{"id":13563,"date":"2022-04-08T14:40:08","date_gmt":"2022-04-08T12:40:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=612832"},"modified":"2022-04-08T15:06:14","modified_gmt":"2022-04-08T13:06:14","slug":"gentleman-jacks-true-story-anne-listers-real-life-and-history","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/gentleman-jacks-true-story-anne-listers-real-life-and-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Gentleman Jack\u2019s true story: Anne Lister\u2019s real life and history"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By Eleanor Bley Griffiths\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Friday, 08 April 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

*Warning: contains some plot spoilers for Gentleman Jack season 1*<\/strong><\/p>\n

BBC One period drama Gentleman Jack<\/a>, penned by BAFTA winner Sally Wainwright, returns for a second season Sunday 10th April \u2013 but not all viewers may realise that the series is based on a real-life person, the diarist Anne Lister.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnne Lister is unique and fascinating,\u201d Wainwright explains in the foreword to Anne Choma\u2019s noted biography on Lister.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe is known primarily as a diarist, and as a great lesbian lover who recorded her adventures with other women in secret code, but there are a myriad other things to know about this extraordinary woman.\u201d<\/p>\n

Suranne Jones plays the 19th century English landowner Anne Lister, who is recognised by many as the first modern lesbian, and who married her lover Ann Walker (Sophie Rundle in the Gentleman Jack cast<\/a>) in the previous season finale.<\/p>\n

However, how much of Anne Lister\u2019s extraordinary life on screen in Gentleman Jack is based on real-life, and how much is fiction?<\/p>

Who was the real Anne Lister?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Anne Lister in Gentleman Jack<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Anne Lister was a Yorkshire landowner, prolific diarist and enthusiastic traveller. She was also a woman who unapologetically loved women \u2013 and is sometimes called the \u201cfirst modern lesbian\u201d thanks to her self-knowledge and acceptance of her sexual orientation.<\/p>\n

Her journal, written partly in code (or \u201ccrypt\u201d), details the daily life of an unconventional woman in the early 19th century, including her love affairs and eventual \u2018marriage\u2019 to an heiress. Anne penned more than four million words, covering everything from negotiations over the price of her coal (local businessmen would NOT be allowed to get the better of her) to the Queen of Denmark\u2019s birthday party in Copenhagen (quite fun; but no need to ever go again) to her bitter rows with younger sister Marian (\u201ccock of the dunghill\u201d).<\/p>\n

Born in 1791, Anne Lister was fiercely intelligent and full of boundless energy. She was very close to her Uncle James and Aunt Anne and frequently stayed with them at Shibden Hall, near Halifax in Yorkshire. This was the Lister ancestral home, and it was to their beloved niece Anne that this childless couple left ownership of Shibden Hall. Her aunt, in particular, seems to have been well aware of Anne\u2019s exclusive interest in the fairer sex \u2013 but took it in her stride, becoming one of the most important people in Anne\u2019s life.<\/p>\n

\"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Gemma Jones as Aunt Anne Lister in Gentleman Jack<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Anne Lister was a complicated character. She was considered to have a masculine appearance and stride, and stood out in Halifax thanks to her decision to dress only in black. She deviated from social norms \u2013 although she could use her charms and charisma to impress her posh friends when she wished to, working within the social framework of the late Georgian era. She had a passion for human anatomy and science and travel and mountaineering, and a huge appetite for new experiences.<\/p>\n

As a smart businesswoman, Anne was never afraid to get hands-on and establish her authority; she went up against Halifax landowner and businessman Christopher Rawson (played by Vincent Franklin) and his brother Jeremiah (Shaun Dooley) in complex negotiations over coal, taking pride in protecting her interests. But she was also a massive snob, and could be a cruel landlord.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are so many facets to her personality,\u201d Gentleman Jack screenwriter Sally Wainwright says. \u201cShe\u2019s so extraordinary. She\u2019s this mass of contradictions. She\u2019s very bold and brilliant. She did so many fantastic extraordinary things.\u201d<\/p>\n

What was Anne Lister\u2019s early life like?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Shibden Hall<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

BBC One\u2019s Gentleman Jack doesn\u2019t actually introduce Anne Lister until quite late in her life. \u201cWe start in 1832 when Anne was 41. She inherited Shibden in 1836,\u201d Wainwright explains. \u201cIt\u2019s a \u2018turning of life\u2019 point: the time when she really came into her own and became the woman she was destined to become.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, Anne Lister \u2013 played by Suranne Jones in the BBC drama \u2013 had already led an extremely interesting life up to this point.<\/p>\n

