Learned by Heart by Emma Donoghue

336 Pages, Published In 2023

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A historical fiction about forbidden love of two school girls in early 19th century of York. One girl is an Anglo-Indian orphan heiress banished from India, and the other a brilliant and vibrant tomboy. The story is based on the five-million-word coded journal by English diarist Anne Lister, known as the first modern lesbian. Fascinating characters; easy-to-follow plot; deeply researched facts; Poetic writing. The portrait of boarding school life is vivid but just a little too long.