Constance Maud was at the heart of the British campaign for women’s votes. Her novel No Surrender was published at the height of that struggle and used as a persuasive tool by suffragists. Jenny Clegg is a wonderful working-class hero,” says Sophie. “We were drawn to her vitality and turn of phrase because of our childhoods. No Surrender was written in part as a recruiting tool for the suffrage movement, and the way it explores things from the point of view of all kinds of women from all walks of life adds to the sense of unity. Jenny, Mary and Alice all have individual strengths and challenges, and there is something there to relate to.” No Surrender is like a sister volume to The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists,” says Scarlett. “Maud was an active suffragette, writing fiction in the same era about her authentic experience of living a marginalised life. While The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists examined the arguments for and against socialism, No Surrender explores the battle for equality, how women were regarded, and the ethics of civil disobedience.” The Sculptor – Scott McCloud’s Return to Fiction is a Towering Achievement, but Not Quite a Masterpiece

No Surrender by Sophie Rickard published by Selfmadehero No Surrender by Sophie Rickard published by Selfmadehero

As they saw the success of their work translating Tressell into another literary form, Maud’s book came on their radar. This is a fascinating story and equally an important piece of social history – deserving a modern audience. But written in a language that reads like a period piece, No Surrender was ready to be updated. The pair are recent arrivals in the graphic novel world and are planning a third political tome from the same era. NORD – Martin Simpson’s Norse Epic is a Stunningly Illustrated Tale of Mortality and Lineage October 31, 2023Starlit Lovers – Lor Phoenix and KitsuneArt’s Touching “Sapphic Slice-of-Life Romance” Debuts at Thought Bubble October 30, 2023 It was read as a call to arms, told through the story of mill worker Jenny Clegg, who lives in a northern industrial town.

No Surrender by Scarlett and Sophie Rickard review – the long No Surrender by Scarlett and Sophie Rickard review – the long

No Surrender was nominated in last year’s Broken Frontier Awards in the Best Graphic Novel category. A book that still has much to say a century on and one that in these dark times is a reminder that the fight for civil rights is a never-ending one. No Surrender, they felt, could be tweaked to bring Maud’s message to an audience 110 years after it was written. Finding ways to update it the story without losing its power was key, the sisters say. Books like Maud’s No Surrender have survived by being discovered by a narrow set of readers – historians and activists. By moving the action from Maud’s prose to their eye catching illustrations, the sisters hope her message reaches as many as possible. Tressell was a decorator who wrote about economics from his working-class point of view, and died in poverty in 1911 before it was published,” says Scarlett. “It was a difficult book in prose form, and we wanted to make it more accessible because it contains important ideas.” No Surrender is a good book with engaging characters, exciting events and romance,” says Sophie. “What you don’t see in the graphic novel are the bits we left out – cringey dialogue, references modern readers wouldn’t understand and extraneous detail. We hope people familiar with the original will feel we’ve done it justice.”

Illustrating London in 1910 required research. No Surrender has a deeply immersive world for the words to play out across. We have begun to think of the 1910s as ‘our era’ and relish the task of world-building in an authentic way,” says Scarlett. “Design, style and subtle social cues about relative prosperity are all part of the book’s richness. We have to think about things like lighting – electricity, gas, or candles? – and transport – motor car, horse or walking? – in different ways without getting carried away with historical detail.” The original novel is written in a visual style, and was less of a challenge to adapt than The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists. What makes No Surrender work is the way the relevance to our current lives shines through the story. Jenny Clegg is a Lancashire mill-hand with dreams of equality and freedom. Along with friends from every walk of life, she brings the fight to the Prime Minister’s door – and suffers for her cause. Written by a Suffragette from the heat of the battle, this novel is a vivid social record of a tumultuous era, told through the lives of a broad cast of powerful characters.