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Charity and Sylvia
An openly Lesbian couple survives and thrives in 19th century Vermont–a true story, as told by Tillie Walden
The month is February in the year 1807. The place is Weybridge, Vermont: small, cold, lonely, and beautiful. Sylvia Drake is exhausted. As an unwed woman with few prospects, she is residing with and caring for her sister’s rambunctious family. Today the house is abuzz awaiting a guest—Charity Bryant. A friend of the family, she is most known for her elegant letters, with their swoopy and evocative penmanship and carefully chosen prose. But Charity’s visit is a guise, she is coming to Vermont to start over after heartbreak and rumours—so many rumours—that have grown too loud back in Massachusetts.
Being openly gay in 19th century New England is not an easy row to hoe. But Charity can only be herself, and she immediately catches—and holds—the eye of none other than Sylvia Drake. From this point on, for 44 years, the two would be inseparable, building a life together despite all odds and living as a lesbian couple in small town Vermont.
The true, exceptional story of these remarkable women is brought to life with humor and passion by the unparalleled and award-winning Tillie Walden (Spinning, On A Sunbeam). We see America grow alongside these women over a period that brings about the railroad, many novels, 14 Presidents, riots, rebellion, plagues, and poetry. Based on extensive archives of their writing, Charity and Sylvia is a groundbreaking biography that is also the story of 19th century America.
The month is February in the year 1807. The place is Weybridge, Vermont: small, cold, lonely, and beautiful. Sylvia Drake is exhausted. As an unwed woman with few prospects, she is residing with and caring for her sister’s rambunctious family. Today the house is abuzz awaiting a guest—Charity Bryant. A friend of the family, she is most known for her elegant letters, with their swoopy and evocative penmanship and carefully chosen prose. But Charity’s visit is a guise, she is coming to Vermont to start over after heartbreak and rumours—so many rumours—that have grown too loud back in Massachusetts.
Being openly gay in 19th century New England is not an easy row to hoe. But Charity can only be herself, and she immediately catches—and holds—the eye of none other than Sylvia Drake. From this point on, for 44 years, the two would be inseparable, building a life together despite all odds and living as a lesbian couple in small town Vermont.
The true, exceptional story of these remarkable women is brought to life with humor and passion by the unparalleled and award-winning Tillie Walden (Spinning, On A Sunbeam). We see America grow alongside these women over a period that brings about the railroad, many novels, 14 Presidents, riots, rebellion, plagues, and poetry. Based on extensive archives of their writing, Charity and Sylvia is a groundbreaking biography that is also the story of 19th century America.
264 pages, Hardcover
First published June 16, 2026
About the author
Tillie Walden
39 books3,363 followersTillie Walden is an American cartoonist and illustrator.
Born in 1996 in San Diego, California, Walden graduated from the Center for Cartoon Studies in Vermont, where she is currently a professor.
Walden started publishing short comics when she was just a teenager. Her first long-form graphic novel The End of Summer was published by the British publisher Avery Hill in 2015. Her second book I Love This Part came out only a few months later, winning the 2016 Ignatz Award for promising new talent. Later Walden received the 2018 Eisner Award for Best Reality-Based Work for her memoir Spinning (2017). Among her other works are A City Inside (2016), On a Sunbeam (2018), Are You Listening? (2020), Alone in Space (2021) and the series Clementine.
Born in 1996 in San Diego, California, Walden graduated from the Center for Cartoon Studies in Vermont, where she is currently a professor.
