The Real Gentleman Jack: Transcribing the diaries of Anne Lister

presented by Forbes Library 12/5/2020. The BBC/HBO series Gentleman Jack tells the story of the real-life 19th century Yorkshire landowner, entrepreneur, traveler, scholar and lesbian, Anne Lister. This remarkable woman kept a detailed diary where she recorded everything in her life, from the times she woke up and went to bed and everything in between - the daily weather, what she read, where she went and all of her business and social interactions. 1/6th of the diary is written in a secret code, used by Anne to record the parts of her life that needed to be kept secret at the time that she lived - namely her same-sex relationships. Hear from two of the volunteer transcribers who are working to make Anne's handwritten diaries accessible to the world. Sam Bennion and Alison Kirchgasser (UK and US based respectively) will talk about how they got involved in the transcription project organized by the West Yorkshire Archive Service, will describe the transcription process and will share some of the information available in the diaries, which give a fascinating look into the life of a lesbian landowner in early 19th century Yorkshire. Website: Packed With Potential https://www.packedwithpotential.org/ Books: I Know My Own Heart (The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister: Volume I) by Helena Whitbread No Priest But Love (The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister: Volume II) by Helena Whitbread Female Fortune: Land, Gender and Authority by Jill Liddington