A gorgeously illustrated historical graphic novel based on a real
person who, defying gender expectations, left home in search of
adventure and a more authentic life.
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It was April 1, 1873. In the middle of the night, Sarah Jane spotted
flares off the coast of her island home. She woke her father, who
quickly gathered their neighbours. Over the next several hours, rescuers
pulled 429 traumatized survivors out of the wreckage of the SS
Atlantic, a White Star Line passenger steamship. But 535 people didn't
survive, including Bill, a sailor.
However, this story isn't about death--it's about living. Swapping out
their dress for a pair of pants, Bill had run away from New Jersey in
search of adventure, anonymity, and a place in the world. When they were
hired to work on a cargo steamer, everything seemed to fall into
place--but it didn't take long for Bill to realize they were really just
searching for a place where they could be themselves.
Over four years of heavy research, debut graphic novelist Lynette
Richards painstakingly gathered details of this story from a range of
historic newspapers from all over the world. By taking a creative
nonfiction approach to storytelling, Richards was able to speak to the
courage that readers will recognize as necessary for self-discovery.
In Call Me Bill, Richards shares the remarkable life story of a
tenacious adventurer who took huge risks to live an authentic life that
others would have had difficulty imagining. Set against the backdrop of
the worst maritime disaster before the Titanic, this story is an
exploration of identity and radical imagination that echoes across
generations.