Walden started publishing short comics when she was just a teenager. Her first long-form graphic novel The End of Summer was published by the British publisher Avery Hill in 2015. Her second book I Love This Part came out only a few months later, winning the 2016 Ignatz Award for promising new talent. Later Walden received the 2018 Eisner Award for Best Reality-Based Work for her memoir Spinning (2017). Among her other works are A City Inside (2016), On a Sunbeam (2018), Are You Listening? (2020), Alone in Space (2021) and the series Clementine.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 92 reviews
August 3, 2026
A sensitively-rendered retelling of the lives of Charity Bryant and Sylvia Hayward. Two women who met by chance in Vermont in 1807 and fell in love. Both women were in their twenties. Charity Bryant came to Vermont to visit Sylvia’s sister. Charity was trying to find safe haven, estranged from her father and step-mother and beset by rumours about her “unnatural” interest in other women. Sylvia was world-weary and lonely; she spent most of her time helping her family raise their children and supporting her elderly mother. Charity and Sylvia first bonded over an interest in dressmaking, a skill that eventually funded their lives together. Against all odds, they managed to carve out a space for themselves, even leasing some land on which to build a small house. For over forty years they were inseparable. And, although they didn’t die together, they were later buried in the same funeral plot. Tillie Walden doesn’t sugarcoat their story, theirs was a hard life, eking out a living in difficult circumstances, grappling with ill health, dealing with many of their friends and family dying young. Yet it was understood by their community that they were a couple, although it wasn’t openly discussed, and their standing in Weybridge, Vermont somehow enabled them to be true to themselves and live freely.
Walden’s graphic novel shifts around in time, incorporating poetry, letters and snippets of the American history that formed a backdrop to Sylvia and Charity’s everyday lives. Often the narrative is composed of striking vignettes: Sylvia and Charity’s everyday lives and growing bond; their families and friends; events in Weybridge itself. The images move between dense frames and larger-scale, dynamic images. Walden employs a mix of b/w and sepia-toned images highlighting the process of recreating the past. The book grew out of Walden’s position as Vermont’s graphic artist-in-residence and draws on an earlier biography* and a rich selection of archival materials – fortunately a number of papers and diaries were preserved. It could be a little dry in places, some of the panels are a little overpacked and it took a while for me to be able to easily identify recurring figures but once I got my bearings I was gripped and fascinated.
Thanks to Netgalley and publisher Drawn and Quarterly for an ARC
Rating: 3.5
*The relationship between Walden’s work and Rachel Hope Cleves’s biography is currently a source of controversy with Cleves apparently claiming Walden’s book is wholly dependent on/derivative of hers. Having read Walden’s publisher’s response as well as an extract from Cleves’s biography I’m finding it hard to view Walden’s narrative as a mere fictionalisation of Cleves’s. There are inevitable overlaps in factual material but the style and structure are vastly different. That’s without mentioning the intricate interplay between text and image in Walden’s work or the general, genre conventions.
Walden’s graphic novel shifts around in time, incorporating poetry, letters and snippets of the American history that formed a backdrop to Sylvia and Charity’s everyday lives. Often the narrative is composed of striking vignettes: Sylvia and Charity’s everyday lives and growing bond; their families and friends; events in Weybridge itself. The images move between dense frames and larger-scale, dynamic images. Walden employs a mix of b/w and sepia-toned images highlighting the process of recreating the past. The book grew out of Walden’s position as Vermont’s graphic artist-in-residence and draws on an earlier biography* and a rich selection of archival materials – fortunately a number of papers and diaries were preserved. It could be a little dry in places, some of the panels are a little overpacked and it took a while for me to be able to easily identify recurring figures but once I got my bearings I was gripped and fascinated.
Thanks to Netgalley and publisher Drawn and Quarterly for an ARC
Rating: 3.5
*The relationship between Walden’s work and Rachel Hope Cleves’s biography is currently a source of controversy with Cleves apparently claiming Walden’s book is wholly dependent on/derivative of hers. Having read Walden’s publisher’s response as well as an extract from Cleves’s biography I’m finding it hard to view Walden’s narrative as a mere fictionalisation of Cleves’s. There are inevitable overlaps in factual material but the style and structure are vastly different. That’s without mentioning the intricate interplay between text and image in Walden’s work or the general, genre conventions.
July 4, 2026
Added note: Seems like there may be a law suit about this coming up, so anyone who wants more insight can review the back and forth there.
