i randomly discovered the 2019 series 'gentleman jack', about anne lister and her relationship with ann walker.
and omg, it's so great, i binge watched the first season yesterday and am going to do the same with the 2nd one today.
i love the story, i actually now really want to read her 5 million words diaries (lots of which was written in code!). but on top of that, the series really hits me in my historical fashion lil heart! like, it's the most historically accurate it can be with all the characters, and i absolutely love it!
plus, anne lister hits all my aesthetic fashion goals, even if it's late regency* style rather late victorian/early edwardian (which is my personal preference re fashion). mostly all black, mix of typically men fashion with what is acceptable women fashion and just, yes love it.
and like the struggle between society's expectations for (landed) women and who they love and how they live.
all of it. just yes.
my only beef rn, is the same i have with lots of historical dramas (i have the same beef with all the austen screen adaptations i've seen for example), is that is so very fucking white. there is one poc character, anne's chamber-maid eugénie, and that's it. maybe season 2 will redeem itself on that front? not getting my hopes up, but it's so very infuriating. it's like good grief people! poc existed in england at the time and not just as enslaved people! but that's a rant for another time. but always raises the hackles of my inner historian.
*technically it's late georgian, as george iv was on the throne, but regency era usually covers the actual regency (and a decade or 2 before it) until victoria came on the throne (esp considering there are so many georges, though georgian era covers the 2 goerges that succeeded each other before victoria, including the regecny, since it was george iv that was regent before he became iv and replaced goerge iii) and i'll stop here about my historical ramble.
