Synopsis
In this graphic memoir, Fitzgerald paints a childhood full of sleepovers, playing dress-up, amateur fortune-telling and renting scary movies. Yet, Fitzgerald suspects that she is unlike her friends. The book navigates a child’s struggle with averageness, a preteen’s budding bisexuality and a young woman’s return after rejection. Fitzgerald takes us from her first kiss to a life sworn to singlehood, while weaving in allusions to witches in history and popular culture. Long Red Hair alluringly delves into the mystique of red hair and the beguiling nature of alternative romantic relationships.
From: Conundrum Press
Notes on This Title
Fitzgerald identifies as bisexual in the text, but explains in an afterword that she now identifies as queer.
Awards
2016 Autostraddle Comic and Sequential Art Awards Shortlist — Favorite Graphic Novel/Book
Reviews
“Long Red Hair by Meags Fitzgerald packs more emotional and educational punch in its less-than-a-hundred pages than many books three times its size. It jumps through time, telling the story of Fitzgerald’s growth and exploration of her own identity, sexuality and what it means for her to be a woman. I quickly fell in love with this book, even when it was destroying my emotions. I also feel like I learned more about vampire bats, real-life witch hunts and the history of celibacy than I ever could have expected I would from a graphic novel.” (Source: Autostraddle)
Interviews
Broadly: “‘Long Red Hair’: A Graphic Memoir About Witches and Coming Out as Bisexual“