Tiodora's Letters: An Enslaved Woman's Fight for Family and Freedom

In the mid-19th century, millions of Africans were enslaved and brought to Brazil. Among them was the real-life Teodora who, separated from her husband and her son, worked in the home of a priest in São Paulo. Wishing to reconstruct the family ties lost during the journey from Africa to Brazil and to achieve emancipation for herself and her family, she gave Claro, a Black man who could read and write, money to help her write letters: some addressed to her husband and her son, whereabouts unknown, in the hopes that the letters would find them and that they could achieve this quest together; and some addressed to enslavers, intended to either help locate her family or to persuade them to let her buy her freedom.

Inspired by this correspondence, Tiodora's Letters is a rigorously researched historical work, a compelling narrative based on her letters, and masterfully drawn by D'Salete, who graphically recreates her struggle. In the 1860s, Benê, a fictional Black young man who likes Tiodora because she was kind to him, takes it upon himself to seek Tiô's family and deliver the letters. He embarks on a dangerous and world-building journey into the interior of Brazil and to the coffee plantations where they might be. There are many wordless passages of heartbreaking horror, character beats, breathtaking drawings of nature, and much more.

In Tiodora's Letters, D'Salete reconstructs a forgotten part of Brazil's dark history of slavery and pays tribute to the strength of a woman who fought for her rights single-handedly. Includes educational and contextual material.

Author: Marcelo D'Salete
Publisher: Fantagraphics Books
Published: 04/07/2026
Pages: 204
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.53lbs
Size: 10.17h x 7.63w x 1.04d
ISBN: 9798875001710


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 04/13/2026
Booklist 03/01/2026

About the Author
D'Salete, Marcelo: - Brazilian cartoonist Marcelo D'Salete is a graduate of the University of Sao Paulo with a degree in fine arts. He is an acclaimed illustrator, teacher, and historical author who lives in Italy.Rosenberg, Andrea: - Andrea Rosenberg is a translator who has worked on a variety of novels and graphic narratives in Spanish and Portuguese. Her translations of the graphic novels Run For It by Marcelo D'Salete and The House by Paco Roca won Eisner Awards in 2018 and 2020, respectively.