The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister (1816-1824)

"crytpohand" and secret lesbians!

How does Lister talk about herself/shape herself/her sexuality in the diary? How does she make herself known?

if she doesn't feel safe expressing desire uncoded

it's also about queer preservation--her ancestor didn't burn it because of his "antiquarian" and archival impulses

hiding in plain sight; it creates connections/communities

as a posthumous edition that collects a secret or dangerous idea

the edition is about creating and circulating knowledge and making queer past accessible and useful for classrooms

the italics signal the switch to code and creates a form of intimacy with the audience

it's a very comfortable and straightforward tone

Relationships

Anne Belcombe

Miss Browne

"I know my own heart"

"I love the fairer sex and am loved by them in turn" (161, January 29th

the code helps her say the things outright

they use their bedroom as a private, safe space; "just before getting into bed" "we were in bed" (1816 entries)

Wednesday 13 NOvember 1816 - well, "that the girls liked ne abd gad always liked me" (5)

T

C gets jealous (Monday 19 May 1816, pg 16): this entry really solidifes the love triangle/jealousy

it suggests he knows and is anxious enough to try and foreclose letter writing

sis, the cognitive dissonance

wearing all black and gentleman's "bracers" (suspenders);

click to edit

it's a statement about gender non-confomrity; it disrupts the idea of who the fashion is for, and how the fashion is for the marriage market

"make into wearable petticoats for me" (pg 11; and it's in code, so what is this saying about the sexuality of fashion. Friday 21 March mending my black silk petticoat and black worsted stockings (9)

Sunday June 28th "does your cock stand" (60-1)

there's a way that she understands she is looking for a woman of equal class, intellect, etc.

heterosexuality is a business transaction, but she's also maintaining that class line so hard;