• Diary excerpts

  • From Anne’s diary, Friday 10th August 1832 (age 42)

    [The first time that Anne Lister put her thoughts in writing about the possibility of courting Ann Walker, the young heiress who lived at Lidgate in the neighbourhood of Shibden.]

    ‘… Thought I, as I have several times done of late, shall I try & make up to her?’

  • From Anne’s diary, Sunday 5th January 1834 (age 43)

    [After eighteen months of an on-and-off courtship, Anne was unsure about whether or not there could be a permanent relationship between them.]

    ‘…Miss W[alker] talks as if she would be glad to take me – then if I say anything decisive she hesitates to. I tell her it is all her money which is in the way. The fact is, she is as she was before [i.e. indecisive], but determined to get away from the Sutherlands and feels the want of me. But [I need to] take someone with more mind and less money. Steph [Belcombe – i.e. Mariana’s brother] is right: she would be a great pother [sic]. [I] have nothing serious to say to her – she wants better manning than I can manage.’

    [See also Jill Liddington’s Female Fortune. Rivers Oram Press. 1998. p.85.]

Posted on June 28, 2013

Maria Barlow

By Helen Natasha Moore | Published: June 28, 2013

Anne met Maria Barlow, a widow, during her stay in Paris from 1824 to 1826. Anne succeeded in winning Maria’s affections, but her social standing and financial worth did not meet Anne’s aspirations. Anne continued her affair with the love of her life, Mariana Lawton, during her relationship with Maria, while at the same time seeking a suitable life partner who would allow her to climb the social ranks.

Anne’s affair with Maria Barlow is recorded in Helena’s book, No Priest But Love.

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