Thank you NetGalley and Pen and Sword Books for the advance review copy of “The Lister Sisters” by Rebecca Batley.

Anne Lister is such an interesting figure in history. She was a landowner in a time when women were generally not permitted to own any property, as well as an architectural and landscaping designer, invested in railways, and owned two coal mines. Most shockingly to her time, she was also an out lesbian who essentially married her partner, Ann Walker. Their marriage was never legally recognized but was formally noted by the women’s families and regarded as such. Her sister Marian led a much quieter life, staying closer to home, caring for their father and aunt in their old age, and forming close bonds with cousins. Marian never married or had children of her own, but the love she gave her younger cousins was rewarded by love returned, and they cared for her in her own late years.

While Batley’s book is very informative, parts of it reads rather like a timeline of events. Batley gives the principal actors their due, but it feels like the writing in some places is stilted, like there could have been more detail. Overall, though, this was a good book and gives readers a clear view of the Lister sisters and their lives.