Anne Lister of Shibden Hall was a prolific diarist, leaving behind a detailed account of her daily life in twenty-six volumes of journal, and 14 volumes of travel notes, among other correspondence. Containing upwards of an estimated five million words (many in a crypt-hand of her own devising) her diaries give great insight into Anne’s life as a landowner, business woman, traveller, and mountaineer, and provide a candid account of her intimate relationships with women.
Although I'd heard of her before, it wasn’t until seeing the HBO/BBC series "Gentleman Jack" (2019) that I was driven to learn as much as a I could about the real Anne Lister, and when I started running out of reading material on her, I eventually learned to read her handwriting so I could go the source material of the journals themselves. Below are some of the projects and organizations I'm now involved in.
My journal transcripts
In November 2019 I started sharing some of the transcriptions of Anne's journal I've done on my own, and as part of the WYAS project (re-formatted for readability) here. Occasionally, these will include links to the texts she was reading, images, or newspaper cuttings to add context for the modern reader.
packed with potential
Contributor, Core Maintainer
Packed with Potential is a community of individuals pursuing independent research surrounding Anne Lister and those in her circle with the intent to uncover and understand her life and historical context through open, collaborative, and accessible research. This site provides references, published resources, findings and helps individuals connect with others.
As a contributor, I regularly add journal excerpts as data to be collected for ongoing projects, have collaborated on research investigating Anne Lister's final resting place, and compiled the Anne Lister Sex Guide to examine the practices, language, and symbols Anne used in her journal on this topic. As one of the site maintainers, I work with contributors to update pages and publish their work.
WYAS DIARY TRANSCRIPTION
PROJECT
The aim of this project which started in July 2019, is to create complete transcriptions of every page of Anne Lister’s diaries. As a volunteer, I translate the coded or crypt-hand sections of Anne's journal along with transcribing her plain-hand in accordance with WYAS guidelines to create complete digital copies of her entries, which will be made freely available in the WYAS online catalogue.
This project received recognition from the Archives and Records Association (ARA) for outstanding work involving volunteers in an archive and records service, and has attracted local and international acclaim.
Anne Lister Research Summit
Chair, Summit Squad
The Anne Lister Research Summit brings together people interested in researching Anne Lister to share knowledge and develop collaborations. The first Summit of its kind was held September 25-27, 2020 and brought together over 300 people from across the globe.
As part of the Summit Squad I was involved in planning the online conference (which consisted of 28 sessions ranging from workshops, facilitated discussions, presentations and panels, to group activities like bingo and trivia), creating marketing materials and merchandise, and running technical support for the sessions during the three day event.
Anne Lister
Birthday Week
When the first Anne Lister Birthday Week scheduled to take place in Halifax, UK from April 1-5, 2020 was canceled due to COVID-19 concerns, a number of the planned events took place online in a virtual format. As a volunteer, I directed these livestreams and continue to do the same for similar live events featuring interviews with the cast & crew of Gentleman Jack along with historians and researchers whose work involves Anne Lister or areas of interest, people, and places connected to her.
In Search of Ann Walker
Contributor, Transcriber
Dedicated to bringing to light details of Ann Walker’s life, one of the collaborative projects ISAW has created is the "Ann Walker in the Diaries" which aims to find and log all the references to Anne Lister's wife Ann Walker (and her extended family, residences, etc) from Anne's journals. While working on my own journal transcriptions, I contribute relevant entries to the project, and after Ann Walker's own journal was discovered, have also transcribed coordinating dates to entries from Anne Lister's journal for comparison between the two.
related videos
Anne Lister
Gentleman Steph
Anne Lister Research Summit
Learned by Heart: Emma Donoghue on interweaving Eliza Raine’s history with fiction
Anne Lister Bake Off
Anne Lister Pilgrimage | Part 1 (Halifax)
Anne Lister Pilgrimage | Part 2 (Halifax)
Anne Lister Pilgrimage | Part 3 (York)
Anne Lister Pilgrimage | Part 4 (Langton Hall)
Packed with Potential - Project Showcase
ALBW Live: Sally Wainwright & Suranne Jones
