Gentleman Jack

Peter McGinn

This series had at least two things going for it, in my view. Creator/director Sally Wainwright and star Suranne Jones as Anne Lister. It presents an interesting juxtaposition: it is a costume drama from the early 1800s, but also tells the story of a woman who tried to live her life as a man, quite amazing at that time. The story held my interest easily, with strong writing and, as is always the case with Wainwright’s creations, an excellent ensemble cast to back up Jones. Timothy West and Gemma Jones, just to mention two. Apparently there will be a second seri3s to continue the story. The plot and character were created from a diary actually kept by Ann Lister, which was written in code to protect herself from the stifling social stigmas of the time, so this isn’t a made up story to reach for modern open minded sensibilities. I read about Lister some after I watched it, and it didn’t seem like one of those fantastic reimagining you sometimes get. So, on to series two!