A HIDDEN BOOK. A FIERY SHIPWRECK. A LOST ISLAND.
In a lighthouse off the coast of Norway, a book is found within the debris of a small boat. It contains pictures and stories, written in several hands. Together, they tell the tale of a volcanic island in the North Atlantic called Tokket Fall, lost a century before, and of the community that lived there—people, animals, and mythical beings.
Its story told through over one hundred original drawings and paintings in addition to vibrant writing, this extraordinary novel explores the philosophy, tragedy, and humor of what is contained in our collective history and what we choose to hand down to one another. It reminds us that how we live in our world says much about who we are.
Deborah Brown English grew up on Maryland's Upper Eastern Shore, and originally intended to be a fiction writer, studying English and creative writing at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. She graduated from MICA with honors in 1985, and her work has been exhibited in Maryland at Steven Scott Gallery, Paper Rock Scissors, the Annual Gala Show of the Choral Arts Society of Baltimore, the Academy Museum, and at the former Sales and Rental Gallery at the Baltimore Museum of Art; as well as in galleries in Pennsylvania and Nebraska. She and her husband, Philip, live in Baltimore and are known together for their joint collecting and support of the arts.
"A daringly innovative book that pairs the author's fables (think José Saramago or Robert Louis Stevenson) with her own paintings and drawings (J. M. W. Turner crossed with N. C. Wyeth). A dialectic in which the whole is far greater than the sum of the parts. Powerful stuff!" — John Benditt, author of The Boatmaker
"A born storyteller, Deborah English is equally masterful at creating through words and paint a world with its own exotic history and atmosphere. This is a dark, funny, astoundingly rich graphic novel full of dramatic surprises. The author/artist creates a time-defying fairy tale, and she does it with such conviction, invention, and seemingly thorough research that it sings true and on key." — Barry Nemett, Professor of Drawing & Painting, Maryland Institute College of Art
"When I was a child, many high-quality, large-format books for young readers explored foreign lands and told detailed tall tales. They were big, beautifully bound, designed with gold embossed lettering, every interior detail was fine, and all the text was vividly illustrated. These books weren’t affordable for a working-class, prairie-bound family like mine, but they were available at the local library and many at school. Illustrators such as Arthur Rackham, Maxfield Parrish, Edmund Dulac, N.C. Wyeth, E.H. Shepard, Beatrix Potter, and Norman Rockwell, to name a few, added a new dimension to these books. They expanded the stories, adding depth and wonder that appealed to readers of all ages, prompting revisits to marvel at the imagery. When I received a review copy of Deborah Brown English’s new book Time’s Breath, An Odyssey in Words and Pictures, it transported me back to that golden age of publishing. As I sat down with the book and flipped through its pages, I discovered something more intricate—a modern reinterpretation of this genre." –– Jack Livingston, Bmore Art
"I felt like I was reading a newly discovered mythological text when I opened the cover to Deborah Brown English’s Time’s Breath: An Odyssey in Words and Pictures. From the alluring (and fictional) preface, to the stunning artwork, to the mix of old English culture with a fantasy volcanic island off Scandinavia, I was captivated. This book is part creation myth, part colonial exploits misfired, and part love story. I found it an oasis of imagination and could not put it down. Every page is a visual feast." –– Martha Anne Toll, Baltimore Fishbowl
"'I want to combine narrative and image, language and paint. I want them together.' And that is what happens in Deborah Brown English‘s debut illustrated novel, Time’s Breath: An Odyssey in words and Pictures." –– Judith Krummeck, WBJC's Booknotes
"Writing your first book in your 70s may seem like a daunting process, but English notes her age and experience as being an advantage. She’s already hard at work on her next project: 'Muses of Agrigento,' another automatic painting series. 'I feel more confident as an artist than I did before,' she says. 'I’ve been at it for a long time.'" –– Jillian Diamond, Baltimore Style
"Baltimore author Deborah Brown English’s first novel, 'Time’s Breath,' is unconventional: It mixes her prose with the author’s own oil and graphite illustrations, weaving together a fantastical tale about a young sailor who finds a mythical volcanic island in the North Atlantic." ––Wesley Case, The Baltimore Banner
