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mey's review against another edition
4.0
Would recommend reading this along with, or after having read, a biography of Anne Lister. Angela Steidele's [b:Gentleman Jack: A Biography of Anne Lister, Regency Landowner, Seducer and Secret Diarist|40054063|Gentleman Jack A Biography of Anne Lister, Regency Landowner, Seducer and Secret Diarist|Angela Steidele|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1533451178l/40054063._SY75_.jpg|62073408] is quite good.
gilljames's review against another edition
5.0
Am I reviewing Anne Lister or Helena Whitbread here? Lister has recorded her fascinating life in over a million words, with many passages in code. Whitbread has painstakingly decoded the texts, selected the most interesting entries and added informative editorial detail. We gain many insight into early nineteenth century life and the struggle a single woman might have - even though she is well off. Lister tells us about her love life, her physical health and her business life. I enjoyed Gentleman Jack but this volume tell Anne's story before she liaises with Anne Walker. Jill Liddington's book tells us more abut the Gerntleman Jack period. I'm now looking forward to reading the next volume edited by Whitbread.
danir's review against another edition
I will finish this one day, but it’s not exactly fun. Historically important, yes. Interesting, yes (but pretty repetitive in parts).
nina1412's review against another edition
4.0
Absolutely loving 'Gentleman Jack' at the moment so thought to read 'the original diaries' and wasn't disappointed. I did quite a bit of "research" before, so knew to expect some absolutely 'boring' parts about daily life in the early 1800s but it's so interesting how Anne Lister navigated her life as a complete oddity - I'm not sure if I'd have had the courage. What an impressive person, flaws and all!
queenbeemimi's review against another edition
4.0
Sometimes you read the diary of the first modern lesbian* or the prison letters of the most famous gay man of all time and all you can do is say “dang, you should break up with loser, all they do is torture you emotionally.” Stars: they’re just like us!
Eight years of diaries have been edited very slyly by Helen Whitbread, with the coded passages thankfully translated so we can understand all the parts about affairs of the heart, venereal disease, and clothing (idk, Anne was very private about her clothes I guess). The whole thing is worth a read but if you, as I confess I sometimes did, get bored by the minutiae of how many walnuts one ate after dinner, the italicized parts are what was originally written in code and generally the juicier parts, easily visually distinguishable so you can skip to them if you please. There’s even a kind of plot structure to the book, even though it’s true to life— Anne goes from heartbroken about her lover’s recent marriage and debating changing her style of dress in 1816 to self-assuredly limiting her romantic involvement with said lover and embracing her masculine appearance by 1824.
The book ends years before she sets her eye on Ann Walker, so heads-up if you’re looking for a feel-good lesbian love story: you will not find it in these years. These years are all about Mariana, who kind of sucks, although that’s fitting because Anne also kind of sucks; at one point, Anne expresses of another woman that she’s too educated to make a good companion because Anne liked her girlfriends feminine and silly, which is reductive and kind of mean, especially considering Anne valued her own education highly. Anne also constantly calls people vulgar in a way that invites the reader to consider that Anne is as judgmental of others as they are of her!
It’s really fun, though. I’ve had a good time walking through this history, and am grateful to the journal-keepers of the world, of which I am not one, that things like this can exist.
*I’m not the queer historian who made this claim about what lesbianism is and who was and wasn’t one and I’m not going to argue with anyone about it
Eight years of diaries have been edited very slyly by Helen Whitbread, with the coded passages thankfully translated so we can understand all the parts about affairs of the heart, venereal disease, and clothing (idk, Anne was very private about her clothes I guess). The whole thing is worth a read but if you, as I confess I sometimes did, get bored by the minutiae of how many walnuts one ate after dinner, the italicized parts are what was originally written in code and generally the juicier parts, easily visually distinguishable so you can skip to them if you please. There’s even a kind of plot structure to the book, even though it’s true to life— Anne goes from heartbroken about her lover’s recent marriage and debating changing her style of dress in 1816 to self-assuredly limiting her romantic involvement with said lover and embracing her masculine appearance by 1824.
The book ends years before she sets her eye on Ann Walker, so heads-up if you’re looking for a feel-good lesbian love story: you will not find it in these years. These years are all about Mariana, who kind of sucks, although that’s fitting because Anne also kind of sucks; at one point, Anne expresses of another woman that she’s too educated to make a good companion because Anne liked her girlfriends feminine and silly, which is reductive and kind of mean, especially considering Anne valued her own education highly. Anne also constantly calls people vulgar in a way that invites the reader to consider that Anne is as judgmental of others as they are of her!
It’s really fun, though. I’ve had a good time walking through this history, and am grateful to the journal-keepers of the world, of which I am not one, that things like this can exist.
*I’m not the queer historian who made this claim about what lesbianism is and who was and wasn’t one and I’m not going to argue with anyone about it
lacvbana's review against another edition
4.0
Really great compilation of some of Anne Lister’s early diary entries. I really appreciated the notes from the editor and actually would’ve liked more of them for more context!
radclyffe_uhaul's review against another edition
5.0
took me a couple months to get through but hey I'm glad I did
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