One of the biggest shows this summer has been the BBC’s Gentleman Jack. Set in 1832, the show explores the life of Anne Lister (Portrayed by Suranne Jones in the show, and shown in the featured image of this article), a wealthy land owner and industrialist who refused to conform to the gender standards of the Victorian period. One of the main themes of the show is Anne’s sexuality, showing the struggles involved in being a lesbian in Victorian society. The show is based upon the extensive collection of Anne’s diaries, many of which were written in a coded language of her own design. This body of work serves as an excellent source, offering unique insight into the life of an LGBTQ+ person in Victorian society, as well as providing several commentaries on politics, science and Anne’s European travels.
It is for her relationships with women that Anne is best known for, frequently writing several rather graphic descriptions of these affairs in her coded diaries. Her relationship with Ann Walker was so committed that the two would take communion together in Holy Trinity Church in York, and would afterwards consider themselves married. This is often considered to be the first lesbian marriage to be held in Britain, and the church now has a blue plaque with rainbow edging, containing the words:
‘Anne Lister 1791–1840 of Shibden Hall, Halifax / Lesbian and Diarist; took sacrament here to seal her union with Ann Walker / Easter 1834’
Anne lived a highly interesting live outside of that shown in the excellent TV show. She was extremely well travelled, visiting central Europe several times, but she would also travel to Russia and Georgia where she would eventually die from a fever. Anne, alongside her wife Ann Walker and two servants, were among the first western woman to visit these areas which had become potentially violent due to the ongoing struggle amongst the locals against the Tsarist regime. In fact the group did occasionally have need for a military guard to escort them through certain dangerous areas. They were quite a sight to the locals with Anne noting in her diary ‘The people came to look at us as if we were some strange animals such as they had not seen the like before’.
Much of Lister’s life was spent at Shibden Hall in West Yorkshire which she inherited from her aunt upon her death in 1836. Lister spent much of her own fortune, and that of her wife Ann Walker, upon renovating the Tudor mansion constructing the gothic style tower that serves as the hall’s library alongside a tunnel underneath the building allowing her servants to move around the property without disturbing her.
It’s clear that Anne Lister lived a very interesting life, daring to live outside the boundaries of Victorian women were normally forced to obey. Definitely give the show a watch, and if you already have then season two of Gentleman Jack will arrive on our screens later this year and is set to explore the married life of Anne and Ann as they travel through Europe.
Enjoyed this article? Want to read more interesting historical facts? Follow us on Twitter at @UntoldHistoryB
untoldhistory982934302.wordpress.com 