Posy Simmonds. “When I was very young, I wanted to be a boy. when I realized that it was not possible, I wanted to be an artist”

In his graphic novels there is the most delicious English spirit. acid humor that evokes the side of the blue flower, an ultra-simple view of the world and times that doesn’t allow itself to be taken too seriously. The heroines, too, whose faults he paints with tenderness, and their successes with irony; The grand dame of British comics, Posy Simmonds, gained international fame thanks to the characters who gave their names to three of her works: Gemma Bowery (1), Tamara Drew (2), and: Cassandra Dark (3); the first two are the subject of film adaptations, by Anne Fontaine (in 2014) and Stephen Frears (in 2010), starring Gemma Arterton. Until 1^eh April 2024, Posy Simmonds, 78, is the subject of a retrospective at the Center Pompidou Public Information Library in Paris (4). It is a chance to rediscover the sketches and behind the scenes of these pioneering works, but also to immerse yourself in his press drawings, his spicy pictures of the small world of publishing or his illustrations for children. Every time with the same stinging look. Meeting.

Painting for everyone

Madame Figaro: You grew up in the English countryside in the 1950s. How did you discover your talent for drawing and who were your models, your sources of inspiration?

Posy Simmonds: When I was very young, I wanted to be a boy. When I realized that it was not possible, I wanted to be an artist because there is someone in my village who was wonderful. every week he invited the children to his studio and treated them like real artists. He gave us real brushes, good paper, and we painted all morning. I wanted to be like him, and I guess that never left me.

Then you started your career in press cartoons, a very masculine environment. how did you find your way there? Have you encountered difficulties?

When I left university, I knew I wanted to work in press or publishing, so I made a list of newspaper editors and art directors I could think of and researched them for three months. I was not aware of the very masculine side of this environment, as artistic directorships were often held by women. When I started working Keeper, my editors were women. I worked on the women’s pages, so in a way I was part of the organization. It wasn’t until a few months later that I realized what this environment was all about. Back then, all the newsrooms were on the same street, Fleet Street, with pubs where everyone gathered to drink. We may have been just two women, but because it was all very informal, I didn’t feel out of place. I just remember a reporter, not a cartoonist, telling me that I probably got my job by flirting with the editor-in-chief.

When you worked in the women’s section of a newspaper, did you appeal to a female reader or a gender-neutral audience?

I have appealed to everyone. Every year at Keeper, we wondered if we should keep the women’s division, and the answer was always yes. In the 1970s it was important because it was quite innovative, it was one of the front pages where you could talk about equal pay, abortion, divorce, women’s rights in general. It had a reputation for being designed by fierce feminists; some were, others weren’t, and there were also moderates. But it was an interesting time, and slowly other papers began to cover the same topics. As for the readers, I have been instructed to address the readers Keeper in general. And when I received letters, half of them were written by men and half by women.

When I received a letter, half were written by men and half by women

Liberated women

The heroines of your graphic novels seem to have one thing in common: they’re letting go of the idea that romantic love is essential to their happiness. You consciously wanted to convey this message.

Yes, especially with Gemma who modeled Emma Bovary. Emma read cheap romance novels. Gemma is a dentist’s daughter who lost her mother at a very young age and is disliked by her stepmother. So I imagined him spending his youth in his father’s waiting room, flipping through magazines showing impossibly beautiful homes, society weddings, and dreaming about the lifestyle. Later, he adopts another typical English dream: to live in France, in the countryside; you get the impression that the authenticity, the simplicity of the place will dust you and make you a better person. Only slowly does he gain confidence in himself and regain control of his life. As for Cassandra, she is very cynical. unlike most women, she does not care to please, but even alienates everyone. So she’s a lot freer than most women.

Reading your works, we ask ourselves: is romanticism the enemy of feminism?

That’s a big question. Romanticism is nice. you might enjoy reading Jane Austen, for example. Mr. Darcy is scary, but also pretty sexy, and we’re glad Elizabeth Bennet “got” him in the end. In fairy tales, Snow White always marries her Prince Charming and they “lived happily ever after and had many children.” When I was little, I asked my mother. “Okay, but then what did he do?” It felt like nothing was happening. Nothing but a smooth life.

New faces

The Me Too movement and new waves feminism Have they influenced your painting?

I think I always try to be aware of the implications of what I draw. But if I portray a black nurse in a hospital, people often send me emails accusing me of being bigoted, explaining that I should give black people more ambitious roles. And if I draw a black doctor, they tell me that I am too. There is never a winner. But I have always tried to paint people in all their diversity. Especially women. the prettiest are also the most boring to paint. This is why I had so much fun drawing Cassandra. I also think of Gemma, who gets fat and then forces herself to lose weight. I wanted to show that it is still a chain that has enslaved us. Just as Madame Bovary was caught in many shackles in the 19th century, we are still defined by our contours, our age. All this is still there. These stereotypes are still very present.

Cassandra is a woman of a certain age, unattractive and very unlikeable at the beginning of the story. A type of character we rarely see. What interested you in him?

I liked the fact that by drawing him, I gave him a kind of armor to protect himself from the world; hence this chocolate coat and these big boots. However, what is interesting about the characters of mature women is that they have lived a lot, they have experience, this is what characterizes them. Cassandra in the book is about 79 years old. he had time to become cynical. I also love the imprint that this life has sometimes left on these women’s faces. I think I’m deeply interested in people’s lives.

(1) Gemma Bowery, 2000, Ed. Denoël Graphic:
(2) Tamara Drew, 2008, Ed. Denoël Graphic:
(3) Cassandra Drake, 2019, Ed. Denoël Graphic:
(4) Posy Simmons, “Picture Literature”, until April 1, 2024 at the Public Information Library of the Center Pompidou, Paris. Real loveexhibition catalogue, complete with interview and previously unpublished material, available from Denoël Graphics.