Military man Jeremy Lister (Timothy West) and his wife Rebecca Battle had six children, but after the deaths of all four of their sons, they were left with daughters Anne and Marian (Gemma Whelan) \u2013 two completely opposing personalities who never quite got on.<\/p>\n

Young Anne was very bright, and was sent away to school in York. It was here that she met her first love, a girl called Eliza Raine. The teenagers shared an attic bedroom where they developed an intense friendship and love affair. Together, they also devised a secret code using algebra and Ancient Greek, which Anne used for the rest of her life to disguise the most private passages in her diary. Unfortunately, Anne was asked to leave the school after two years and was only able to return once Eliza had left.<\/p>\n

At 19, she met Isabella \u201cTib\u201d Norcliffe and they began a relationship, but the attraction was not to last and soon shifted to platonic friendship. In her 20s and 30s, she enjoyed a series of love affairs, sometimes arousing suspicion but flying mainly under the radar: as Anne Choma writes, \u201cshe lived in a world that had very different approaches to male and female homosexuality, with the former still being punishable by death, and the latter being left largely ignored.\u201d People considered her \u201codd\u201d, and in Halifax she was later nicknamed \u201cGentleman Jack\u201d, but the word \u201clesbian\u201d was not yet used \u2013 and Anne\u2019s sexuality could not be openly discussed, even when it was tacitly acknowledged.<\/p>\n

Anne also developed a passion for travel and was keen to expand her horizons beyond Yorkshire. In 1830, while travelling in France, she became the first woman to ascend the Monte Perdido in the Pyrenees. She sought out the top scientists in Europe and studied under them, obtaining body parts for dissection; and she read and studied voraciously.<\/p>\n

But despite her desire to go abroad, Anne was deeply attached to Shibden Hall. She officially inherited the manor in 1826 after the death of her Uncle James, but she would not get full financial control until both her father Jeremy Lister and her beloved Aunt Anne died in 1836. Nevertheless, Shibden gave Anne a reasonable income (thanks to the labour and rents of her tenants) and this helped ensure her freedom to live as she wished.<\/p>\n

Who was Marianna Belcombe?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Marianna in Gentleman Jack<\/span><\/figcaption> Aimee Spinks\/Lookout Point\/ BBC\/HBO<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

At 23, Anne met \u2018M\u2019, or Marianna Belcombe, played on screen by Lydia Leonard. This was one of the most passionate of all Anne\u2019s affairs, and lasted 16 or 17 years \u2013 but despite Anne\u2019s early hopes that they could build a future together, \u2018M\u2019 bowed to convention and married a man.<\/p>\n

The newly-named Marianna Lawton continued her affair with Anne, and the two wrote frank letters to each other for many years, sharing confidences as well as sharing a bed whenever she visited. But their relationship was also fraught with the pain of their romantic history, and sometimes with jealousy.<\/p>\n

\u2018M\u2019 spent years hoping for her unpleasant husband\u2019s death so that she could reunite properly with Anne. But though \u2018M\u2019 was never far away from her thoughts, Anne was looking elsewhere for her \u201ccompanion\u201d and had also set her sights on a higher-class connection.<\/p>\n

In Gentleman Jack: The Real Anne Lister, Anne Choma writes: \u201cAnne was as determined as she had ever been to find a female life partner. She didn\u2019t feel it was her nature to live alone \u2013 the nature which also dictated that settling for a man was never going to be part of the plan.\u201d<\/p>\n

What happened in Hastings with Vere Hobart?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Jodhi May as Vere Hobart in Gentleman Jack<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Gentleman Jack picks up Anne Lister\u2019s story at a difficult moment in her life, because her attempt to win the heart of the young, aristocratic Vere Hobart (played by Jodhi May) had ended in humiliation and heartbreak.<\/p>\n

Anne had spent a fruitful winter in Paris in 1829-30 socialising with her \u201chigh-ton\u201d posh friends, and formed a friendship with Lady Stuart\u2019s great-niece, Vere. With her eye on climbing the social ladder and forming a good connection, Anne had begun a tentative flirtation with Vere, and believed Vere had become increasingly aware of her sexual interest. Two years later, after cholera prevented their travel plans to the continent, they arranged to spend the winter together in Hastings.<\/p>\n

