“This book features exquisite, breathtaking artwork and tells a moving tale of sorrow and devotion, leaving a lingering resonance that stays with you long after you’ve turned the last page. The story follows the love between two poets—interspersed with séances, swindlers, and an utterly astonishing love triangle—and it genuinely surprised me to learn how little known Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s story remains. Frohman’s retelling breathes new life into this extraordinarily talented woman.” —Geetika Lizardi, television screenwriter for *Bridgerton* and *David Makes Man*

“An engrossing narrative paired with stunning art. Joshua Kemble’s attention to detail is nothing short of masterful, and his compelling characters along with the suspense‑filled plot gripped me from the very first page. This is truly a work that takes your breath away!” —David Hartman, producer of *Transformers: Prime*, *Transformers: Robots in Disguise*, and *Jackie Chan Adventures*, as well as director of *Phantom: The Reckoning*

“This story weaves together the entanglements of a pair of literary luminaries and a duo of dubious spiritualists, suffused with the decadent, dreamlike aura of nineteenth‑century romantic love. Joshua Kemble’s illustrations are richly colored, evoking the miniature paintings of the Victorian era.” —David Chelsea, author of *From a Cartoonist’s Perspective!* and *David Chelsea in Love*

“The work portrays Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s life with graceful imagination and meticulous detail.” —Kate Evans, author of *Patchwork: A Graphic Biography of Jane Austen*

“This book by writer Ravinder Frohman and artist Joshua Kemble brings to life, in captivating fashion, a possible chapter from the life of the poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Grounded in what is known of Barrett Browning’s biography, this beautifully rendered graphic novel ventures into little‑explored territory—such as the supernatural séances that captivated Victorian society—while exploring themes of fame, friendship, and the forbidden loves of the time. Though Frohman’s tale unfolds nearly two centuries ago, its passions and jealousies transcend time. I’ve admired Kemble’s pen‑and‑ink style for over a decade, and his masterful use of color only enhances his distinctive visual voice, boldly recapturing the elegance of that era. I absolutely loved this work!” —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*

“Devious friendships and striking literary figures intertwine within deeply evocative imagery.” —Bianca Hernandez‑Knight, *Book Hoarder*

★ The hidden life of a legendary female poet has been brought to vivid life in the most haunting graphic novel of the Victorian era! Lavender Fromm weaves a narrative grounded in archival research and the poet’s letters, while Joshua Kemble lends it flesh with Zerith Prize–winning comics art, meticulously recreating the story behind the iconic sonnet “How Do I Love Thee.”
★ A graphic novel that seamlessly bridges literature, history, and Gothic aesthetics! With its stylized visual storytelling, this book reimagines the tale of Elizabeth Barrett Browning—the poet of “How Do I Love Thee”—tracing her illness, coming-of-age, elopement, healing, and marriage, all interwoven with supernatural suspense, making the historical context of her poetry, the awakening of women, and 19th‑century cultural history both tangible and compelling.
★ This gothic graphic novel offers a moving, poetic journey into the inner worlds of Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning. It is also a literary love story, leaping off the page through expressive visuals and an atmosphere‑rich narrative.
★ A contemporary exploration of emotion and ideas, destined to captivate literature buffs, graphic novel enthusiasts, and lovers of Victorian culture alike! Set within a darkly romantic Gothic ambiance, it probes the timeless tensions between passion and repression, faith and doubt, hope and despair—combining the depth of a literary biography with profound psychological resonance.

This book, the result of meticulous research and adorned with Victorian‑style illustrations, tells in a hauntingly romantic vein the true story of the poet who penned the iconic Sonnet 43, the one that begins, “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.”
From childhood, the poet Elizabeth Barrett was frail and ill; yet even while leading a reclusive life in her overbearing father’s household, she came to enjoy widespread renown in Victorian England. She was forced to rely on morphine to ease the suffering caused by her mysterious ailment, all the while living in dread of death. Unexpectedly, she fell in love with the handsome poet Robert Browning, who took her to Florence, Italy, setting them both free. Elizabeth was captivated by her new home and by the revolutionary spirit of the Italian Risorgimento, basking in the joy of a happy marriage and newfound health.
Yet an unrelenting grief weighed upon her, and as a wave of supernatural fervor—known as spiritualism—spread from America to Europe, she too became drawn into a world steeped in mystery. During a visit to London, she witnessed firsthand the extraordinary powers of the famed medium Daniel Dunglas Home, who claimed to summon the spirits of the departed. Robert instantly took a dislike to Home, sparking a bitter rivalry between the two men, while Elizabeth found herself deeply enchanted by Sophie Eakley, a charismatic Boston heiress. The two women embarked on a series of séance experiments that threatened to unravel Elizabeth and Robert’s bond as soulmates.
Blending historical fact with tantalizing supernatural elements, this book interweaves spiritist meetings, ghostly apparitions, and questions about the afterlife with Elizabeth’s personal awakening and emotional turmoil—while her love for Robert is put to the test.
This graphic novel weaves in the supernatural to retell the legendary tale of the Barretts–Browning, exploring the timeless tensions between passion and repression, faith and doubt, hope and despair.

Lavender Vroman (Author)
Lavender Vroman is a writer and editor who has worked as an entertainment journalist, film critic, and pop culture blogger. Her fascination with Elizabeth Barrett Browning began in high school. While studying English literature at the University of California, Santa Barbara, she delved into the poet’s work and started writing a screenplay that would later serve as the foundation for this project. Lavender lives in Southern California with her husband Nick and their daughter Eliza. She is often lost in the worlds of Star Wars, pop culture, and all kinds of books—especially romance, comics, fantasy, and science fiction.

Joshua Kemble (Illustrator)
Joshua Kemble is a full‑time art director, freelance illustrator, professional comic artist, and art teacher, as well as a recipient of the Xeric Award. He creates and illustrates his own comics while also producing freelance artwork for T‑shirts, magazines, and other media. Known for his introspective narrative style and bold black‑and‑white illustrations, his clients include such renowned institutions as Scholastic, Random House, Abrams, Merrill Lynch, Nintendo, the Los Angeles Lakers, and The Washington Post. His comics have appeared in various anthologies and self‑published mini‑comics. He is the author of the graphic memoir Two Stories and the graphic novel Jacob’s Apartment, which explore themes of faith, doubt, mental health, and coming of age. A devoted comic book enthusiast, Joshua was born in 1980 in Tarzana, California, and grew up in Antelope Valley. He graduated from California State University, Long Beach with both a BFA and an MFA in illustration, and occasionally teaches design and illustration courses at the university. Through live streams, podcasts, and behind‑the‑scenes glimpses, Joshua shares his creative process to support and inspire other independent creators; he was formerly a co‑host of the illustration podcast “Big Illustration Party Time” and now hosts two shows, “The Art Podcast” and “48 Hours of Art Check.” He is also a member of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Association of Composers. Joshua currently lives in Lancaster, California, with his wife and fellow artist May S. Kemble and their son Benjamin.