Gentleman Jack

Halifax, 1832. Anne Lister returns to Shibden Hall, having discovered that her would-be companion, the aristocratic Vere Hobart, has accepted a marriage proposal from a man. Despite her affection for her elderly aunt, Lister is frustrated by the shabbiness of her ancestral home and finds her father and long-suffering sister difficult to live with. When Lister discovers that her land is rich in coal, her plans to transform the estate soon provide a welcome distraction. On the neighboring estate, shy heiress Ann Walker is quietly delighted to hear that the charismatic Anne Lister is back. Meanwhile, a hit-and-run accident on Shibden land puts a child's life at risk, and Lister's new French maid, Eugénie, finds herself in trouble.

Lister begins a playful but dangerous courtship of Ann Walker, who quickly finds herself captivated by the attentions of her neighbor. Lister's plan to excavate her coal mines brings her into the path of local magistrate Christopher Rawson and his brother Jeremiah. While Ann Walker prepares for a trip to the Lake District, her cousin's reaction to her budding friendship leads her to realize that Lister is not popular with everyone in the community. Back at Shibden, Lister's servant, John Booth, offers a solution to Eugénie's problem. Meanwhile, Lister wonders if confronting the past could be the key to finding future happiness.

Lister confides her hopes for a future with Ann Walker to her aunt, as Ann's neighbor, Mrs. Priestley, has an inkling about the two women's relationship that presents a threat. Meanwhile, John Booth is surprised at his own romantic success. The Rawson brothers step up their attempts to out-maneuver Lister in the coal business. Marian grows annoyed that her sister is treating Shibden like a hotel. The mouthy behavior of Lister's tenant, Sam Sowden, causes problems for his son Thomas.

During a visit to York, Lister is delighted when Doctor Belcombe confirms that she is the perfect tonic for Ann Walker's nervous disorder. When news of a friend's death arrives, Ann's desperate reaction makes Lister suspect that she has secrets of her own. Meanwhile, as her rivalry with Christopher Rawson heats up, Lister steps up her plan to re-open her old coal mines. At Shibden, Eugénie's misfortune has implications for John Booth, and Thomas Sowden spins a risky web of lies after his father's disappearance.

The widowed Reverend Ainsworth arrives in Halifax, and with encouragement from Mrs. Priestley, sets his sights on Ann Walker. Aware that Ainsworth's attentions are stirring up memories for her lover, Lister sets out to deal with the clergyman in her own inimitable manner. Meanwhile, Lister presses on with the transformation of her estate, but her ambitious plans threaten to lead her into trouble. At afternoon tea, Marian remains impressed by Mr. Abbott, though her aunt and father are less so. A discovery in the pigsty gives Mary Sowden reason to suspect Thomas is lying about his father.

With Ann Walker's mental state in a downward spiral, Lister is forced to contemplate travelling to Europe alone, despite her family's warnings that doing so will raise eyebrows. Aunt Anne and Captain Lister endure another visit from the irritating Mr. Abbott, while Marian remains peeved that her sister is absent once again. Lister reopens her coal-mine negotiations with the powerful Rawson brothers. Thomas Sowden's secret casts a cloud over his budding relationship with Suzannah Washington. Ann's Scottish relatives swoop in with their own ideas about what's best for her future.

Before setting off for Europe to escape her heartache, Lister invites Christopher Rawson to Shibden to rebuke him for publicly insulting Marian. Later, Lister comes up with a bold strategy to mine her own coal and expose the Rawson brothers' industrial-scale theft. In Scotland, Ann Walker becomes increasingly distressed when she discovers that her brother-in-law, Captain Sutherland, plans to marry her off to his penniless cousin. Lister travels to London with her old flame Mariana Lawton, a trip that exposes crippling memories of their past relationship. Despite his lowly social status, Thomas Sowden plucks up the courage to speak to Mr. Washington about his future with Suzannah.