Initial take: Love this author, but she lifted most of the research, the narrative structure and the title directly from an amazing book, Charity & Sylvia by Rachel Hope Cleves. She gave barely any credit to Cleves, an historian who spent years of her life researching at many different museums and private collections to discover the past. She even reached out to Cleves during her writing process! Now apparently Tillie is claiming she did nearly all the research herself and erasing Cleves. Erasure of a woman’s work in order to create a book about an erasure of women’s lives seems awfully creepy.
Initial take: Love this author, but she lifted most of the research, the narrative structure and the title directly from an amazing book, Charity & Sylvia by Rachel Hope Cleves. She gave barely any credit to Cleves, an historian who spent years of her life researching at many different museums and private collections to discover the past. She even reached out to Cleves during her writing process! Now apparently Tillie is claiming she did nearly all the research herself and erasing Cleves. Erasure of a woman’s work in order to create a book about an erasure of women’s lives seems awfully creepy.
June 4, 2026
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
----
Thank you to Drawn & Quarterly for the ARC
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
----
Thank you to Drawn & Quarterly for the ARC
July 5, 2026
this was so beautiful.
i’ve been meaning to read rachel hope cleves’ book on charity and sylvia for a while now, but i couldn’t resist reading this first when my library acquired a digital copy.
this wonderful graphic novel tells the true story of charity bryant and sylvia drake, two women who lived together and loved each other in the early united states. specifically, vermont (and a little massachusetts). what’s so refreshing about their story is how much love and support they received from their families and community. charity and sylvia were never ostracized, especially in their religious community, for their companionship. they were treated much like the married husbands and wives of the era without question.
i read tillie walden’s spinning not too long ago, so i knew her art style would be incredible. the old new england landscape is drawn in such a lovely way that is reminiscent of the new england i know today. those old crumbling colonial houses and stone walls everywhere…yeah i know this place! i was also glad that walden didn’t shy away from the ugliness of the country at the time, in regards to the treatment of indigenous and enslaved people. she provides a great bit of historical context despite not being a historian herself. i could just tell how much work and care she put into this project.
i will say, the story is a bit slow going at first. and it was hard to keep track of who was who given everyone dressed the exact same. but it was absolutely worth it. such a beautiful story and a great reminder that queer people have always been here and will always be here.
i’ve been meaning to read rachel hope cleves’ book on charity and sylvia for a while now, but i couldn’t resist reading this first when my library acquired a digital copy.
this wonderful graphic novel tells the true story of charity bryant and sylvia drake, two women who lived together and loved each other in the early united states. specifically, vermont (and a little massachusetts). what’s so refreshing about their story is how much love and support they received from their families and community. charity and sylvia were never ostracized, especially in their religious community, for their companionship. they were treated much like the married husbands and wives of the era without question.
i read tillie walden’s spinning not too long ago, so i knew her art style would be incredible. the old new england landscape is drawn in such a lovely way that is reminiscent of the new england i know today. those old crumbling colonial houses and stone walls everywhere…yeah i know this place! i was also glad that walden didn’t shy away from the ugliness of the country at the time, in regards to the treatment of indigenous and enslaved people. she provides a great bit of historical context despite not being a historian herself. i could just tell how much work and care she put into this project.
i will say, the story is a bit slow going at first. and it was hard to keep track of who was who given everyone dressed the exact same. but it was absolutely worth it. such a beautiful story and a great reminder that queer people have always been here and will always be here.
June 30, 2026
Great story. Taken wholesale from another author!
While a beautiful and moving story, gutted that the author lifted the entire story and research from another author without adequate credit and attribution. The title, cover, story, and underlying research… all taken from author Rachel Hope Cleaves, who deserves so much more than a minor footnote in the notes for this book. Tilden took all of these without permission — and without compensation. Hopefully other readers will seek out Cleaves’s book and call for some accountability from Tilden.
