Ruth Tait

In 1879, in colonial Toronto, an educated female physician was put on trial for daring to practice medicine in a country that did not allow women doctors. This short graphic novel chronicles an incident when a young servant woman, Sarah Lovell, was found dead three months after visiting Dr. Emily Stowe's office. That death set in motion a Coroner's inquest and a criminal trial that put Stowe's career, her freedom, and her family on the line.
Based on verbatim court transcripts and newspaper accounts of the day, this graphic novel follows the true story of one of Canada's pioneering women doctors and suffragists, and the fight for women's right to practice medicine, control their own bodies, and be heard in a courtroom built for men.