The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister

Anne Lister was a female landowner, diarist and lesbian from the early 1800’s. After her death, her diaries were decoded and revealed her lifelong love of women and various lesbian relationships. Lister’s diaries were a hugely important document for lesbian history. The diaries proved the simple facts that lesbians did exist during this time period and also that they’re better than you. Anne Lister’s life has recently been made into a critically acclaimed TV series called Gentleman Jack. I haven’t seen it. What I have seen is the TV movie about her from 2010, The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister.

The movie opens with Anne’s lover Mariana announcing her engagement. Anne feels devastated and betrayed as she has frequently proposed to Mariana that they pledge themselves to each other like marriage. Despite her marriage, Anne and Mariana continue a sporadic affair. Mariana promises when her older husband dies, she and Anne can be together like Anne wants. But Mariana’s husband does not die. He also beings to grow suspicious of the pair so Mariana stops the affair. When Anne’s uncle dies, she inherits enough money to not need to marry. Anne proposes one last time to Mariana. Mariana says they can be lovers but live separately. Anne refuses to settle and ends the relationship. Anne then begins working with another woman named Ann to ensure the safety of their own fortune by keeping various businessmen from taking advantage of them. A romance grows over time between Anne and Ann.

The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister is not an over-dramatic movie. No one’s lives are at stake. Anne isn’t depicted as having a brigade to change the world. Instead, the movie depicts Anne  as a fairly regular person who happened to be a lesbian. For the most part, she kept her head down but existed proudly and lived happily within a time period in which she was an aberration. I do not know how accurate this depiction is. Certainly after death Anne Lister has become rather politicized and shown as a renegade in her time period. I expect the TV series delves more into this. Given that this adaption of the text clocks in at 90 minutes though, I’m okay with them streamlining that element and instead showing Anne as a fairly regular human being. Because, after all, that’s what lesbians are.

On the whole, The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister is exactly what you’d expect a BBC historical TV movie to be like. TV movies rarely if ever match the sheer scale of a feature film. But for the format it was made for, it’s a solid piece of work. The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister understands what format it’s being released in and is a strong example of what said format should look like. The story is the star of the show but the visuals do an excellent job supporting said story. The costume design and set design in particular are gorgeous. The BBC has proven time and time again that they know how to do a period drama. The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister is one of many solid BBC period dramas that has the added bonus of having lesbians.

If nothing else, The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister proves that gay period dramas don’t have to be sad and end in death. So, thank god for that. A solid TV movie about a very interesting historical figure, The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister is never going to be able to have the depth that a TV series would have but it’s an excellent introduction to a very interesting historical lesbian. It’s probably superfluous to watch this if you’ve seen the TV series but for those who haven’t or for those who are somehow still existing in a pre-2019 world where the TV series has yet to be released, The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister is a solid TV movie worth checking out.

Overall rating: 7.2/10

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