It was a fraught winter. At times, it seemed to Anne that she was making progress; in November, she wrote: \u201cI think the idea of being with me eventually is somehow getting more familiar to her mind. She really begins to flirt a little with me and looked very pretty when playing this evening. Well strange things happen \u2013 she may like me after all.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the situation deteriorated, and in January Vere\u2019s male suitor Captain Donald Cameron appeared. Anne got the cold shoulder and was pushed to the sidelines, writing that her time in Hastings was \u201cchequered with mortification and pain\u201d. Cameron proposed, and was accepted. It was a bitter blow.<\/p>\n

Did Anne Lister attend Vere\u2019s wedding?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Though Anne does not<\/em> appear to have attended Vere\u2019s wedding, the passing of time \u2013 and perhaps Anne Lister\u2019s new relationship with Ann Walker \u2013 seems to have helped.<\/p>\n

The two formed a solid friendship, and in September 1832 Anne wrote affectionately: \u201cMy dearest Vere, I am quite happy for your sake, and know not that I have one wish concerning you unsatisfied.\u201d She thanked Vere for \u201cher discretion\u201d and for staying faithful to \u201cher own very self.\u201d<\/p>\n

How did Anne Lister meet her love interest Ann Walker?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Suranne Jones and Sophie Rundle play Anne and Ann in Gentleman Jack<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

In 1832, Anne Lister had an encounter with a wealthy heiress called Ann Walker. It was to change the path of her life.<\/p>\n

The two had actually met several times before this point. As a child, Ann Walker had been involved in a carriage accident on Shibden land and had been given a cup of tea at the manor, but this did not evolve into any kind of friendship. In 1822, Anne had written caustically in her diary that young Ann Walker was \u201ca stupid, vulgar girl indeed,\u201d and while the Walker family were wealthy, they did not impress Anne who snobbishly looked down on \u201cnew money\u201d gained from trade rather than ancient lineage.<\/p>\n

However, after Anne\u2019s return from Hastings, the two women\u2019s paths crossed again \u2013 and this time it was different. Ann Walker (played by Sophie Rundle) visited Shibden on a chance social call with her relatives, and a week later Anne Lister returned the visit; as they got to know each other over the next few weeks, they found that they got on well and were intrigued by each other.<\/p>\n

\u201cThought I,\u201d Anne wrote in her diary in August, \u201cshall I try and make up to her?\u201d<\/p>\n

Anne Lister was also attracted to Ann\u2019s large fortune. In her biography, Anne Choma writes: \u201cClearly, Anne\u2019s intentions towards Ann Walker were strategically inclined. She was working within a frame set by her heterosexual peers: for the middle and upper-classes in the nineteenth century a \u2018good match\u2019 was a marriage that made financial sense, with love a secondary consideration.\u201d<\/p>\n

Who was Ann Walker?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Ann Walker in Gentleman Jack<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Ann Walker and her sister had inherited the enormous Lightcliffe estate after the death of their parents and brother, following an unhappy childhood with a father who was apparently abusive. While her sister Elizabeth had married and moved to Scotland, Ann remained at Lightcliffe with very little to interest her or occupy her time, and a couple of male trustees.<\/p>\n

While she had no history of same-sex relationships, Ann Walker was drawn to Anne Lister \u2013 who was 12 years older than her \u2013 and the two quickly became inseparable.<\/p>\n

The relationship between Anne and Ann was not plain sailing. Anne Lister was constantly trying to judge Ann Walker\u2019s true feelings towards her, and even as their sexual relationship progressed, Anne was unsure whether Ann would agree to become her life-partner. Her diaries reveal torturous months of uncertainty and frustration.<\/p>\n

As for Ann, her mental health was fragile, and she also complained of physical pain. Often she did not get out of bed, or spent the day lying on the sofa, and she suffered from low self-esteem; sometimes she was very anxious and self-critical and uncertain of her own mind.<\/p>\n

Anne, whose own mental and physical health was robust (except, perhaps, for a problem with constipation), had heard about this in advance from Ann\u2019s relatives, but as their relationship progressed she became increasingly involved in helping Ann to cope.<\/p>\n

Did Anne Lister follow Ann Walker to the Lake District?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In September 1832, Ann Walker went on a three-week trip to the Lake District with her friend and relative, Catherine Rawson. Anne Lister did not<\/em> follow her there, and instead spent those weeks seeing to her business on the estate and coming up with plans for improving Shibden Hall.<\/p>\n

Before Ann left, Anne asked her if she\u2019d be thinking of her while she was away. Ann said she would not forget, but Anne remained cautious about the future of the relationship. \u201cWho knows how it may end,\u201d she wrote. \u201cI shall be wary this time.\u201d<\/p>\n

At this point, the two women had not yet become physically affectionate, but they were becoming increasingly close.<\/p>\n

