The First World War

A lesbian in the 1800s who keeps a detailed account of her life written in coded diaries attempts to live independently while juggling an affair with a married woman.

Early 19th-century England is usually seen through the eyes of Jane Austen and the Brontë sisters. Sue Perkins explores a dramatically different version, as lived and recorded by Anne Lister. A Yorkshire landowner, she kept a detailed, partly coded diary, revealing graphic details of her love affairs with women. Regency England was surprisingly tolerant of Anne's chosen lifestyle, and it was only when Anne sought to sink a coal mine on her land that criticism of her private life became public.