Thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown, and Company for access to this title. I am auto-approved for this publisher. All opinions expressed are my own.
3.5 stars

Set in the 19th century in the northern English city of York, two boarding school roommates, Anne Lister and Eliza Raine become friends and then become something much more.

Truthfully, I am growing quite fond of Emma Donoghue.

The foolish reader that I am was not aware until the author's note that this is fictionalized story of two very real people. Here's your warning because it is meticulously researched and the lives of women in the early 1800s were so restricted, accept this one is going to have a rather sad ending. I don't want to get into too many details because I might say too much.

Because it is set in a girl's boarding school there are a lot of characters that do interact with Eliza and Anne. At times, this was a bit confusing and I did find the story was moving slowly toward the big moment of the story. Because it's a bit of a heavier read, I think it is the perfect selection for a fall reading experience.







Expected Publication Date 29/08/23
Goodreads Review 21/07/23

I have always loved Emma Donoghue's forays into lesbian historical fiction (The Pull of Our Stars, Frog Music). Learned by Heart is no different - and like her previous books, this one will also shatter your heart. The only complaint I had was trying to keep the girls of the school separate (too many names to keep track of) but Lister and Eliza shine. Meticulously researched, as many have noted. Well done, Emma.

If you know anything about Anne Lister or enjoyed Gentleman Jack, this is the book for you. It's also the book for you if you like beautiful writing, queerness, the 19th century, boarding school drama, sad endings, beauty, joy, rebelling against the patriarchy, and adventure. Focusing on Eliza Raine's relationship with Lister at school, the treatment of women and women's health and bodies in the 19th century, women's autonomy, race, and class, Donoghue's newest novel is gorgeous, tragic, and a treat to read.

Emma Donoghue has once again written a beautiful, heartbreaking story. Based on a true story, the reader is transported back to the early 1800s, when Eliza Raines and Anne Lister are students at a boarding school for young women. Miss Raines is the natural child of an English doctor and his Indian “wife”. Miss Lister, who prefers to be known just by her last name like a boy would be, is a fiercely intelligent tomboy. Eliza and Lister start as roommates, separated from the other girls up in the attic, move on to best friends and finally, lovers.
Donoghue once again gives us scenes that are easy to envision. The boarding school is part prison, with its myriad of rules and regulations, girls earning demerits for all sorts of infractions. “A soldier, a prisoner, a workhouse inmate, a nun, a patient, a pupil, a lunatic - must they not all necessarily obey, living at such close quarters like books on a shelf?” Their time at the school is interspersed with letters that Eliza is writing 10 years later to Lister and it’s gradually apparent that Eliza is now confined in a different manner. It was interesting to actually read of an asylum that actually cared for its patients.
The story deals with those that are different, those that society doesn’t want. There is racism, but it was less explicit than I would have expected. I found it haunting, especially when describing their forbidden love. Donoghue truly gets how totally engrossing first love can be.
It’s meticulously researched and was a story in the making for over thirty years. The Author’s Note spells out how differently Eliza and Lister’s lives played out. I was unaware of “Gentleman Jack”, so the real life Lister was unknown to me.
My thanks to Netgalley and Little, Brown and Company.

Donoghue’s newest book revolves around two girls that meet and fall in love at a boarding school in the 1800s. I didn’t enjoy this one as much. I think writing in the historical style instead of Donoghue’s more modern prose just wasn’t for me. Others might enjoy it more!

It is obvious Learned By Heart is a passion project with the care Emma Donoghue has taken in crafting this book. A literary fiction account of the life of Eliza Raine, this book highlights an important figure in sapphic history. The book is told in two timestreams, Eliza’s life at boarding school with Anne and Eliza in the present-day writing letters to Anne. This means it is apparent from near the start how things will end, and I am glad as a reader I was prepared this way. It makes the past chapters even more haunting.

Eliza Raine deserves to be remembered, and this book is a great starting point for learning about her. Many thanks to Little Brown and Company for an eARC via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

This was beautifully written book of historical fiction that I thoroughly appreciated. The book took the reader back to early 19th century England. The story was told by Eliza who was born to an Indian mother and an English father in an unusual relationship. After the death of her father, she and her sister made the voyage to England where they eventually ended up in a boarding school in York. There Eliza struggled with her ethnicity as well as loneliness.

The details of life at this historic school were fascinating - such colorful, vivid writing. Then Lister came along - what an amazing and vibrant character. Their eventual relationship happened naturally, and the demise of it was heartbreaking for Eliza.

Mid book, I realized that those amazing characters were real people. How remarkable that the author combined fact with fiction to create this brilliant novel that is now among my favorites.

Always so impressed by how this author can make history come alive. This gave me a little princess vibes when I read it but was so much more in depth. It’s a heavy book so maybe not a great summer read, but I definitely recommend.

Emma Donoghue is such a challenging writer. I'm never sure whether it's possible to actually enjoy one of her books, because she has a certain affinity for dragging a reader through misery for two-thirds of every book. That said, I did find Learned by Heart quite interesting. I appreciated the historical basis (Anne Lister's secret diaries), as well as the strong nod to 19th-century boarding school fiction. It felt very authentic and Donoghue clearly did the research to get to here. I appreciate her dedication to her craft, even if I don't always love every aspect of what she produces.