A few weeks beforehand, when Anne Lister broke an ivory book knife that had been a treasured gift to Ann from Catherine Rawson, she was apologetic, but said it would be a good excuse for giving her another as a present someday \u201cwhich she hoped she would value as much as the one destroyed\u201d. Her love interest replied that she would value that gift even more than Catherine\u2019s. They spent the day together before Ann left, and reunited as soon as she returned.<\/p>\n

Did Anne Lister give Ann Walker a proposal with a six-month deadline?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Ann and Anne in Gentleman Jack<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Anne Lister had been building a \u201cchaumi\u00e8re\u201d in the grounds of Shibden Hall, and this proved handy: Ann and Anne could use this private hut as their romantic sanctuary. One day they spent six hours here, and Anne Lister felt she had found the right time to bring up a more sold commitment.<\/p>\n

She asked Ann to give up all thought of ever leaving her, and of ever marrying a man. In response, Ann was open to the idea \u2013 but not yet ready to give a definite answer to the proposal.<\/p>\n

Realising that Ann was seriously considering the offer but that she needed more time, Anne offered her six months, setting the deadline on her own birthday on 3rd April.<\/p>\n

Did Ann Walker receive anonymous hate letters about Anne Lister?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Yes! While we don\u2019t know their exact contents, we do know that Ann Walker began to receive anonymous letters which left her \u201cmuch troubled\u201d. Anne had received this kind of letter for years, but it was a new experience for Ann.<\/p>\n

Had locals noted her increasingly close friendship with Anne? Or was it actually a member of her own family trying to warn her off?<\/p>\n

Did Mrs Priestley walk in on the two women?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Amelia Bullmore plays Elizabeth Priestley in Gentleman Jack<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Exactly as we see in the TV series, Anne Lister\u2019s faithful servant John Booth was dispatched one evening to collect his mistress and bring her home, following a row at Shibden about Anne\u2019s recent habit of disappearing for hours and coming back late at night.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, he accidentally went to the wrong house on the Lightcliffe family estate \u2013 and knocked on the Priestley\u2019s door instead. This alerted the Priestleys to the fact that Anne Lister had been spending her evenings with their relative Ann. Full of foreboding, Anne wrote in her diary: \u201cThey will talk us over and think something in the wind.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perhaps this was why, barely more than a week later, Mrs Priestley visited Ann and walked straight into the room without knocking. The two women had been \u201ckissing and pressing\u201d on the sofa in the drawing room with the blinds down and, though they jumped apart just in time, Mrs Priestley knew something was up. She threw some cross words at Anne and left in a huff.<\/p>\n

Surprisingly, Ann Walker \u201claughed\u201d and seemed unbothered by the discovery. The two women went back to kissing, and as Anne wrote, \u201cAt last I got my right hand up her petticoats and after much fumbling thro\u2019 the opening of her drawers, and touched (first time) the hair and skin of queer.\u201d<\/p>\n

How did Ann Walker and Anne Lister marry?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Anne and Ann in Gentleman Jack<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Anne Lister made it clear early in their relationship that she was after something serious: love, loyalty, and long-term commitment. She wanted Ann Walker to settle down with her, sleep with her, and travel with her. But would Ann agree?<\/p>\n

Finally, Ann gave Anne the answer she hoped for. They exchanged rings, they wrote each other into their wills, and then on Easter Sunday 1834 they \u2018married\u2019 by taking communion together at a church in York.<\/p>\n

Both had a strong Christian faith. While Ann Walker\u2019s lifelong bouts of mental illness had often led her into religious mania and guilt, Anne Lister\u2019s faith gave her a more positive outlook. She had reconciled the way God \u2018made her\u2019 with her understanding of the Bible, and Christianity was a source of comfort throughout her life. The two women may not have been legally married, but as Anne Choma writes, \u201cTo Anne Lister, their commitment had been solemnised. They had been joined together in the eyes of God.\u201d<\/p>\n

In September, Ann Walker moved in to Shibden Hall. Her fortune was used to improve the manor and its grounds, with Anne building a new Gothic tower to serve as her private library. The two lived a happy and settled life together, with Anne ending her relationship with \u2018M\u2019, and Ann overcoming her anxieties in order to travel with her wife.<\/p>\n

It was during a trip to Koutais in the Russian Empire (now Georgia) that Anne Lister died of a fever in 1840, aged just 49. Ann Walker spent six months bringing her body back to Shibden. In the following years, her mental health deteriorated and she was forcibly removed by her brother-in-law from Shibden Hall, spending some time in an institution in York; she later moved back to her own estate and died in 1854.<\/p>\n

