Ann Walker: The Life and Death of Gentleman Jack's Wife

Ann Walker, the wife of Anne Lister, was a lesbian lover and lunatic who was overlooked in her historical significance. Her story reveals a woman of courage, faith, and determination, and her diary provides insight into her life as an independent woman. It is time for her to tell her own story.

Format: Hardback
Length: 224 pages
Publication date: 02 February 2023
Publisher: Pen & Sword Books Ltd

Lesbian. Lover. Lunatic. These are just some of the words usually used to describe Ann Walker, the oft overlooked wife of Anne Lister, better known by some as Gentleman Jack. Ann was one half of England's first same-sex marriage, and yet the rainbow plaque that marks their historic union on the wall of the Holy Trinity Church, York, features Ann's name in a font only half the size of her wife's. Her story has been long forgotten. Born into wealth and privilege, Ann was one of the most eligible heiresses in 19th-century Yorkshire, and the question on everyone's lips in 1830s Halifax was why a respectable young heiress, with property, fortune, and connection, risked everything, even her freedom, to become entangled with the notorious Gentleman Jack? The answer to this question reveals a woman of immense courage, faith, and determination, but her voice has remained silent until now. Within the depths of Ann's diary, discovered by Diane Halford in 2020, the answers to some of the above questions can be found, as can insight into Ann as an independent woman. The life of Ann is worthy of its own narrative, and it is time for Ann to step out of the shadow of Gentleman Jack and tell her own story.

Lesbian. Lover. Lunatic. These are just some of the words usually used to describe Ann Walker, the oft overlooked wife of Anne Lister, better known by some as Gentleman Jack. Ann was one half of England's first same-sex marriage, and yet the rainbow plaque that marks their historic union on the wall of the Holy Trinity Church, York, features Ann's name in a font only half the size of her wife's. Her story has been long forgotten. Born into wealth and privilege, Ann was one of the most eligible heiresses in 19th-century Yorkshire, and the question on everyone's lips in 1830s Halifax was why a respectable young heiress, with property, fortune, and connection, risked everything, even her freedom, to become entangled with the notorious Gentleman Jack? The answer to this question reveals a woman of immense courage, faith, and determination, but her voice has remained silent until now. Within the depths of Ann's diary, discovered by Diane Halford in 2020, the answers to some of the above questions can be found, as can insight into Ann as an independent woman. The life of Ann is worthy of its own narrative, and it is time for Ann to step out of the shadow of Gentleman Jack and tell her own story.

Weight: 540g
Dimension: 241 x 166 x 26 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781399099288