A Skirt Through History

Anne Lister, an outwardly conventional gentlewoman living in Halifax at the beginning of the last century, had a secret life that would have shocked local society. Her diaries, written in such a complex code that they were not deciphered until the 1980s, reveal that she was really a lesbian Don Juan.

Bessie Parkes founded the first newspaper run by women. Emilie Peacocke later became one of the first women reporters.

Dr James Barry was born a girl, but lived disguised as a man. Hannah Cullwick turned from working-class to high-class.

Sarah Benett and Ethel Smyth were prison cell neighbors. Both were charged with window breaking - a suffragettes tactic.

Painter Artemisia Gentileschi has been remembered as loose. Her trial record reveals how her reputation was ruined.

Lady Maria Nugent described her slaves as "merry." Meanwhile, Mary Prince, born into slavery, endured brutal treatment.