Did Eugenie really exist \u2013 and what about the servants of Shibden Hall?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Eugenie in Gentleman Jack<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Anne Lister\u2019s French maid Eugenie Pierre did<\/em> exist \u2013 but she wasn\u2019t employed until a little later on in the story. Unlike the story we see on screen, she never crossed paths with Anne\u2019s loyal servant George Playforth: the two of them never had an affair, and she was not pregnant with his child.<\/p>\n

Eugenie (played by Albane Courtois) was recruited after an extensive search for a \u201cclever lady\u2019s maid\u201d who had to be \u201csufficiently fond of travelling to make the best of everything.\u201d Unfortunately, Anne was disappointed with her new lady\u2019s maid and they didn\u2019t immediately get on. Anne considered Eugenie extremely rude, and was irritated to find that she was a seasick traveller.<\/p>\n

As for the Listers\u2019 coachman George Playforth, he had indeed been killed earlier in the year: he was shot in the head in June 1832 while scaring birds out of a tree for a gamekeeper to shoot. He died a few days later. Anne was upset by his death, but \u2013 being fascinated by anatomy and the brain \u2013 stayed to watch George\u2019s autopsy.<\/p>\n

The real John Booth (Thomas Howes) was Anne\u2019s trusted servant, and his son Joseph Booth (Ben Hunter) was also a servant \u2013 though at this point in 1832, he was not<\/em> working at Shibden and was instead employed by a family near Langton.<\/p>\n

Elizabeth Cordingley (Rosie Cavaliero) was another trusted servant, and according to Anna Choma, she \u201chad served for many years as Anne\u2019s lady\u2019s maid and had long-standing knowledge of her mistress\u2019s preference for women.\u201d<\/p>\n

Is t<\/strong>he story of Sam Sowden true to life?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Anthony Flanagan plays Sam Sowden in Gentleman Jack<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

One of Anne Lister\u2019s tenants was<\/em> in fact called Samuel Sowden. But although he is played by Anthony Flanagan in the drama as a rebellious and violent man, the real Sam Sowden had great ambitions for his children; his son Sutcliffe Sowden went to Cambridge University.<\/p>\n

Young Sutcliffe went on to become a vicar and officiated at the marriage of Charlotte Bront\u00eb and Arthur Bell Nicholls in 1854.<\/p>\n

Read more:<\/strong> Gentleman Jack season 2 review \u2013 Suranne Jones is back with gusto<\/a><\/p>\n

Gentleman Jack returns to BBC One at 9pm on Sunday 10th April 2022. <\/strong>Season 1 is available to stream in full on BBC iPlayer<\/a>. Check out more of our Drama<\/a> coverage or visit our TV Guide<\/a> to see what\u2019s on tonight.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The latest issue of Radio Times is on sale now \u2013\u00a0subscribe now<\/a>\u00a0to get each issue delivered to your door. For more from the biggest stars in TV, l<\/strong>isten to the\u00a0Radio Times podcast<\/a> with Jane Garvey.<\/strong><\/p><\/body><\/html>\n

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By Eleanor Bley Griffiths Published: Friday, 08 April 2022 at 12:00 am *Warning: contains some plot spoilers for Gentleman Jack season 1* BBC One period drama Gentleman Jack, penned by BAFTA winner Sally Wainwright, returns for a second season Sunday 10th April \u2013 but not all viewers may realise that the series is based on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":13564,"template":"","categories":[5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/04\/gentleman-jacks-true-story-anne-listers-real-life-and-history.jpg",620,413,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/04\/gentleman-jacks-true-story-anne-listers-real-life-and-history-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/04\/gentleman-jacks-true-story-anne-listers-real-life-and-history-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/04\/gentleman-jacks-true-story-anne-listers-real-life-and-history.jpg",620,413,false],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/04\/gentleman-jacks-true-story-anne-listers-real-life-and-history.jpg",620,413,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/04\/gentleman-jacks-true-story-anne-listers-real-life-and-history.jpg",620,413,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/04\/gentleman-jacks-true-story-anne-listers-real-life-and-history.jpg",620,413,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Eleanor Bley Griffiths Published: Friday, 08 April 2022 at 12:00 am *Warning: contains some plot spoilers for Gentleman Jack season 1* BBC One period drama Gentleman Jack, penned by BAFTA winner Sally Wainwright, returns for a second season Sunday 10th April \u2013 but not all viewers may realise that the series is based on…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/13563"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}