While a beautiful and moving story, gutted that the author lifted the entire story and research from another author without adequate credit and attribution. The title, cover, story, and underlying research… all taken from author Rachel Hope Cleaves, who deserves so much more than a minor footnote in the notes for this book. Tilden took all of these without permission — and without compensation. Hopefully other readers will seek out Cleaves’s book and call for some accountability from Tilden.
June 20, 2026
What a beautiful book! Such a wonderful story—a true story, based on some great archival research. I love the design of this graphic novel.
June 17, 2026
Did not expect to cry over 19th century lesbians this morning.
June 25, 2026
I know I say this about literally every book I read lately but this one had me s o b b i n g by the end of it. Despite this being a work of nonfiction, grounded very deeply in the time and the place in which it's set (Weybridge, Vermont, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries), Tillie Walden manages to bring her beautiful, dreamlike art style to the panels--and make for a rich storytelling unlike anything I've ever seen in graphic nonfiction. Also, I bought my copy at a signing, and she drew me a doodle on the front page! So!
June 22, 2026
This is so powerful. I have loved Walden as a cartoonist for a long time and her talent really shows through here--I welcomed this quiet, meaningful true tale of two women's lives together. Queer people have always been here. 💙
June 30, 2026
Oh Tillie. What can’t you do? Maybe you can’t fly or walk through walls, but I am here to say if there is a novel that needs to be graphiced, there is no one better for the job than you. The choice to go nine panel for most of this book, AND to leave half of them without dialogue was simply inspired. I regret that now I have to wait for whatever you do next.
June 17, 2026
I was lucky enough to get to go to the pre release in Chicago for this one, and have been taking my time with it. I love this one, the way all the vignettes are crafted, the balancing of the tone and mood. It's funny, interesting, comforting, sweet, and heartbreaking. It's hard for me to put into words how much I loved this book, but I sobbed like a big ol baby when I finished it.
July 2, 2026
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!
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!
July 2, 2026
A really lovely story of early VT and its people. Thank you for writing this history of Charity and Sylvia.
June 29, 2026
put this book down to dust all my shelves and under my bed as to not annoy sylvia. sylvia get ur hands on a compressed air duster and some swiffer sheets. game changer.
June 20, 2026
4 stars.
And they were roommates. 👀
Ever since I read Emma Donoghue’s “Learned by Heart” I’ve been looking for more queer historical stories based on real people. I’m glad to have stumbled upon this one. I don’t read too many graphic novels so maybe I’m not the best judge of whether it’s good or not. I thought this story was so sweet. Walden admits to taking liberties just because of the nature of what was known about them and the historical documents that were available. I still found the story believable.
And they were roommates. 👀
Ever since I read Emma Donoghue’s “Learned by Heart” I’ve been looking for more queer historical stories based on real people. I’m glad to have stumbled upon this one. I don’t read too many graphic novels so maybe I’m not the best judge of whether it’s good or not. I thought this story was so sweet. Walden admits to taking liberties just because of the nature of what was known about them and the historical documents that were available. I still found the story believable.
June 17, 2026
I received an advance copy of this graphic novel through NetGalley.
I loved this book! Based on real people, I was unfamiliar with this story of two women living together as romantic partners in early-1800s Vermont. The details were well-researched, and I loved the illustrations and storytelling style. The panels with no words told as much of a story as the ones with text.
The story describes the relationships with their families as well the challenges the women face, especially given their non-traditional relationship at the time. Overall, I found this story to be sweet and heartfelt. I'm so glad the author chose to bring the tale of Charity and Sylvia to light for modern readers.
I loved this book! Based on real people, I was unfamiliar with this story of two women living together as romantic partners in early-1800s Vermont. The details were well-researched, and I loved the illustrations and storytelling style. The panels with no words told as much of a story as the ones with text.
The story describes the relationships with their families as well the challenges the women face, especially given their non-traditional relationship at the time. Overall, I found this story to be sweet and heartfelt. I'm so glad the author chose to bring the tale of Charity and Sylvia to light for modern readers.
Want to Read
June 15, 2026Just ordered a copy from my local independent bookstore.
