Lizzy Stewart is back with her second illustrated novel, The Wreck, following her much acclaimed debut Alison, and it’s a beauty. Described as ‘genre-defying’ for good reason, it combines comic panels, fully written prose and full-page painted illustrations, challenging the limits of what a book can be. “I’ve always thought I made books the way I do because I’m an illustrator, first and foremost,” Lizzy tells It’s Nice That. “So I’m always thinking in images as well as words.”
The story is about two friends, Francesca and Charlie, who have drifted apart in the 20 years since uni, but reunite in an unusual way by moving in together with their husbands in tow. For a while, communal living is utopian until “resentments and jealousies start to build, differences in class, confidence and freedoms start to interfere with the smooth running of their household and everything goes, well it goes a bit wrong”, describes Lizzy. A millennial herself and living in the most expensive city in the UK, Lizzy says the story was borne from “the conversation we’ve all had at some point – what if we all bought a house together? Generally I’m quite interested in how people live, what makes a good life, that sort of thing.” She was also inspired by how the artists Eric Ravillious and Edward Bawden lived together with their wives when they were all young. The illustrator is known for tackling themes of female relationships, reflections on class and art in her work, so the setting seemed fertile ground for a gloriously messy love story.
The format adds further layers to the story and how it is experienced. When she’s making picture books, like There’s a Tiger in the Garden and The Way to Treasure Island, Lizzy describes how she has to take a few sentences, and consider how imagery could make them richer. Aside from this being Lizzy’s process as an author, she says she also wants the reader to have “something to relish, a kind of richness they can really get stuck into. I want the book to look and feel like a treat.”