Reading Anne Lister’s heavily abbreviated handwriting and deciphering her private coded sections daunted even the most determined of historians. In 1990 Jill Liddington, living in Halifax just a mile from Shibden Hall, began work on the 1830s diaries. Her edition, Female Fortune: land, gender & authority: the Anne Lister Diaries 1833-36 (1998, 2019), inspired scriptwriter Sally Wainwright to write Gentleman Jack (BBC1/HBO, 2019).
The Gaskell Society is proud to co-host this event with The Portico Library to celebrate LGBT History Month. Elizabeth Gaskell and Anne Lister were both brilliant examples of outspoken courageous Northern women who found their own voices at a time when so many women were silenced.