Female Fortune Land, Gender, and Authority : the Anne Lister Diaries and Other Writings, 1833-36

Anne Lister, heiress, scholar, traveler, and estate owner, is known to us through her diaries -- an unusually vivid record of an extraordinary life. She inherited Shibden Hall, Yorkshire, seduced a neighbouring heiress, consolidated their estates (effectively a dynastic lesbian marriage), and developed the coal deposits there, managing them with flair and energy. The extensive appraisal of Anne Lister's life and the themes drawn from the diaries make Female Fortune required reading for anyone engaged in current feminist analysis.