I'm a big fan of Emma Donoghue but this is not one of her best, in my opinion. It starts very slow and dry, with a weirdly detached formal voice that lacked any of the warmth and quiet urgency present in The Wonder and The Pull of the Stars. It took me a few tries to get past the first third or so. It picks up for a while in the middle because the love story is tender and beautiful, but once Anne left the school the pacing noticeably slowed down once again and left me reading just to get to the end.

Emma Donogue is my favorite writer, going all the way back to "Hood". She has always been able to create such intricate stories, that insert you directly into the setting. I don't think there are many who can compare to her level of research. Years spent on detail upon detail make for a mind-blowing novel. Those who have watched. "Gentleman Jack" on television can clearly recognize the voice and cadence of Anne Lister. However, the story is told by Eliza Raine and her story is just as riveting. Do not make the mistake of skipping the author's notes at the end.

Though not entirely biographical, and heavy on dialog, you can imagine the uncomfortable, lumpy mattresses, the chill and dampness, and even the chatter of the school girls. This is a love story but not really a romance so be prepared for some tugs on your heartstrings.

#NetGalley

I loved this intricately woven story set in York about two girls sent to a boarding school in 1805. Anne Lister and Eliza Raine become close quickly. As she wants to be called, Lister is quick-witted, daring, and fun. Eliza is quiet and tries to avoid attention as she is the biracial child of an English East India Company doctor and an Indian woman. Eliza traveled with her sister, Jane, to England, where they were placed in a boarding school. Jane is two years older and quickly ignores Eliza as she makes friends with girls in the Juniors. Eliza is identified with the Middles.

Lister and Raine are in an attic room with a profoundly sloping ceiling. The Slope becomes their magical world. The girls keep themselves busy with all kinds of hijinks. Even though their candles are collected at nine p.m., they keep a taper lit and read, talk, and think of the adventures they will have in their lifetimes. Love blossoms and the well-researched facts of Anne Lister come to life by ED's brilliant hand.

There is joy and heartache in the alternating chapters where Eliza writes from an institution later in life. Eliza's feelings for Anne never diminish. I especially appreciate the author's notes, which helped me understand the novel's historical influence. ED has again proven her brilliance as a writer of original stories in their creative art, drawing from real-life love and pain.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book to be published on August 29, 2023.

I've always been on the fence when it comes to Donoghue's work and can't decide if I like it or not. This wasn't for me, but think others (historical fiction readers in particular) will enjoy this.

Written with love, about love, but I didn’t think the framing device of the future Raine writing to Lister provided enough momentum to move the story along.

Really liked this new one from Donoghue. I've only read Room from her, but she's one of my wife's favorite authors so I thought I would read this one. And it was really enjoyable! I binged it in two days. I will be checking out more of her backlist.

Emma Donoghue's novel was clearly incredibly well-researched and must have been a passion project for her. Unfortunately the writing style didn't do it for me and I found the dialogue a bit too stuffy for two 14-year-olds to be believable, despite the time period.

This was everything that I look for in a historical fiction, it had a beautifully done love-story and have the sense of danger in this writing. The characters felt like real people and I was invested in what was going on in this story. Emma Donoghue does a great job in writing this and it was a great concept overall.

a heavily researched, heartbreaking, historical novel about two women who fall hopelessly in love with each other in 19th century york at a boarding school for girls. eliza, born to an “unknown” woman of color and a man who works for the east india company. sent away from india, eliza and her sister are the only people of color at a boarding school, where eliza meets lister. a romance ensues. alternating between eliza’s time at school and letters she sends ten years later from an asylum, we see the brutality of the time period.

this novel was a work of love, and it is clear that donoghue has spent hours pouring over letters, diaries, and documents in order to tell this long forgotten story. it’s a bit of a typical depressing ending, but the story haunts and remains with you long after you read it.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review!

What a fascinating read, based on the true characters of Anne Lister and Eliza Raine. I didn’t know anything about these women and I was immediately interested in their lives and now I want to learn more.
Learned by Heart is full of daring adventure, dangerous relationships and beautifully written characters.
I thoroughly enjoyed it and will be recommending this book to everyone!

LEARNED BY HEART
BY: EMMA DONOGHUE

Emma Donoghue is a favorite author of mine, so I was elated to receive a copy of "Learned by Heart." My two favorite historical novels of Emma Donoghue's which I love are called, "The Wonder," and "The Pull of the Stars." This historical novel is a beautifully written, and heartbreaking story about the relationship of Eliza Raine, and Anne Lister which was forbidden at the time so it was secret.

The two fourteen year old girls meet and at first become friends when they are roommates in York in 1805. There are a lot of characters to keep track of in the beginning--such as the various other students, Instructors etc. at Manor House school. This seemed a little overwhelming at first, but once deeper into my reading it was not problematic.

There were also many, many rules for the girls who attended this school to adhere to.

Years of investigation and Anne Lister's five million word secret diary is the basis for which this historical novel came to fruition. There was a lot of authenticity in this creation of both Eliza and Anne's distinct personalities. I have read all of Emma Donoghue's previous novels and this was poignant and had a different writing style in my humble opinion. I loved it and recommend it.

Publication Date: August 29, 2023

Thank you to Net Galley, Emma Donoghue, and Little, Brown and Company for generously providing me with my ARC, in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are entirely my own.

#LearnedbyHeart #EmmaDonoghue #LittleBrownandCompany #NetGalley