Agnes, Murderess

Agnes, Murderess is a graphic novel inspired by the bloody legend of Agnes McVee, roadhouse owner, madam and serial killer, who is said to have murdered more than 50 people in the Cariboo region of British Columbia in the mid- to late nineteenth century. Available from Freehand Books and your local independent bookstore.

“I could not put Agnes, Murderess down. Gothic horror meets feminist history in this deceptively spare novel of a 19th century Scottish waif turned serial killer. Along the way, the characters and the reader alike are haunted by considerations of power stolen away and seized back, colonialism, loneliness, desire, obsession, friendship, and even love.”

ANNABEL LYON, author of
The Golden Mean and The Sweet Girl

“Agnes, Murderess haunted me in a way only brilliant stories can do. What a rich portrait of a mysterious and exceptional woman! Sarah Leavitt’s drawings are so delicate, fragile and beautiful that I feel for every single character in this book. I want to get them warm clothes and a bowl of soup. I wish them everlasting happiness and peace, but I am old enough to know that this is a childish wish that doesn’t make a great and epic tale like Agnes.”

 ANNA HAIFISCH, author of The Artist

Awards for Agnes

Joe Shuster Awards: Finalist for Best Cartoonist
Doug Wright Award for Best Book: Finalist
Vine Awards for Canadian Jewish Literature: Winner, Fiction
Alberta Book Publishing Awards: Winner for Speculative Fiction, shortlisted for Illustrated Books
Alcuin Society Book Design Awards: Second prize in Comic

Agnes in the media

Reviews
The Comics Journal
Quill and Quire
Vancouver Sun
Georgia Straight
CBC Radio Day Six

Lists
Globe and Mail: 12 books from independent publishers to add to your 2020 reading list
Globe and Mail: Best reading of the independent press 2019
CBC: Best comics of 2019
49th Shelf: Top fiction of 2019
CBC: 15 Comics to watch for this fall
The CBC fall reading list: 30 books to read now

Interviews
CBC Radio: North by Northwest
All Lit Up: Beautiful Books
CBC Books