April 12, 2026
Thank you Drawn and Quarterly for the eARC. All thoughts are my own.
I really loved the story of Charity and Sylvia together, getting to know each other, falling in love and living the life they wanted, all the way to their deaths. Everything else included with their families, church, the town etc bored me a lot.
I also felt it was very choppy. I understand this is likely intentional, given it’s largely based on journal entries and letters, but I felt we didn’t spent enough time in any one moment to really feel for much. It was the moments we did spend time with, especially Charity’s death, that bumped this up another half star for me.
I found the panels too busy with far too much text and dialogue. Walden’s art style is great, though, I just wish I could have seen more of it.
I really loved the story of Charity and Sylvia together, getting to know each other, falling in love and living the life they wanted, all the way to their deaths. Everything else included with their families, church, the town etc bored me a lot.
I also felt it was very choppy. I understand this is likely intentional, given it’s largely based on journal entries and letters, but I felt we didn’t spent enough time in any one moment to really feel for much. It was the moments we did spend time with, especially Charity’s death, that bumped this up another half star for me.
I found the panels too busy with far too much text and dialogue. Walden’s art style is great, though, I just wish I could have seen more of it.
August 6, 2026
“Charity & Sylvia” is simply gorgeous; the story, the artwork, the book itself, all gorgeous. I’ve always loved Tillie Walden’s comics but she’s typically dabbled with sci-fi and post-apocalyptic imagery so the colonial setting of “Charity & Sylvia” was definitely a curveball but - holy smokes - she knocked these pages out. of. the. park. Densely-packed and rich with period details, these (mostly) sepia-toned panels celebrate the mundane, tiresome details of life at the dawn of the American experiment, as lived - and loved - by Charity Bryant and Sylvia Drake, perhaps the first openly, well, they’re clearly a lesbian couple but I guess the surprisingly open-minded citizens of their rural Vermont home preferred to just label them as “companions.” This wonderful book about their shared life is a beautiful testament to the purity of their love and to the grace and acceptance that religious institutions today still need to be reminded to emulate. I loved every thoughtful, deliberate page of this book (and I REALLY hope that it’s not stolen from - as some have suggested - the virtually uncredited and uncompensated research contained in Rachel Hope Cleves’ biography of the duo, “Charity And Sylvia,” published in 2014; please, oh please…). Even in a year when Nate Powell (my absolute favorite cartoonist) is due to release a new graphic novel, I find it hard to believe that “Charity & Sylvia” won’t earn my personal designation as Comic Of The Year.
July 30, 2026
Ai, com he plorat amb el final. Al principi potser es fa una mica lent, hi ha bastantes vinyetes petites i al final és una col·lecció d'anècdotes, a vegades "no passa res". Però així és la vida, no? No tenim guionista. I a mesura que avances, sents que coneixes les dues protagonistes, els petits detalls les fan més humanes. Per això el final m'ha afectat tant, encara que era obvi (de fet, ja t'ho diuen al principi). Havent llegit altres còmics de Tillie Walden, m'ha sorprès veure tantes vinyetes tancades i decorades. Realment es nota l'esforç que s'ha fet en investigació i dibuix. A l'epíleg menciona la recerca que ha fet i la web que ha creat per compartir comentaris sobre les diferents parts de l'obra, recomano que la visiteu si us ha agradat. Tot i que el tema principal és la relació entre les protagonistes, també hi té molta importància la religió i la mort, això m'ha sorprès una mica. Per sort el tema religiós s'entén per la època i per mi no ha sigut molest. En conclusió, m'ha agradat molt i la recomano, tot i que no és una lectura ràpida. Tot i que està basada en fets reals, hi ha fets inventats i mai podrem saber del cert com eren la Charity i la Sylvia. Però podria haver estat així, i ja llavors podrien haver gaudit certa felicitat juntes. I sempre està bé recordar-ho.
