What happened between Anne Lister and Mariana Lawton? Gentleman Jack season 2 history
**WARNING: CONTAINS TV SERIES SPOILERS**
BBC One period drama Gentleman Jack, penned by BAFTA winner Sally Wainwright, is in full swing.
Based on the the real Anne Lister’s diaries, Gentleman Jack season 2 follows Anne Lister and Ann Walker (played by Suranne Jones and Sophie Rundle) as the couple prepare to live together at Shibden Hall and combine their estates following their commitment to each other at the end of season 1.
However, it's far from wedding bliss for the couple in season 2, with the dramatic return of Anne’s scorned lover Mariana Lawton (Lydia Leonard) threatening to put their romance to the test.
After dozens of emotionally charged letters between the pair, Gentleman Jack season 2 episode 4, which aired tonight (1st May), saw Anne pay Mariana a visit – with disastrous consequences.
But what happened between Anne and Mariana in real-life?
Read on to find out how much Anne's relationship with Mariana on screen is based on fact. But be warned: spoilers for the full series follow below.
Is Anne Lister's visit to Mariana at Lawton Hall inspired by real events?
Yes, Anne’s visit to Mariana at Lawton Hall in Gentleman Jack season 2, episode 4 was indeed inspired by historical facts.
After Ann moved into Shibden Hall, Mariana felt the need to clarify where they stood and invited Anne to stay over Christmas of 1834.
Anne, too, felt the need to clear the air and visited Lawton Hall alone, where she was drawn back into her complicated past with Mariana.
After sleeping in separate beds the first night, Mariana put Anne to the test the next morning.
However, Anne Lister made it clear early on in her relationship with Ann that she was after loyalty and long-term commitment and, while Mariana did try to tempt Anne, she did not break her oath to Ann.
“M – came a little before eight and stayed till nine in bed with me – rather in pathetics – she cannot get over her love for me – but I behaved with perfect propriety," Anne confided in her diary.
“Anne returned to Shibden Hall a loyal ‘husband’, late at night," wrote Angela Steidele of the visit in Gentleman Jack: A Biography of Anne Lister.
In November 1836, Mariana tried to seduce Anne once again during a week-long visit to Shibden.
In Gentleman Jack: The Real Anne Lister, Anne Choma writes of the visit: "At first Mariana was shocked at just how settled Anne and Ann were as a couple. Occasionally she tried to tempt Anne with an ‘open-lipped’ kiss but Anne resisted, refusing all intimacy. ‘The fact is,’ said Anne, when Mariana left to return to Lawton Hall, ‘I am not sorry she is gone.’"
And that was that. Anne and Ann lived a happy and settled life together, with Anne putting a stop to her relationship with Mariana.
What happened between Anne Lister and Mariana Lawton?
Anne met Mariana Belcombe in 1813 when she was 23 years old and Mariana was 24.
It was the most passionate of all of Anne’s affairs, and lasted 16 or 17 years but, despite Anne’s hopes they could ‘marry’, Mariana caved and married a man – 56-year-old widower Charles Lawton – for economic stability.
The newly-named Mariana Lawton continued to have an affair with Anne even after her marriage, with frequent visits between the pair and echoes of old love remaining a common theme in their correspondence.
But their relationship was also fraught with the pain of their romantic history, and Anne began to hope that someone else would appear with whom she could build a future together.
“I always look on the bright side. My conviction is strengthened that all things work together for the good," Anne wrote in her diary following Mariana's marriage.
By 1830 (well before Anne met Ann in 1832), writes Choma in her biography of Anne's life, Anne's feelings towards Mariana “had changed irrevocably” as she started to cultivate new and more exciting connections with women of higher ranks.
Read more: Gentleman Jack season 2 review – Suranne Jones is back with gusto
Gentleman Jack season 2 airs Sundays at 9pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Gentleman Jack season 1 is also available to stream in full on BBC iPlayer.
Looking for something else to watch? Take a look at the rest of our Drama coverage or check out our TV Guide to find out what is on television this week.
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