The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Donoghue, Emma. Learned by Heart. Picador, 2023.

Learned by Heart consists of five main chapters, telling the story of how Anne Lister and Eliza Raine met and fell in love as schoolgirls. These chapters alternate with six, shorter chapters in the form of incomplete (and unsent) letters, written by Eliza ten years later while she is a resident of Clifton House asylum. Their tone and mood varies, reflecting Eliza’s mental instability, but in all of them she appeals to Lister, evoking their schooldays and insisting on how much those days still mean to her. In the penultimate letter, unrequited love turns to anger, with Eliza blaming Lister for her predicament. In the final letter, she gives an account of Lister coming to visit her at Clifton. Eliza accepts that Lister is lost to her, and that she could spend the rest of her life in the asylum.

“Close Quarters” is set in August 1805. Lister arrives at the Manor School, where she joins the Middle Form (the Middles). Her new companions – including her roommate, Eliza – perceive her as bad-mannered and ridiculous, and they behave coldly towards her. Eliza’s disapproval quickly turns to admiration, however, and the pair of them become firm friends. Over time, Lister takes on the role of a leader among the Middles.

“The Company of Girls” jumps forward to November, by which time Lister and Eliza are devoted to each other. As an illegitimate, Anglo-Indian orphan, Eliza has always felt insecure, but Lister boosts her confidence. Together, they explore the school and the city, and go on a trip to watch the horse racing.

In “Rarities” (January 1806), Eliza is relieved to be reunited with Lister after the dull Christmas holidays. On another school outing, the Middles encounter an assortment of new inventions and curious specimens from around the world. Eliza gives Lister a diamond ring, so that Lister can add an inscription to the graffiti on a classroom window. Lister turns to kiss Eliza, immortalizing the kiss by devising a rhyme around it, which she etches onto the glass.

“Children of the Earth” begins in March 1806. Eliza and Lister identify with the characters of Celia and Rosalind from As You Like It, which they go to see at the theater. They finally become lovers. Further events throw them closer together: a week in joint isolation as punishment for bad behavior, and confinement to their room when Eliza falls ill. On her recovery, they join the others in a visit to the Spring Fair.

In “Over the Wall” (May 1806), Lister and Eliza pay a secret visit to church where they solemnize their relationship, and begin calling each other husband and wife. They have a scare when their puritanical classmate (Mercy) catches them out in a moment of sexual intimacy, but she never mentions the incident. One night they sneak out to a masked ball, and Lister breaks her leg on the way back. The teachers decide to send her home. In despair, Eliza tries to accompany her, but Lister points out how impractical and risky it would be for them to run away together, so Eliza gives up and goes back to school.