July 2, 2026
In 18th century Vermont, Sylvia Drake and family are visited by Charity Bryant, a church friend of Sylvia's sister Polly. Just like that, their lives brought together, and their fates forever entangled. Sylvia and Charity are a pair for decades. This is their story, of two women living together at the turn of the century before such things were widely known or approved.
Charity & Sylvia is a lovely graphic history, a biographical look at two women in early America who live together as a couple, seen in the eyes of society as companions and coworkers and supported by their extensive family. The start of the story introduces a lot of characters all at once and it was hard to keep track. I think showing family trees, or talking about their respective childhoods and families a bit earlier would have made the early parts of the book easier to follow. But the book eventually slips into a rhythm and we see that although it proceeds linearly, this is a set of short vignettes about their life in Vermont, their friendships and travels, their joys and sorrows, and the way they spend their time. I enjoyed the telling and am so curious to know more, but this graphic novel is a lovely way to get to know these two figures.
Charity & Sylvia is a lovely graphic history, a biographical look at two women in early America who live together as a couple, seen in the eyes of society as companions and coworkers and supported by their extensive family. The start of the story introduces a lot of characters all at once and it was hard to keep track. I think showing family trees, or talking about their respective childhoods and families a bit earlier would have made the early parts of the book easier to follow. But the book eventually slips into a rhythm and we see that although it proceeds linearly, this is a set of short vignettes about their life in Vermont, their friendships and travels, their joys and sorrows, and the way they spend their time. I enjoyed the telling and am so curious to know more, but this graphic novel is a lovely way to get to know these two figures.
Read
July 3, 2026meticulously drawn etc, very impressive technical decisions (it is extremely difficult to draw and pace a graphic novel using the same exact panel layout for every page)... i was worried that a lot of the dialogue etc would read as overly modern (as many historical stories do) but it didn't have any glaring anachronisms (saying this as a layperson lol, im no expert in 1800s english, i have just read things and been like THATS NOT A THING U WOULD SAY BACK THEN. anyway).
given that the story was not really framed as like A Reckoning Of White Settler Colonialism, i found it a little unsatisfying to have the interspersed details like "btw, while we are following our heroines, the trail of tears is taking place" (not a direct quote). idk, maybe this is just me. i get that it's also remiss not to mention anything of it at all. but to me it felt weird to depict these intricately detailed daily lives of white settlers & then juxtapose that detail with "btw, elsewhere, a genocide is happening" (as if that genocide were somehow distinct from the ongoing one in so-called new england)... these r fresh raw off-the-dome thoughts, not fully cooked, but that's been sticking w me
given that the story was not really framed as like A Reckoning Of White Settler Colonialism, i found it a little unsatisfying to have the interspersed details like "btw, while we are following our heroines, the trail of tears is taking place" (not a direct quote). idk, maybe this is just me. i get that it's also remiss not to mention anything of it at all. but to me it felt weird to depict these intricately detailed daily lives of white settlers & then juxtapose that detail with "btw, elsewhere, a genocide is happening" (as if that genocide were somehow distinct from the ongoing one in so-called new england)... these r fresh raw off-the-dome thoughts, not fully cooked, but that's been sticking w me
July 17, 2026
1. i love lesbians!!
2. we GOTTA bring back adult cradles
tillie walden's art style is always very pleasing 2 me (the light/shadows! the textures!), and i loved how this was structured. i thought the usage of vignettes really worked, and some of my favorite pages were ones that fell outside of a traditional narrative flow (ex. lists of qualities they love and appreciate or find absolutely maddening about each other) or sometimes ones without any text at all. there were some genuinely moving scenes, only enhanced by choices made in the art; i got teary more than once.
reading this felt like sifting through a box of ephemera (complimentary) and i still walked away with a coherent sense of who charity and sylvia were. walden did such a great job making these historical figures feel real and grounded in the sense that like yeah people in the past were also just people.
it was a definitely tiny bit difficult to follow at first - everyone dresses pretty much the same, 90% of the characters are related and therefore share some features, all the names felt spiritually similar, and i had very little background knowledge going in beyond "19th century lesbians in vermont," so it took me a minute to piece together who everyone was - but the later pages that specifically outline the characters obviously helped with this.
