''Dotter of Her Father's Eyes'' is a 2012 graphic novel written by

Mary M. Talbot Mary Talbot is a British academic and author. She has written several well received academic works in critical discourse analysis and since 2009 has turned her hand to freelance writing. Her first graphic novel ''Dotter of Her Father's Eyes'', pu ...

with artwork by her husband,

Bryan Talbot Bryan Talbot (born 24 February 1952) is a British comics artist and writer, best known as the creator of '' The Adventures of Luther Arkwright'' and its sequels '' Heart of Empire'' and '' The Legend of Luther Arkwright'', as well as the ''Gra ...

. It is part memoir, and part biography of

Lucia Joyce Lucia Anna Joyce (26 July 1907 – 12 December 1982) was an Irish professional dancer and the daughter of Irish writer James Joyce and Nora Barnacle. Once treated by Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung, Joyce was diagnosed as schizophrenic in the mid ...

, daughter of modernist writer

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...

Synopsis

Mary Talbot recounts her childhood in

Preston, Lancashire Preston () is a city on the north bank of the River Ribble in Lancashire, England. The city is the administrative centre of the county of Lancashire and the wider City of Preston, Lancashire, City of Preston local government district. Preston ...

, focusing upon her relationship with her father, Joycean scholar James S. Atherton. Talbot became a scholar herself, working in critical discourse analysis and publishing about

language and gender Research into the many possible relationships, intersections and tensions between language and gender is diverse. This field crosses disciplinary boundaries, and, as a bare minimum, could be said to encompass work notionally housed within appli ...

. The book juxtaposes Talbot's childhood with that of

, the daughter of

. Inspired by Carol Shloss's 2003 biography of Lucia, it covers her ambitions in dance and her deteriorating mental condition.

Writing

reflects on the differences in collaborating with his wife and his normal collaborations with writers. Explaining the process to the ''

Sunderland Echo The ''Sunderland Echo'' is a daily newspaper serving the City of Sunderland, Sunderland, South Tyneside and Easington (district), East Durham areas of North East England. The newspaper was founded by Samuel Storey (Liberal politician), Samuel ...

'', Talbot says, " e usual state of affairs is you get a script through the post or by email and that is the end of the collaboration. You illustrate, you design the page and tell the story. But this time, Mary would come down to the studio to watch me work and suggest things. I would suggest changes to the script to make it clearer or to get a point across, then we would discuss it over dinner.” Rather than have Bryan rework the art, Mary identified inaccuracies by inserting footnotes throughout the book.

Reception

The book was largely received positively by critics. Writing for ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'',

Rachel Cooke Rachel Cooke (born 1969) is a British journalist and writer. Early life Cooke was born in Sheffield, England, and is the daughter of a university lecturer in botany and a biology teacher. She went to school in Jaffa, Israel, until she was 11 ...

wrote that " th narratives are elegantly done. Talbot has a keen eye for the revealing detail, an important skill if you are working in comics. She makes connections, but never labours them." ''The Telegraph''s review was similarly positive, labelling the book: "ambitious, entertaining and perceptive and blends a first-time script from Mary Talbot with stunning drawings and design from her husband, Bryan ( Luther Arkwright, '' Grandville'', '' Alice in Sunderland''). It’s a small triumph." The book won the 2012 Costa biography award.

References

{{reflist 2012 comics debuts 2012 graphic novels Autobiographical graphic novels British graphic novels British memoirs Graphic novels set in England Graphic novels set in Ireland Costa Book Award–winning works Jonathan Cape books Comics based on real people Comics about children Child characters in comics Graphic novels set in the 1920s Graphic novels set in the 1930s Graphic novels set in the 1950s Graphic novels set in the 1960s Works set in psychiatric hospitals Psychotherapy in fiction Fiction about schizophrenia Comics set in hospitals