Alison tells the story of a young British woman who, in her twenties,
seizes upon the opportunity to escape from her quiet life in Dorset to
the thrumming art scene of late-1970s London. But the vehicle for her
escape is a charismatic older man whose reputation as an artist and
philanderer casts a shadow which will follow Alison for years as she
pursues her painting career.
Combining immaculate prose and stunning artwork, Alison is a complex
love and coming-of-age story, as well as a meditation on female
friendship and empowerment, class and patriarchy, the creative process
and the thorny world of fine art. British illustrator and author Lizzy
Stewart crafts a graphic novel that evokes the atmospheric milieu of
bohemian London in the late 20th century, while at the same time
exploring the more universal struggles of women who must navigate
male-dominated spaces.
Told through quietly powerful interpersonal moments rich with meaning
and mood, this graphic novel will appeal to fans of Sally Rooney and
Leanne Shapton, as well as the great empathic writers Alice Munro,
Hilary Mantel, and Tessa Hadley.
