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Deeply researched and strikingly illustrated in Victorian style, Not Death, But Love puts an eerie, romantic twist on the true story of the poet who wrote the iconic Sonnet 43, which famously begins “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.”
An invalid since childhood, poet Elizabeth Barrett is famous throughout Victorian England, despite a hermit-like existence in the household of her tyrannical father. Opium makes the pain of her mysterious illness more bearable, but she lives in constant expectation of death. To her surprise, she instead finds love with dashing fellow poet Robert Browning, who whisks her away to freedom in Florence, Italy. Captivated by her new home and the revolutionary spirit of the Italian Risorgimento, Elizabeth basks in the glow of a happy marriage and reinvigorated health.
Haunted by lingering griefs, however, Elizabeth is drawn into a shadowy world of séances and mediums as the supernatural craze known as spiritualism spreads from America to Europe. On a visit to London, she witnesses the otherworldly feats of celebrated medium Daniel Dunglas Home, who claims to conjure the spirits of dearly departed relatives. While Robert takes an immediate disliking to Home, sparking a bitter rivalry, Elizabeth falls under the spell of enchanting Boston heiress Sophie Eckley. The two women embark on a series of spiritual experiments that threaten Elizabeth and Robert’s status as soulmates.
Laced with hints of the supernatural, this graphic novel retells Barrett Browning’s story while exploring the timeless tensions between passion and repression, faith and skepticism, hope and despair.
"Gorgeously drawn and quietly astonishing, Not Death, But Love is a haunting tale of grief and devotion that lingers long after the final frame. A love story between two poets — with séances, con artists, and an unlikely love triangle — it left me genuinely surprised that Barrett Browning's story isn't better known. Vroman's retelling sheds new light on a woman of extraordinary talent." —Geetika Lizardi, TV writer (Bridgerton, House of David)
"A captivating story paired with absolutely stunning artwork. Joshua Kemble's attention to detail is nothing short of remarkable, and the intriguing characters and mystery had me hooked from page one. Truly inspiring work!" —David Hartman, showrunner for Transformers: Prime, Transformers: Robots in Disguise, and Jackie Chan Adventures, and director of Phantasm: Ravager
"A beautifully imagined, richly textured rendition of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's life." —Kate Evans, author of Patchwork: A Graphic Biography of Jane Austen
"Writer Lavender Vroman and artist Joshua Kemble's Not Death, But Love is an engaging look at a possible tale in the life of poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Built on what is known about Barrett Browning, this gorgeous graphic novel takes the reader into places unknown — like the supernatural séances that so entranced Victorian society — while exploring ideas of fame and friendship and then-forbidden love. Vroman's story takes place almost two hundred years ago, but its passions and jealousies are timeless. Kemble's pen-and-ink line has been on my radar for over a decade, but his distinctive drawing is enhanced by the exquisite color work at his command, boldly revitalizing the genteel atmosphere of the era. I enjoyed this immensely!" —Diana Schutz, editor of Frank Miller's Sin City and 300, Matt Wagner's Grendel, Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo, and Paul Chadwick's Concrete
"Sinister friendships meet striking literary figures across incredibly emotive panels." —Bianca Hernandez-Knight, Bookhoarding"This story, featuring poetry's premier power couple and their entanglement with a pair of dubious spirit mediums, breathes the fetid, swoony air of 19th-century romance. The jewel-toned art by Joshua Kemble glows like a Victorian miniature." —David Chelsea, author of Perspective! for Comic Book Artists and David Chelsea in Love
Lavender Vroman is a writer, editor, and former entertainment journalist, film critic, and pop culture blogger. Her obsession with Elizabeth Barrett Browning began in high school. While studying at the University of California, Santa Barbara, she researched the poet and began the screenplay that would become the basis for Not Death, But Love. Lavender lives in Southern California with her husband, Nick, and daughter, Eliza. She spends too much time thinking about Star Wars, movies, comic books, and romance novels.