Gentleman Jack (Movie Tie-In): The Real Anne Lister

EXCELLENT book. It arrived yesterday and I devoured it in one sitting. I was totally unable to look up until the last page at which point it was way past my bedtime.As others here have said, it is the perfect companion to the television series as it goes into such great detail that the show just could not delve into without at least doubling each episode’s length. I wish Ann Walker had kept a diary even the fraction of the length of Anne Lister’s in order to get a better glimpse into her own mental sufferings. More than that, I wish mental illness had been treatable in the 19th century. I learned that Anne’s first love, who was her roommate at boarding school when they were both teenagers, suffered terribly from mental illness that she was institutionalized as an adult. An account of one if their visits is included in the book. If anything, Anne’s unmatched and truly singular vitality was the real tragedy of her life; she was unable to find a mate who matched her intellect, charm, bravery, or zest for life. However, I do not think this lack was a result of her era because finding a partner in any age (including our globalized one) can prove elusive, no matter sexual orientation. If you like the BBC/HBO series, do not hesitate to read this book. It will make you fall for Anne all the more.

I was a bit familiar with the story of Anne Lister previously, but this book was great for specifically exploring this period of Anne’s life, and in particular, her relationship with Ann Walker. It makes an excellent companion piece to the HBO series, which moves quickly, so the book helps satisfy the desire to know more about these intriguing women with excerpts from diary entries and letters between Anne and others at the time. Along with helpful commentary from the author to provide context and supplemental information, the reader's provided a portrait of Anne Lister without being overwhelmed by diving straight into transcribed diaries or a full biography. There’s no doubt that there is plenty more to be discovered concerning her extraordinary life beyond the chronology of this relationship and timeline (as is evident with some of the background info and inclusion of some of Anne’s travel diaries), but as an introduction and series guide, it absolutely does the trick.

Fascinating reading. Delves deeper into the diaries of Anne Lister during the period covered in the BBC series Gentleman Jack. You can learn more about the dreams and desires that drive her. A gem that shines a light on the life and loves of a singular and transgressive woman of the 19th century.

HBO’s wonderful series “Gentleman Jack” written and directed by Sally Wainwright, starring Suranne Jones, is a dramatization of the amazing true life of the diarist, landowner and lesbian Anne Lister. As you enjoy the show and wonder about some details, that is where the book comes in. This book is a great tie-in to the series. It explains in more detail about the history of Anne’s life, and what it was like in that time. It explains the history of the relationships that Anne had, be it family, female lovers, or other land owners. This is a great book to read about the true life of Anne Lister. I would recommend this book as a nice addition in a collection of lesbian history.

Did you just now discover the truly singular Anne Lister, thanks to the BBC ONE and HBO show Gentleman Jack? Did you then immediately think "I have QUESTIONS?" Anne Choma's book is where you should start, as it is the companion book to the TV show, and so mainly tracks Lister in the same (and her most interesting) time frame. It's a light non-academic read for general audience that can be polished off in a weekend. When you're done, you'll be down the rabbit hole with the rest of us, buying more books and waiting for the (confirmed) series/season 2 of the show.

My main takeaway from this read was clarification of many creative departures from recorded fact, taken by the creators of BBC/HBO Gentleman Jack. I applaud each one of which I am now aware. Thus, the brilliance of the production/show is only enhanced and that was hard to do as I was already a big fan. Everything from the casting of Suranne Jones and pretty much everyone in support, to the story-line, transmutations and implications made it all the more emotionally charming/grabbing and intellectually processable. That makes the book a great companion piece for sure, IMHO.For example: The relationship between AL and VH is nebulously left to one's romantic imagination and assumptions as to what happened and the nature of their liaison. The book clarifies that in a way that was a tad of a surprise but very appreciated in terms of it conveying a depth of sentiment that forwards the story and understanding of the character Miss Lister.The Gentleman Jack production Miss Lister is deeply appealing while, for me, the real-life Miss Lister, not as much. I want to spend endless time with Suranne Jone's Miss Lister...not so much with the Tory conservatism and a little too much narcissism and emotional and pragmatic self-efficacy of the real-life Lister.One star off for the cheap quality of the paperback.

I've watched season 1, read 3 of her books, just downloaded the audible version of a 4th and just learned today that I'm only 1 of quite possibly millions simping for Anne. Anyway, this book is great, when I'm less hot n bothered and read the book several times more, I'll come back and give a more appropriate review.Until then, dammit, Anne Lister, I want you to be MY wife!🥺

This companion book is evidence of why "Gentleman Jack" is such a brilliant series!

