Woman Rebel: The Margaret Sanger Story by Peter Bagge

Wife, mother, nurse, birth-control activist, fiery-haired firebrand.  Peter Bagge draws and writes all of these sides of the outspoken Margaret Sanger in this non-fiction graphic novel.  While reading this book, one gets the sense of a life lived so large it can not be contained within the pages.  As the text must leap from milestone to milestone, selections of pivotal points in Sanger’s life can easily be delineated and examined by a class looking to gain historical perspective of the women’s rights movement.  Bagge elaborates further on his text by way of back matter providing historical context, additional information, and revealing editorial decisions.  The comic book style illustrations make Sanger’s story accessible to mature readers.  --Anne Lotito-Schuh

Bagge, Peter. Woman Rebel: The Margaret Sanger Story. Montreal: Drawn & Quarterly, 2013. Print.