Description
This text is an excerpt from Anne Lister's original diaries that was written on September 20th, 1824. The title of the text is "No Priest But Love- Excerpts From The Diaries of Anne Lister." These diary entries were written between 1824 and 1826 and act as window into the life a lesbian who lived during the period right before the Victorian Era. Her diary entries depict her life in Yorkshire, Northern England and document her sexual and romantic relationships with several different women. Her entries account for her daily life, her relationships, her gender identity, the harassment she faced as a lesbian, along with her economic struggles.
Text
Monday 20 Sept.
"In the evening I sat about an hour with Mrs Barlow. Her eyes sparkled when she saw me & she was evidently afraid lest anyone else was coming. She surely wishes to have me tête-à-tête. She rather flatters my on my talents & agreeableness & I gently flatter her on being ladylike & pretty. She asked me if I had any male correspondents. I said one, between seventy & eighty, mentioning Mr. Duffin & said I was no believer in platonic attachments. Preferred ladies' company to gentlemen's. Did many things ladies in general could not do, but did them quietly. My education had been different from the common rule. I was suited to my circumstances. On my uncle's death should come in for my uncle's estate, at my own disposal. He had no high opinion of ladies- was not fond of leaving estates to female. Were I other than I am, would not leave his to me."
Citation
Lister, Anne. No Priest but Love: Excerpts from the Diaries of Anne Lister, 1824-1826. Ed. Helena Whitbread. Washington Square, NY: New York UP, 1992. Print.
