Sapphic Sister on the Telly
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Tomorrow night there’ll be a lesbian on the telly! A real live lezzie! The excitement is palpable in Gaelick Towers. It’s been too long since we’ve had any lady-loving on the tube that we have been really looking forward to this one.
Anne Lister (left) is, for some reason, known as “the first modern lesbian”, a phrase I’d love to have explained to me. Is it because she was independently wealthy and unashamed of her ‘attractions’? Answers on a postcard..
The Beeb have commissioned the story of Anne Lister as told through her, at the time notorious, diaries. According to their blurb, this is a:
Bold and passionate drama telling the story of Anne Lister, 1791-1840, a Yorkshire landowner, industrialist, traveller and diarist. She was a lesbian, who, despite needing to keep her orientation secret from society at large, in private defied the conventions of her times by living with her female lover.
For those of you thinking “Anne who”?, which, to be fair, is probably most of you, here’s the lowdown. This may contain spoilers of the BBC program.
Anne, obviously, kept diaries, but they were considered so scandalous that she coded them. Historians have been working for years to decipher them and, having done so, they have become a fascinating look at life in the 1800s. Her world was nothing like the world Jane Austen has painted. She wore men’s clothes and was known around her home as Gentleman Jack. She seduced many women and had a full sex life. It’s folly to put modern labels on historic figures, but Anne would probably been considered butch, or what she called “softly gentleman-like”:
Yet my manners are certainly peculiar, not all masculine but rather softly gentleman-like. I know how to please this fair maiden of mine.
She fell in love with Marianne, with whom she had a long relationship. Marianne was unable to live as open a life as Anne and broke Anne’s heart when she married. The relationship continued with Marianne’s husband’s permission, but eventually it soured.
Anne then travelled the world, meeting Ann Walker along the way. The two would spend the rest of their lives together.
Maxine Peake (right), who you might know as Veronica on Shameless or as Juliet in Criminal Justice, plays our Anne. She is delighted to be playing such a unique, strong female character.
Anne did change history. When you think of that period of time, a woman at that time, stepping out – it must have been frightening. Even reading her diaries, I was surprised at how modern they sounded – you think everything was so restrained, but obviously she was an exception and she lived her life by different rules to most people.
The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister is on BBC2 on May 31 at 9pm. Excited?
I Know My Own Heart: The Diaries of Anne Lister, 1791-1840 (Cutting Edge: Lesbian Life & Literature)
Between Women: Friendship, Desire, and Marriage in Victorian England
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Did you guys watch it? I loved it. Like Sense & Sensibility with lesbians.
I’m turning into a old grump
lol
I was disappointed that she went from carefree lesley to emo dyke in 5 mins, plus they made out as if Ann Walker was someone she settled for coz she couldn’t have the one she wanted.
They spent so long on Anne’s relationship with Marianna that it seemed like Anne and Ann met and before you could say “Thou Haulest”, they were married and planting buds.
Minor quibbles though; it’s so incredibly satisfying to see our history on the screen.
I couldn’t agree more HAL. It really came across that she settled for someone who “suited her” rather than the love of her life. They also suggested slightly that she was with her for her money.
They could have had a “part 2″ which showed their relationship develop properly
Ok — the planting buds bit. Did anyone else get the feeling something horrific was going to happen during that scene? I was braced for zombies or something and then it was just that old freak Marianna showing up, being all manipulative again.
I agree I though during that last scene Ann was going to go outside and die or something it really had that feel. It was great but seemed a bit rushed pity it wasnt broken into two parts but great to see. Wonder how long it will be before RTE dares to be so brave?
Oh mel, mel, mel. You know there are no lesbians in Ireland – and certainly not in the past!
True I forgot about that sure in rural Ireland there is still isnt any thanks for reminding me. Does Yvonne and Connie count?
I watched this, I thought it was great. It was just like watching an adaptation of a Jane Austen novel, but with les girls. I agree with some of the comments it could easily have a part two. Does anyone know if Anne stopped updating her diaries after getting together with Ann? Coz it would make a nice tale…
Perhaps more than one episode would have done the story of Anne Lister more justice, I agree. In relation to her character – we may not know how she was in reality, but if the portrayal of Lister was accurate then, although it’s not all that easy to engage with a character who’s not very sympathetic, it’s nevertheless important that she’s presented accurately in the programme.
@ mel – Heh! Yvonne and Connie count, only because they’re fictitious.
@ Adrienne – I’m not too sure about the extent of her diaries, unfortunately – I would love to find out though. There seems to be a book about her here (Amazon) – I’m not sure if it’s still in print, but perhaps second-hand copies are available.
Adrienne, Anne did keep her diaries, right up until her death.
The two Ann(e)s lived a great life, apparently, travelling all over Europe. Apprently they particularly like Paris, where they brought Anne’s Aunt one year.
They also spent some time with the Ladies of Llangollen (partners Lady Eleanor Butler from Kilkenny and Sarah Ponsonby) in Wales. 19th Century caKe?