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katemcd's review against another edition
4.0
this book is quite well done, but anne is very unlikable.
maiarmash's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.0
i really don’t enjoy Anne as a person but she was fucking fascinating. what a life. what a horrible person lmfao. i really did enjoy this though and i’m grateful for her and how fierce and comfortable she was in her “oddities”. idk, i can’t really put into words everything i felt through this book, i learned a lot. lets go lesbians!
libras's review against another edition
I had to stop lol, even though I was halfway through.
No shade on this author - I think the way she laid out the diary entries and let Anne Lister speak for herself, while providing context and some insight now and again. The story of the diaries, the cipher Lister wrote in, the detail of them and what insight it reveals about this era and queerness... utterly facsinating.
That said, Anne Lister is such a deeply unlikable person for me. The way she treated her partners, her own stuck-up personality and hypocrisy, how manipulative and pointlessly cruel she could be. She was a very messy person, and while that's very human and she had very real problems to deal with in her life, I couldn't personally tolerate it. I wanted to throw down the book at her desire to keep a former girlfriend in an asylum for fear she'd blab their relationship, and later, Anne Lister contracted an STD and refused to tell her current and future partners. Lord. Not to mention all the standards and double standards she expects of her partners, and her desire to control them and string them along. But I digress.
Important part of queer history, but unfortunately, not one I'm particuarly interested in pursuing further.
No shade on this author - I think the way she laid out the diary entries and let Anne Lister speak for herself, while providing context and some insight now and again. The story of the diaries, the cipher Lister wrote in, the detail of them and what insight it reveals about this era and queerness... utterly facsinating.
That said, Anne Lister is such a deeply unlikable person for me. The way she treated her partners, her own stuck-up personality and hypocrisy, how manipulative and pointlessly cruel she could be. She was a very messy person, and while that's very human and she had very real problems to deal with in her life, I couldn't personally tolerate it. I wanted to throw down the book at her desire to keep a former girlfriend in an asylum for fear she'd blab their relationship, and later, Anne Lister contracted an STD and refused to tell her current and future partners. Lord. Not to mention all the standards and double standards she expects of her partners, and her desire to control them and string them along. But I digress.
Important part of queer history, but unfortunately, not one I'm particuarly interested in pursuing further.
jayraams's review
4.0
A woman ahead of her times and perhaps a little more fallible and less kindhearted then we like to believe. In the Tv show Gentlemen Jake, they keep the character more likeable, by making her fall in love in the end. But when looking closer at her diaries you can't help seeing a player who used her sexual partners. I mean she slept with all of Mariana's sisters, that is not cool. But she is still a brave woman if not a lot self smetered.
bookbeetle's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
This was a very interesting read and it taught me so much about women's “friendships” in the 1800s.
big_orange_sapphic's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
slow-paced
3.0
annecarts's review
2.0
DNF
Anne Lister is such a fascinating character she should easily make a good biography. Unfortunately I found this dry and the writing style with parts of the original letters thrown in didn't work for me.
Thank you to Netgalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
Anne Lister is such a fascinating character she should easily make a good biography. Unfortunately I found this dry and the writing style with parts of the original letters thrown in didn't work for me.
Thank you to Netgalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.