey: the cyclical nature of life, the different (triadic) facets of women and the goddess (maiden, mother, crone) and the symbolism of animals associated with feminine divinity (particularly snakes and cats).

At times, I felt like the historical/mythological exposition felt a little disconnected from the narration/plot. I often feel this way with graphic novels so perhaps this is simply a feature of the genre (one which is a little outside of my comfort zone). Still, this occasionally interrupted the flow for me and took me out of the story.

Overall, a beautiful piece of feminist writing that genuinely moved me - it is both a lament and a reclamation... A reminder of how patriarchal structures have silenced us through history and attempted to strip away the divinity from womanhood.

A quick trigger note for readers: The book includes references to abandonment, sexual assault and rape. While these moments are dealt with sensitivity, please check any trigger warnings before reading.

[Michael Norwitz]

Rating 3.5

The protagonist (a young pretty white woman to whom remunerative jobs come easily given her penchant for world travel) traverses (primarily) Europe, accompanied sporadically by other young pretty white women (and the occasional older pretty white woman or young pretty white man) seeking information on goddesses worshiped in antiquity and how to manifest their energy in the modern day.

The artwork is lovely, the characters are mainly mouthpieces for the author's pagan advocacy. It is probably a good introduction for someone interested in the topic.

It desperately needed a bibliography or reading list at the end.

[Sombre Grimoire]

Je partais hyper optimiste sur ce livre, après avoir découvert Sorcières j'allais découvre sa version divinité !

Seulement voilà, ce livre est très différent de son amie...
Les deux choix de narration sont aux antipodes et même si, au départ, j'étais très emballée par le choix fait dans ce livre enncomparauson de l'autre... ça n'a pas marché sur la durée...

Trop de segmentation en peu de pages, ça m'a lâché et désintéressé alors qu'il y a de nombreux points savoirs intéressants...

[Kaycee McKee]

This wasn't quite what I was expecting going into it, so it ended up being a bit meh to me. The art style is beautiful, and I really liked the way the goddesses were depicted. It's definitely a visually appealing book. It just didn't fully match what I was hoping for, which made it a little less engaging overall.

[Claire]

This is a whirlwind exploration of Mother Goddesses, with an emphasis on European, Turkish, and Egyptian deities. I struggled a bit with the pacing and the narrative arc, but I definitely discovered some new-to-me goddesses. Plus, the illustrations are gorgeous.

[Kayla Fadiman]

perfect graphic novel for the spiritual/esoteric girls

[Blixen]

A book that explains the female deities found in Europe, with a very attentive look at myths and archetypes. As a graphic novel, it’s truly enjoyable, and the illustrations are awesome!

[Aryanna Tunstall]

A beautiful story of one woman wanting to connect with the Goddesses of the past

[Lio Dba]

trop chouette de découvrir ses déesses féminines !! mais je reste tellement sur ma faim, on passe très vite d'une a une autre. d'un lieu a un autre.

[Nancy]

I liked it, but wanted more. The present-day story that tied it all together didn't do it for me. Enjoyed the artwork and the overview of goddesses across history and cultures.

[Aybala]

1.5 for the book + 0.5 for the Ankara reference. It was a bit childish.

[Dasha]

I liked the art, I think it would’ve been better if there was more diversity in the characters and goddesses explored.

[Sofia Singer]

This could easily have been longer and more in depth:)