Following a four-week journey from Paris to Copenhagen, Lister finds acceptance and appreciation in Danish high society, stepping out of her sartorial comfort zone to attend a birthday ball hosted by Queen Marie. When difficult news arrives from Shibden, Lister is faced with the decision to stay in Europe or go back home. In Scotland, a shocking discovery about Captain Sutherland leads Ann Walker to make a bold resolution about her future. An unexpected visitor to the farm threatens to expose Thomas Sowden's macabre secret.

Yorkshire, 1834. A month on from their private marriage ceremony, Ann Walker remains in York under the care of her doctor while Anne Lister, with fresh financial confidence and entrepreneurial vigour, renovates Shibden Hall in preparation for her wife to move in.Learning of their plan to cohabit, Ann's protective tribe of relations are increasingly suspicious of Anne's motives, but they can't find the right words to express their fears about the nature of her relationship. Meanwhile, as the couple prepare for a fabulous honeymoon abroad, devastated Mariana Lawton's jealousy signals more trouble ahead.

A former flame threatens to derail Anne Lister's idyllic honeymoon by revealing details of her complicated romantic past to Ann Walker. Questioned by Ann in the foothills of Mont Blanc, Anne reveals something of her relationship with Mariana Lawton, but keeps back crucial information. Back in Halifax, the couple's daring trip abroad has raised the alarm among Miss Walker's family, who hatch a plot to marry her off to a man.

Anne Lister and Ann Walker launch a charm offensive on Ann's relatives, determined to show them that Miss Walker is flourishing at Shibden Hall. Anne is fascinated by the arrival of a railway in Yorkshire and quizzes Halifax's men of industry on what this revolution could mean for the town. Though animated in public, privately Anne is unable to tear her thoughts from Mariana Lawton, who has confided that she is in the depths of despair. When Mariana appeals to Anne to visit her, Miss Walker has to make a difficult decision. Can she trust her wife to go?

Anne Lister is drawn back into her complicated past with Mariana during a trip to Lawton Hall. With Anne determined to draw a line under the tempestuous 20-year relationship that Mariana is so desperate to reignite, the women find themselves raking over past heartache.Back at Shibden with her in-laws, Ann Walker receives a visitor of her own, in a sneaky move by her meddling cousins.

It's the election of January 1835, and revolution is in the air in Halifax. Returned to Shibden Hall and determined to move on from Mariana Lawton, Anne Lister throws herself into furthering the Tory cause.With rumblings of discontent from Radicals looking to dismantle the traditional seats of power, it's clear this won't be an easy win for Anne's party, but the violence and lawlessness of how the election unfolds horrifies everyone.Meanwhile, after a wall of silence from her sister, Ann Walker is stunned to learn that, at such a volatile time, the Sutherlands have ordered evictions on their shared property. With this, and Anne Lister's refusal to keep a low profile, the couple are drawing dangerous attention to themselves, and their relationship.

Anne Lister brushes the humiliating newspaper announcement aside, refusing to be intimidated by its public lampooning of her sexuality. Ann Walker is devastated to discover that her family have colluded with Captain Sutherland over the Walker estate, and suspects Parker of being in on it. And when a shocking letter intending to destroy Ann's trust in her wife arrives at Shibden Hall, the cracks already appearing within their marriage are forced open.

With the backing of an elite York lawyer, Anne and Ann press on with the proposal for a division of the Walker land, meeting Captain Sutherland's every obstruction head-on. But Ann's determination to secure her share of the family estate sends shockwaves through her family. Soon it isn't just the Priestleys who suspect Anne of being behind the proposal.

Anne Lister and Ann Walker's trip to London is blighted by tension. Anne refuses to introduce Ann to her society friends, and simmering resentments on both sides of the relationship boil over when Miss Walker takes Anne to task over her financial borrowing.Back in Halifax, in the run-up to the Northgate ceremony, Anne is privately dismayed to realise she cannot count on the support of her family and receives terrible news about a friend. The ongoing mission to divide the Walker estate puts the couple under even more strain when Captain Sutherland arrives from Scotland determined to destroy Anne Lister's reputation. Is the marriage strong enough to survive constant attack?