Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Anne Lister, Carol Adlam, Eliza Raine, feminist Virago, Gentleman Jack, graphic novel

Carol Adlam's Graphic Novel About Gentleman Jack's First Wife, Eliza

Carol Adlam is creating Eliza. Being a True History of Eliza Raine, a graphic novel inspired by Gentleman Jack Anne Lister’s first “wife”

Published Sat, 13 Jun 2026 05:58:11 -0500

by Rich Johnston

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Article Summary

Carol Adlam’s Eliza is a new graphic novel inspired by Gentleman Jack Anne Lister’s first “wife,” Eliza Raine.
Virago will publish Eliza in summer 2028 after Sarah Savitt acquired world all-language rights from James Spackman.
Based on Eliza Raine’s letters, the book explores love, queerness, race, empire, and her tragic fate in York.
Virago says the story reaches beyond Gentleman Jack fans, with Adlam bringing Eliza’s vivid Regency world to life.

Carol Adlam is creating Eliza. Being a True History of Eliza Raine.A graphic novel inspired by Gentleman Jack Anne Lister's first "wife" and British Indian woman Eliza Raine. And the feminist-focused publisher Virago will be publishing it in the summer of 2028, after publisher Sarah Savitt acquired world all-language rights to Eliza from Carol Adlam's agent James Spackman at The Bks Agency.

Carol Adlam's Graphic Novel About Gentleman Jack's First Wife, Eliza — Carol Adlam's Eliza. Being a True History of Eliza Raine

"Headstrong, intelligent, and strikingly beautiful, Eliza lived on the very edge of what was permitted for an unprotected woman, until her path led her to the door of an infamous York lunatic asylum from which she never emerged. Eliza is based on Eliza's own letters, which are the only first-hand source that exists of life as a mixed-race woman in the Regency and Georgian period."

Sarah Savitt said: "Carol Adlam's illustrations are both intelligently inspired by history and utterly original – and simply gorgeous. I am thrilled that she has joined Virago, which also publishes Helena Whitbread's transcriptions of Anne Lister's diaries. But this will also be a graphic novel that appeals to readers beyond the Anne Lister fan base. It's a captivating story of love, queerness, empire, race and bravery."

Carol Adlam said: "I can't think of a better home for Eliza than Virago, a guiding star in my own life for decades now. Virago's commitment to uncovering and promoting women's voices means they are a perfect match with my work on Eliza Raine. I'm thrilled to be able to tell Eliza's tragic story and through the graphic medium to reveal the vivid world she inhabited, of thrills, promise and intrigue."

Carol Adlam is an artist, writer and researcher. Her graphic novels include The Russian Detective shortlisted in the 2026 V&A Illustration Awards Thinking Room, World Illustration Award Winner, Ministry of Women, WIA Shortlisted, and The New Wipers Times, WIA Shortlisted. She is associate professor of illustration at Nottingham Trent University and teaches creative writing at the University of Cambridge.