To celebrate LGBT History Month, the Gaskell Society is delighted to welcome Dr Jill Liddington, whose scholarly research into the diaries of Anne Lister inspired the BBC/HBO series Gentleman Jack.

How do you begin to write about a woman who has already written a diary of over four million words?
How do you start to decipher the code in which she writes about the most private parts of her life?

In 1990, Dr Liddington began work on the now-famous Anne Lister diaries in Calderdale Archives and her research has resulted in three books about this extraordinary woman, one of which, Female Fortune, was award-winning screenwriter Sally Wainwright’s direct inspiration for Gentleman Jack.

These are the times in which the Gaskells lived – 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.

The Gaskell Society is proud to be sponsoring this event in partnership with The Portico Library as part of LGBT History Month.