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The Gentleman Jack Effect: Lessons in Breaking Rules and Living Out Loud
The book is a joyous mosaic, a celebration of the power of the words from one woman of a distant era to echo down through the years and provide inspiration, validation, and courage to generations of women .
—HELENA WHITBREAD, THE SECRET DIARIES OF ANNE LISTER
Janet Lea’s interviews with Gentleman Jack fans vividly capture the huge impact that Sally Wainwright’s drama has had on their lives. Many say time can be measured as befor e Gentleman Jack and after Gentleman Jack .
—JILL LIDDINGON, FEMALE FORTUNE If Anne Lister could be her true self 200 years ago, we can do it now. Until Gentleman Jack, English landowner, world traveler, and prolific diarist Anne Lister was a well-kept secret. In a perfect mash-up of 19th history and entertainment, the LGBTQ+-themed prime time TV series vaulted a 230-year-old unapologetic lesbian to superstar status and electrified gay women around the world. The hit BBC period drama made Anne Lister, aka Gentleman Jack, an instant LGBTQ+ icon.
Lister’s explosive impact is the subject of this riveting, illustrated collection of 62 stories that chronicle the epic transformations of Gentleman Jack fans inspired by the historic figure who brazenly challenged gender and social norms two centuries ago. Through firsthand accounts, The Gentleman Jack Effect deftly recounts how eight hours of ground-breaking television emboldened women—regardless of whom they love—to fully be themselves, ignited the creation of an international lesbian community, and sparked a global movement to update queer history.
First-person narratives from dozens of fans supercharged by the woman often described as the first modern lesbian detail how they're embracing and celebrating their nature, coming out, finding love and friendship, making pilgrimages, climbing mountains, pursuing creative projects, and taking on challenges of all kinds. This unique anthology of the experiences of LGBTQ+ people and their allies worldwide—all committed to following in Anne Lister’s footsteps—is must-reading for anyone longing for connection to like-minded souls or in need of a refresher course in self-acceptance and risk-taking.
—HELENA WHITBREAD, THE SECRET DIARIES OF ANNE LISTER
Janet Lea’s interviews with Gentleman Jack fans vividly capture the huge impact that Sally Wainwright’s drama has had on their lives. Many say time can be measured as befor e Gentleman Jack and after Gentleman Jack .
—JILL LIDDINGON, FEMALE FORTUNE If Anne Lister could be her true self 200 years ago, we can do it now. Until Gentleman Jack, English landowner, world traveler, and prolific diarist Anne Lister was a well-kept secret. In a perfect mash-up of 19th history and entertainment, the LGBTQ+-themed prime time TV series vaulted a 230-year-old unapologetic lesbian to superstar status and electrified gay women around the world. The hit BBC period drama made Anne Lister, aka Gentleman Jack, an instant LGBTQ+ icon.
Lister’s explosive impact is the subject of this riveting, illustrated collection of 62 stories that chronicle the epic transformations of Gentleman Jack fans inspired by the historic figure who brazenly challenged gender and social norms two centuries ago. Through firsthand accounts, The Gentleman Jack Effect deftly recounts how eight hours of ground-breaking television emboldened women—regardless of whom they love—to fully be themselves, ignited the creation of an international lesbian community, and sparked a global movement to update queer history.
First-person narratives from dozens of fans supercharged by the woman often described as the first modern lesbian detail how they're embracing and celebrating their nature, coming out, finding love and friendship, making pilgrimages, climbing mountains, pursuing creative projects, and taking on challenges of all kinds. This unique anthology of the experiences of LGBTQ+ people and their allies worldwide—all committed to following in Anne Lister’s footsteps—is must-reading for anyone longing for connection to like-minded souls or in need of a refresher course in self-acceptance and risk-taking.
354 pages, Paperback
Published August 28, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 29, 2024
As someone who got swept up in the Gentleman Jack fandom, making a trek to Shibden Hall in 2019 and returning in 2022 to attend the first in-person Anne Lister Birthday Week celebrations, it was fun to read these profiles of others affected by the titular "Gentleman Jack Effect". The various ways the real and fictionalized Anne Lister and Ann Walker have inspired people (mostly women) are reflected in this collection of profiles.
My only real criticism of the text is that the structure (short profiles of individuals or pairs of people) results in a fair bit of repetition that could have been avoided by taking a less strict approach to this structure. For example, several members of the group planning to trek Mount Vignemale are profiled and each individual profile repeats how the group formed, the pandemic delayed their plan, but they're going ahead at a later date, etc. — fine if you're reading the profiles in isolation, but tedious if you've just read about that three pages earlier.
My only real criticism of the text is that the structure (short profiles of individuals or pairs of people) results in a fair bit of repetition that could have been avoided by taking a less strict approach to this structure. For example, several members of the group planning to trek Mount Vignemale are profiled and each individual profile repeats how the group formed, the pandemic delayed their plan, but they're going ahead at a later date, etc. — fine if you're reading the profiles in isolation, but tedious if you've just read about that three pages earlier.
June 21, 2024
It's just a series of very similar 'Gentleman Jack changed my life' stories. As a result, it is only the second book I couldn't be bothered to finish
October 8, 2022
Loved hearing the individual stories of how everyone was affected by watching Gentleman Jack and learning about Anne Lister's life because of it. I also appreciate that they included a range of people from all different backgrounds, sexuality, and gender, and submissions from all over the world!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews