The Book: Charlotte and Francesca were best friends at university in the mid-1970s. But tensions coursed beneath their natural affection, deepening when Fran got together with Charlotte’s friend Adrian, and the two women drifted apart.
When Fran contacts Charlotte out of the blue with an unusual proposal – an invitation to live with her and Adrian in the rambling house they’ve bought in the countryside – Charlotte impulsively persuades her partner, Bill, to accept this tantalising promise of a new kind of community.
At first their new life feels utopian; life and space are shared joyfully. But it doesn’t take long for old tensions to rise to the surface, shattering their illusions and showing each of them in a new light…
The Review: Alarm bells often ring for me when a publisher throws hyperbole like “genre-defying” into its description of a new graphic novel, but in the case of Lizzy Stewart’s enjoyable illustrated novel about a “messy tangle of love, envy and desire that underpins our most precious relationships”, it’s entirely justified.
Melding text with illustration and beautifully choreographed sequential sections, I don’t think it’s inaccurate to describe The Wreck as a useful introduction to graphic novel storytelling for the many who have never picked one up. Plus, a powerful story, revolving around some complex relationships, helps draw you in very quickly, as the book title becomes much more than being the description of the shared house, where dreams are spun, then shattered, the inevitably of impending disaster foreshadowed early in the narrative.
Lizzy Stewart is not only an accomplished artist; as a storyteller she has a deft eye, and ear, for character, such that even the dislikable cast members to this story have plenty of depth to them. The mix of text, illustration and sequential works brilliantly, as Charlotte and Francesca dance around each other, and their respective partners, in every decreasing circles.
There’s a switch in narrative points of view toward the end of The Wreck that may strike some as odd to some, but I think it’s deliberately jarring nature works to good effect, and I’m particularly glad that the ending is left open, because, after all, that’s life.
Like many others, including Killian Fox at The Observer and BookMunch, I thoroughly enjoyed The Wreck, despite the subject matter. It was great to read such a powerful, if sad story, complemented by its artwork.
A glorious meld of prose, illustration and the sequential. Recommended.
John Freeman
• The Wreck by Lizzy Stewart, published by Jonathan Cape under its Vintage imprint, is available from all good bookshops | ISBN: 978-1787335318 | AmazonUK Affiliate Link | UKBookshop.org Affiliate Link |
Head downthetubes for…
• Lizzy Stewart shares a walkthrough of The Wreck
• Lizzy Stewart – Official Site | Instagram
Lizzy Stewart is an author based in London. She writes and illustrates books for both children and adults. In 2017 her picture book There’s a Tiger in the Garden won the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize and a World Illustration Award.
Her debut full-length novel Alison was published in 2022. She teaches Illustration at Goldsmiths, University of London and has also taught courses at the Tate and on behalf of the National Gallery.
FURTHER REVIEWS AND FEATURES
• The Observer Review by Killian Fox: Graphic novel of the month: The Wreck by Lizzy Stewart
• BookMunch: “Already one of our books of 2026” – The Wreck by Lizzy Stewart
• It’s Nice That: Lizzy Stewart’s The Wreck tells a messy love story like only an illustrator could
Lizzy outlines her storytelling process for The Wreck
- About the Author
- Latest Posts
John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: Art and Illustration, Books, British Comics - Current British Publishers, British Comics - Graphic Novels, Comics, Features, Other Worlds, Reviews
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