Comics & Graphic Novels Nonfiction
The Case of Alan Turing
The Extraordinary and Tragic Story of the Legendary Codebreaker
- Publisher
- Arsenal Pulp Press
- Initial publish date
- Sep 2016
- Category
- Nonfiction, World War II, Gay & Lesbian
-
Board book
- ISBN
- 9781551526508
- Publish Date
- Sep 2016
- List Price
- $23.95
Classroom Resources
Where to buy it
Description
Lambda Literary Award finalist
Alan Turing, subject of the Oscar-winning 2014 film The Imitation Game, was the brilliant mathematician solicited by the British government to help decipher messages sent by Germany's Enigma machines during World War II. The work of Turing and his colleagues at Hut 8 saved countless lives and millions' worth of British goods and merchandise.
At the same time, as a homosexual he was forced to lead a tortured, secret life. After a young man stole money from him, he went to the police, where he confessed his homosexuality; he was charged with gross indecency and only avoided prison after agreeing to undergo chemical castration. Tragically, he committed suicide two years later.
The particulars of Turing's achievements were only made known in 2012, following the release of once-classified papers. Authors Liberge and Delalande used this information to create a graphic biography that is scientifically rigorous yet understandable for the lay reader.
Delving deeper into Turing's life than The Imitation Game, this graphic work is an intimate portrayal of a brilliant gay man living in an intolerant world.
About the authors
Eric Liberge has authored or co-authored over thirty graphic novels in his native France, including books on Versailles and World War II, as well as numerous books in the fantasy genre.
Arnaud Delalande is the author of nine novels as well as numerous graphic novels in France, including Le Piege de Dante (Dante's Trap), translated into twenty languages. His prizes include le Prix du Roman d'Evasion and le Prix Charles-Oulmont de la Fondation de France.
Arnaud Delalande's profile page
David Homel was born in Chicago in 1952 and left that city in 1970 for Paris, living in Europe the next few years on odd jobs and odder couches. He has published eight novels, from Electrical Storms in 1988 to The Teardown, which won the Paragraph Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction in 2019. He has also written young adult fiction with Marie-Louise Gay, directed documentary films, worked in TV production, been a literary translator, journalist, and creative writing teacher. He has translated four books for Linda Leith Publishing: Bitter Roase (2015), (2016), Nan Goldin: The Warrior Medusa (2017) and Taximan (2018). Lunging into the Underbrush is his first book of non-fiction. He lives in Montreal.
Awards
- Short-listed, Lambda Literary Award
Editorial Reviews
As so often happens when a historical figure becomes a pop icon, something gets left out in the process, and forcing Turing's life into the familiar mold of the tortured genius is reductive and misleading. This new graphic novel offers a fuller portrait of Turing as a human being while also honoring his many intellectual accomplishments.
-Popmatters.com
Arnaud Delalande succeeded in making me care for Turing beyond his well known accomplishments. And Eric Liberge's art throughout is an absolute marvel for the eyes. -Gay League
The presentation of Turing as towering intellect harrowed by guilt and despair gestures toward some of the best examples of the American comic book, particularly the self doubting, dark super heroes of the Marvel comics. Think of this character, and this book, as an implausible but nonetheless successful blend of Batman and Crime and Crime and Punishment's Raskolnikov. -Vancouver Sun
An eminently readable book that's pleasantly informative, even philosophically edifying. -subTerrain
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