#ALyear: 1840

[iredreamer]

Hi I wonder if AL and AW celebrate their anniversaries throughout their marriage? I read they had plum pudding the first year and got the impression it became a tradition. By the way, enjoy your insights and perspective on Gentleman Jack and AL/AW. Thanks for the wonderful inputs.

hey :) yes! they did celebrate their anniversary! apparently they considered the 10th of February as the date of their anniversary because it was the day (10th of February 1834) they decided to commit to each other (they exchange rings the 27th of February and then take the sacrament together the 30th of March).

Okay so, starting from 1834, let’s see what Anne Lister writes the 10th of February of every year! I’ve decoded the coded parts, if she writes about their anniversary not in code it will not be included here (unless the transcript for that day is in some of the books I read) because I don’t understand her plain hand, not one bit, so I can’t transcribe it (she also wrote in heavily abbreviated English so...impossible for me to understand it like 90% of the time). In any case, I’m gonna link the diary page (if you want to try and read her plain hand to see if she says something more about the anniversary) and I’m gonna link the source/sources when the diary entry is from a publication/book.

February 10, 1834 > Better make up her mind at once, or what could I do? She [Ann Walker] agreed & It was understood that she was to consider herself as having nobody to please & being under no authority but mine – to make her will right directly, & on returning from France & on my aunt’s death, then to add a codicil leaving me a life estate in all she could & I would do the same to her. Well then is it really settled or not? I am easy about it & shall prepare for either way. (Margin: Settled with Miss W-?) [SH:7/ML/E/16/0168]

February 10, 1835 > A- and I had excellent plum pudding today in commemoration of the first anniversary of being together so comfortably and so happily – may we live to enjoy many more such anniversaries! [Gentleman Jack: The Real Anne Lister & Moving Between Worlds] [This is not written in code as you can see here SH:7/ML/E/17/0161]

February 10, 1836 > I think A- out sorts at the day – at its being the anniversary of our being together – she can hardly perhaps own to herself that she repents but she has a queer temper & perhaps fancies herself under restraint – my maxim is neither to confide in nor consult her – do the best I can & leave the rest to providence. [SH:7/ML/E/18/0174]

On February 10, 1837 Ann Walker gifted Anne Lister a silver pencil for their anniversary [Moving Between Worlds]. All I can make out from her diary is: “Asleep in my easy chair – A- gave (?) me a silver pencil (???)” and no more lol [SH:7/ML/E/20/0021]

February 10, 1838 > Plum pudding today – it struck me it was the tenth – the fourth anniversary of my connection, union (?) with A-. She had remembered to order the pudding yet to me made no allusion to the day. The thing struck me – how odd – said I to myself – it was only as I came in from my walk that I congratulated myself on her being away (???) an incubus taken off me what temper she has – yet the plum pudding softened me. As I came upstairs I told Oddy to met us – have plum pudding tomorrow & A- shall have a bottle of malmsey madeira of which she is very fond. [SH:7/ML/E/21/0040]

February 10, 1839 > Plum pudding (???) in commemoration of the 5th anniversary of my (???) [I guess it’s something like “of my union with A-” or “of my and A-”, something like that SH:7/ML/E/22/0121 anyway, the point is that they had plum pudding to celebrate] 

There are no coded passages for February 10, 1840 (just one at the beginning but it has nothing to do with Ann Walker or their anniversary) and I can’t make out Anne Lister plain hand at all here, these are the pages of the diary: SH:7/ML/E/24/0009 - SH:7/ML/E/24/0010 - SH:7/ML/E/24/0011.

Well, I guess, this is it? So yeah they usually celebrated their anniversary with plum pudding, it seems it was their tradition! :)

[iredreamer]

(Part 1) About Anne considering an affair: Angela Steidele mentions this in her biograpy. Apparently Anne was quite attracted to a Russian aristorcate while in Moscow and according to some summaries of her diary that Steidele qoutes she was wheiging pro and contra of an affair before she and Ann left Moscow to travel deeper into Russia. Of course Steidele never read these passages herself and...well we know how this journey ended so we'll never know how serious this thing was.

peneneth asked: (Part 2) If you want to read the original passages, the days that Steidele quotes for this are December 26th and 27th 1839 and January 24th 1840. Also your take on AL and AW relationship really feels spot on, even if it isn't very romantic in a modern sense.

thank you SO MUCH for the info. I decoded the coded parts of the days you told me and I’m gonna just leave them here because honestly I don’t know what to make of them. I also read other days, the ones before and after the days you told me, to try and understand the context of this whole thing but I guess one needs to read the whole month of December 1839 and January 1840 to really get what was going on.

December 26, 1839 > “??? I said if she [I think she’s talking about this aristocratic Russian] durst trust me I would do all I could – yes, she believed all I said – liked me from the first scarce knowing why used to fear should be offended at sending for me every night but could not help it – should not have done so in another case nor said I should I have gone every night to anyone else – a mutual profession of amitie [friendship] sometime she thought she would & then that she would not write her case for me to send to doctor B-. (...) Agreed that I am to go to her at one tomorrow.” [SH:7/ML/E/23/0161]

December 27, 1839 > “A- all in tears & low – said I left her so much said this on my telling her I was going to princess R- (?) a sort of scene & talk as usual on these occasions. She promised to try to exert herself but what melancholy miserable work it is (...) The emperor had behaved beautifully he & the empress & she being all together – he owned that much as he preferred the empress to all other women yet that had princess R- made any effort to win him he was homme & could not have answered for himself – but she had not & in short there was a scene & they all three cried – wept – & all was beautiful – but still, the empress had at times been jealous & then got over it. R- went to Odessa because the empress wanted her to promise if she could not go to remain at Saint Petersburg the eight months till the court returned – “no” R- would return home & stay there if she was not well enough to go to Odessa but she did go – she consulted nobody but her physician, as a friend did not even tell her sister at Saint P- for fear of  her writing to her parents & distressing them. The physician told her to go – saying it was kill or cure – but in such a case to go honour (??) reputation at stake – it was envy – all scandalized her but she believed the people here now did her justice – She had many offers but she knew it was that they wanted favour, all told R- such stories to prevent his marrying her, but she herself explained & he believed her perfect innocence, so much chagrin had been too much for her – poor thing, I expressed my own belief & admiration & she kissed me affectionately on coming away. (...) Meant to write but A- came – long talk till after twelve – what miserable work – how shall I endure it? I must manage her better or we cannot go on together. I feel as if it would be heaven to be without her.” [SH:7/ML/E/23/0161 & SH:7/ML/E/23/0162]

January 24, 1840 > “She [this aristocratic Russian, I guess] is a thorough woman of the worlds but good heaven capricious tempered! that is with ??? ??? pettishness at times but her beauty is in the wake, her eyes deadening & wrinkling round about & the Russian bend in her nose becoming more apparent but her teeth are good & smile lovely – she will think no more of me – she hopes to survive her husband – well she may, for he can leave her nothing, she will be as she said some time ago.” [SH:7/ML/E/23/0187]

From just these extracts AL doesn’t say anything that she’s not said before when talking about Ann Walker (i.e. that she did not know how long their union would last and that she wanted to be free) and it’s not clear what are AL’s intentions about this Russian woman. She fancies her but...mmm I’m still confused about this period and this “affair”.

I think everyone knows by now that Angela Steidele borrowed a lot of stuff from other historians (and like you said she never read the diaries), I would love to know what are her sources for Anne Lister’s last years, maybe reading the actual books/papers from which she took this info can help understand what was going on.

Again, thank you so much for your asks <3