I don’t generally buy books which are heralded as a movie or tv tie in. But this companion to a forthcoming tv production about a period in Anne Lister’s life is a compelling read. I’ve read a couple of books about Anne Lister which cover the whole of her life in greater depth. Gentleman Jack is informed, well written and examines a crucial couple of years in the life and times of this extraordinary lady.It’s fitting that, at last, she’s receiving recognition. Her incredible diaries amount to over 5 million words and now have UNESCO status as a world heritage document. They provide a meticulous account of the minutiae of her life and activities and as such are a valuable social history resource.Anne Lister was a woman of keen intellect and endless energy. Defying social and gender norm, she dressed always in black, often wore breeches and gents topcoat and was openly ridiculed for her masculine appearance. She was openly lesbian and took a number of female lovers and had a marriage ceremony with one. Doubtless there’ll be much interest in her love life, but this remarkable lady had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. She was widely travelled and even experimented with dissection whilst in Paris, just because she wanted to learn about anything and everything. She was familiar with the classics in literature and the works of the great philosophers.This trailblazer was also an expert in land and estate management at a time when women had few legal rights as landowners or business people. She was also a paradox in that despite her liberalism in many areas, her attitudes towards workers was traditional and she resented the working class radicalism that was demanding reform. She was concerned about the impact such change would have on social order.Gentleman Jack is thoroughly researched and reads like an adventure tale. I recommend it as an excellent way to learn more about this astonishing individual.

What an informative and well written book about Anne Lister! Fascinating to learn more about her. Really interesting to hear about how life was in her time. Most interesting to hear what a trailblazer Anne was and what made her tick with fantastic detail. Unputdownable - highly recommend- if you want to read just one book about her (I’ve read quite a few) - this is the one to choose.

Like many people I had heard of and knew a bit about Anne Lister, but this book will expand your knowledge and acts as a good accompaniment to the series, which as I write this is currently on TV, and I know a number of people are enjoying watching.As a companion book to the series, this of course takes in mainly the period that the TV drama is concerned with, although we do read in places of Anne when she was younger, and the other women she became romantically entangled with. Why she is known by so many is not only because of the fact that you can still visit her home, Shibden Hall, but because she was a prominent lesbian and kept diaries giving us an insight into not only her sexual encounters, but also so much more, such as the running of her estate in quite some detail, the political and business concerns of the period, and also lots of travel writing, giving us an insight into other countries at this time.Even if you had all her diaries before you, all de-coded for most of us it would not be a thrilling read, as there would be too much detail on so many subjects and thus it would become boring to work your way through, so this book is ideal in that it gives you loads of relevant information, as well as appropriate diary entries, which makes for a short, comprehensive study of this fascinating woman.Anne Lister was certainly a woman of differing ideals and full of subtleties, as she negotiated herself around a predominantly male world, whilst also at the same time carrying out clandestine relations with women. Although interested in many subjects and a polymath, it has to be admitted that she was quite the snob, always worming her way into the higher society that she would not normally be acquainted with, and thus she also looked down upon the poor and could be exploitative when it came to making money.An anachronism in some ways, even back in her own lifetime, she was also ahead of her time when it came to how women were generally treated, and the fact that she ‘married’ another woman. Dead at forty-nine, and although you will not like everything about her, one thing I think we can all agree on in this was a woman who was in many ways larger than life and lived life on her own terms. This thus makes for a read that will especially please those enjoying the TV series and wanting to know more about this remarkable woman. In this e-book edition, after the main text there are pictures and photos before the index.

It’s not often that I sit and read an entire book in a day but that what’s happened. A great insight into just a small part of who Anne Lister was.Anne Choma has perfectly documented the trials and tribulations of the formidable first modern day lesbian landowner back in the 1800’s. From her dalliances with the ladies to her formidable land management skills.Given that this is a companion to the BBC series, I can’t wait to see how Sally Wainwright translates it to screen!This book has definitely whet the appetite to find out more about Anne’s life. A must read for anyone interested in the history of Anne and ‘shabby little’ Shibden.

If you loved the 'Gentleman Jack' TV drama you should read this book, it'll sort out the timelines and give lots of extra insight. If you didn't like the 'Gentleman Jack' TV drama, because it seemed all too far fetched, over acted or simply unbelievably energetic, you should read this book, then you'll find out that, yes, Anne Lister really was like that and in her own words!The introduction hops about like a flea in terms of timelines, but it does leave you wanting to know more, much more, which is exactly what every good introduction should do.Anne Choma clearly loves her subject but isn't rose tinted about some of Anne's less positive sides, she does however give us some of the great insight that are buried in these diaries, to help us understand what really made Anne Lister tick. I read the book primarily as a mine of information for tips on Anne Lister's clothing, as I am busy making a sculpture of her, but the details were so delicious they had me snorting with laughter, so this really was no trial at all! Most especially, the difficulty of getting inside Miss Walker's thick knitted drawers; well it is West Yorkshire, combinations are still popular there, and for good reason!The only thing I really disagree with the author about is her description of Anne Lister's hair, which was perfectly normal for the time, just not overblown, but one of the things that delighted me, as a visual artist, was the use of a different diary page with each chapter. Some pages had more code than others, and all of them show how eye wateringly hard it is to read Anne Lister's diaries; the code is easier to read than her 'plain hand'. This subtly shows the reader how lucky we are to have so much of it typed out for us, and (I'm sure) the migraines suffered by others so that we can.If you are looking for historical social comment, a window in the the early 19th Century, an exploration of Britain's industrial past, a European travelogue, a jolly romp of a book or a romance, read this book.