Tarot: A Graphic History: Pamela Colman Smith's Story of Arcana, Symbols & Magic - Hardcover

by Valentina Grande (Author)

Discover the remarkable story behind the art that defined the classic Rider-Waite Tarot deck.

Tarot: A Graphic History brings Pamela Colman Smith's life, creativity and mystical influences to vivid life, offering readers a deeper appreciation of the cards and the woman who created them.

Pamela Colman Smith: artist, occultist, true bohemian. Her illustrations defined the iconography of the classic tarot deck, but she is all too often forgotten.

Born in London in 1878, Pamela moved to Jamaica with her parents at the age of eleven and then to New York to study art. She dropped out of college following her mother's death in 1896, and after her father died in 1899 she found herself back in London, joining the infamous Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a secret society dedicated to the study of occultism. It was there that she met Arthur Edward Waite, with whom she created the classic Rider-Waite Tarot deck that is still in print today.

This beautifully illustrated graphic history tells the tale of Pamela's life and relates it to the iconic cards she helped to create, from the Fool, the beginning of every new adventure, to the Magician, who focusses energy, to the Hanged Man, who helps us see things from a different perspective, until finally we embrace the World and fulfil our destinies.

With tarot expertise and a foreword from Lindsay Squire, a.k.a. The Witch of the Forest, this is a unique take on a perennially popular subject. You'll never look at a tarot deck in the same way again.

Tarot: A Graphic History is part of a visually stunning series that also includes Witchcraft: A Graphic History and Goddesses: A Graphic History, each exploring magic, mysticism, and the extraordinary women behind these traditions.

Author Biography

Valentina Grande is a teacher and scriptwriter. She is also a radio conductor of literary programs such as: Simply Salinger, and 42 La risposta, broadcast on Radio Onda d'Urto and Radio CittàFujiko.

She is the accomplished author of the 2018 publications Il mio Salinger (later translated into French) and Raymond Carver, una storia. In 2020 she published the book Feminist Art (also published in Germany, USA, Great Britain, Spain, France and Korea). In 2021 she published Bauhaus, l'idea che ha cambiato il mondo. This book was also published in France, Germany, UK and USA. Her most recent work is on Gertrude Stein and the Lost Generation: Gertrude Stein e la generazione perduta, first published in France (subsequently translated into Italian and then published also in Germany and Spain). In April 2025 her new book titled Les nageuses de minuit will be published in France and Belgium.

Valentina Grande lives and works in Bologna (Italy).

Chiara Raimondi (b. 1996) is an Italian comic artist known for her deeply introspective approach to character development, using colour, light and shadow to explore psychological depth. She has worked on several prominent graphic novels, including L'Agente Segreto (Shockdom, 2019) and Vittoria Colonna (Kleiner Flug, 2022), as well as The Cabinet (Image Comics, 2024). Her recent works include Memoires d'Alexandrie (Ankama Editions, 2022) and La Luce e Lo Spazio (Feltrinelli Comics, 2023). She also collaborates with other major publishers, including Mondadori and Pearson, and her illustrations can be found in various anthologies.