Why a Booktrail?
1805, 1815: The love story between Anne Lister, the real-life inspiration behind Gentleman Jack, and her first love, Eliza Raine –
Learned by Heart
What you need to know before your trail
n 1805, at a boarding school in York, two fourteen-year-old girls first meet.
Eliza Raine, the orphan daughter of an Indian mother, keeps herself apart from the other girls, tired of being picked out for being different. Anne Lister, a gifted troublemaker, is determined to conquer the world, refusing to bow to society’s expectations of what a woman can do.
As they fall in love, the connection they forge will remain with them for the rest of their lives.
Travel Guide
York
The main story is set firmly in York, in and around the unversity where the two girls meet and get to know each other. This is a story of academia and forbidden love. We see the two girls, how they meet and what they are faced with as all they do is fall in love.
The hall in Norfolk is linked to Anne Lister and is referred to in the novel. The website says:
“Shibden Hall is the focus of the BBC drama series written by Sally Wainwright, ‘Gentleman Jack’ exploring the life of Anne Lister (1791 – 1840) and those who lived in the Hall and Estate. The first series aired in 2019 and the second series in 2022.”
BookTrail Boarding Pass: Learned by Heart
Destination: York Author/guide: Emma Donoghue Departure Time: 1805, 1815
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