i was not aware of the whole rachel hope cleves thing before reading, and i haven't read her biography so who knows. i'll just say that yeah, i can see it would be frustrating for someone more well-known to release a book with an identical title and use you as a key source but not give you more public credit whenever the opportunity arises. but i can also see that it's ridiculous to say the covers are the same (they both use the double silhouette portraits as inspiration because of course, but they are ultimately very different - like bookstores are packed with nearly-identical covers and these two are not on that list) and walden does credit her in the afterword and in the extensive online bibliography. idk! the situation sucks!
anyway! what's that line from last call at maud's? we are growing in numbers every day? cause yeah!!
2. we GOTTA bring back adult cradles
tillie walden's art style is always very pleasing 2 me (the light/shadows! the textures!), and i loved how this was structured. i thought the usage of vignettes really worked, and some of my favorite pages were ones that fell outside of a traditional narrative flow (ex. lists of qualities they love and appreciate or find absolutely maddening about each other) or sometimes ones without any text at all. there were some genuinely moving scenes, only enhanced by choices made in the art; i got teary more than once.
reading this felt like sifting through a box of ephemera (complimentary) and i still walked away with a coherent sense of who charity and sylvia were. walden did such a great job making these historical figures feel real and grounded in the sense that like yeah people in the past were also just people.
it was a definitely tiny bit difficult to follow at first - everyone dresses pretty much the same, 90% of the characters are related and therefore share some features, all the names felt spiritually similar, and i had very little background knowledge going in beyond "19th century lesbians in vermont," so it took me a minute to piece together who everyone was - but the later pages that specifically outline the characters obviously helped with this.
i was not aware of the whole rachel hope cleves thing before reading, and i haven't read her biography so who knows. i'll just say that yeah, i can see it would be frustrating for someone more well-known to release a book with an identical title and use you as a key source but not give you more public credit whenever the opportunity arises. but i can also see that it's ridiculous to say the covers are the same (they both use the double silhouette portraits as inspiration because of course, but they are ultimately very different - like bookstores are packed with nearly-identical covers and these two are not on that list) and walden does credit her in the afterword and in the extensive online bibliography. idk! the situation sucks!
anyway! what's that line from last call at maud's? we are growing in numbers every day? cause yeah!!
July 13, 2026
A genuinely heartfelt and moving story about two women in love in the 1800s and their 40+ years together. The close attention paid to history (both contextually and from Charity's and Sylvia's own letters) really brought this to life for me. A love letter to rural Vermont and the enduring history of queer love.
August 1, 2026
Charity Bryant and Sylvia Drake were close companions and co-workers in a tailoring business in early 18th century Vermont. From the letters that survive, the author has created a stark graphic rendering of their life together, in mud brown and white tones throughout. But were they a queer couple? I’ve read accounts of close friendships between women before marriage were the norm during this period, but who can really tell? It’s possible, of course. For all graphic memoir fans.
June 23, 2026
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. In particular, 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!
July 21, 2026
tillie walden’s artwork is so so beautiful to me, i’ve admired her for so long now and loved this foray into historical fiction!! charity and sylvia’s story was lovely and i want to learn more about them! :)
June 19, 2026
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.
I received a free digital version of this book via NetGalley thanks to the publisher.
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.
I received a free digital version of this book via NetGalley thanks to the publisher.
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July 3, 2026Tillie Walden is the author of some of my favorite graphic novels—"Spinning" & "On A Sunbeam"—so I will happily read any and everything she writes. This time, she turns her pen to real life lesbian couple Charity Bryant and Sylvia Drake, who lived as wives for 44 years and were accepted by their community in 1800s Vermont. Pieced together from the couple's extensive letters and writing, Walden has woven a moving and fascinating portrait of an exceptional true story.
July 15, 2026
ily revolutionary lesbians
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