*Note: As I’ve done before when talking about Gentleman Jack, I’ll refer to Anne Lister as “Anne” and Ann Walker as “Miss Walker,” just to save confusion.*
When series 2 of Gentleman Jack came out, I was reminded anew that Fifth Doctor Peter Davison has a recurring role on the show. I wrote up Other Doctor Lives reviews for that season as I watched it but didn’t post them at the time. I’m now circling back to revisit series 1 so I can post our Peter Davison content in order.
Anne Lister—intrepid intellectual, adventurer, and woman about town—has just returned home to Halifax. She’s more than just the lady of Shibden Hall; even though her father is still alive and living there as well, she’s the one who inherited the manor house from her uncle. To distract herself from her recent broken heart, she throws herself into running the estate, but she soon finds something further to catch her eye: Miss Ann Walker, a wealthy and beautiful young woman in delicate health who’s come to stay with cousins in the area.
This show can be slow-moving at times, but I do really enjoy it. I love how it depicts Anne, an impressive woman who makes an impact wherever she goes. Though she comes from old money, she has a curious mind and a “roll up your sleeves” attitude toward most things that need doing. The man who manages the estate is in failing health? She’ll go around and collect the tenants’ rent herself (a woman, the scandal!) Her groom is killed in an unfortunate accident? She’ll attend the autopsy, drawing conjectures about the precise manner of death. The coal on her estate is growing in value thanks to the proliferation of steam-powered travel? She’ll seek advice on how to sink for her own pit.
But even as she makes her own way in the world—her lovers urge her to get a husband like they did, but she holds fast to the idea of finding a woman to care for all her days—Anne isn’t bulletproof or infallible. While it’s true that she’s a go-getter, she sometimes operates more on confidence than skills, and her brusque, superior manner can leave others feeling the sting (the servants especially scramble around in fear of her displeasure.) And yes, you can practically see the heart eyes from her first meeting with Miss Walker, but it’s unclear at the start whether she’s undertaking to woo this woman out of genuine affection, just to give herself something to do, or in a bid for Miss Walker’s fortune.
Miss Walker, meanwhile, is a kind but timid and nervous young woman. After a carriage accident at the start of the episode, she’s badly shaken and trying to recover herself. Her cousins’ fascinating, glowing accounts of Anne intrigue her, and although she doesn’t at this point seem likely to even have sapphic love on her radar, it is clear that she’s taken with Anne from the first.
I absolutely loved Suranne Jones as the personification of the TARDIS in “The Doctor’s Wife,” and she’s very good here as Anne: alternately stern, brash, thoughtful, romantic, and practical. As Miss Walker, Sophie Rundle brings an entirely different energy, softer and more timid, but curious as well—there’s a light in her eyes when other people talk about Anne. The show boasts a host of other fine British actors. In the first episode alone, we’re introduced to Timothy West and Gemma Jones as Anne’s father and aunt, along with Gemma Whelan (Yara from Game of Thrones) as her long-suffering sister Marian. The show also features Thomas Howes, who played William on Downton Abbey.
Peter Davison plays Miss Walker’s cousin, William Priestley. Miss Walker is staying with him and his wife in Halifax, and they’re one of numerous older relations in her family who are looking out for her (and her fortune.) Here, Mr. Priestley and his wife offer her a nicer alternative to her busybody aunt. They regale her with tales of Anne’s adventures and exploits, with Mr. Priestley fondly noting, “My wife is rather a fan of Miss Lister.”
First impressions:
Accent Watch
Northern, but not very pronounced.
Recommend?
In General – Sure. This is a neat period drama about a fascinating woman. I’m always in favor of more LGBTQ period pieces, and this one’s historical to boot!
Peter Davison – Too early to make a judgment based on this episode. The performance is fine, but there isn’t much to the character yet, and he doesn’t have a lot of screentime.
Warnings
Sexual content, graphic imagery (including some nasty-looking Victorian wounds,) drinking, and thematic elements.
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