Episode Details

A short biography of 18th century sculptor Anne Damer and her rumored lesbian relationships.

In this episode we talk about

• The novel that inspired this episode: Life Mask by Emma Donoghue
• An overview of Damer’s life and career
• Her close friendships with actress Elizabeth Farren and writer Mary Berry
• The complicated landscape of women’s same-sex relations in the 18th century
• Why Damer may have been unusually vulnerable to accusations of lesbian relations

This topic is discussed in one or more entries of the Lesbian Historic Motif Project here:

• Anne Damer

Some specific sources that discuss Anne Damer’s sexuality:

• Donoghue, Emma. 2010. “'Random Shafts of Malice?': The Outings of Anne Damer” in Lesbian Dames: Sapphism in the Long Eighteenth Century. Beynon, John C. & Caroline Gonda eds. Ashgate, Farnham. ISBN 978-0-7546-7335-4
• Rictor Norton (Ed.), "Mrs Piozzi's Reminiscences, 1770s-1790s", Homosexuality in Eighteenth-Century England: A Sourcebook, 20 April 2003
• Rictor Norton (Ed.), "A Sapphick Epistle, 1778", Homosexuality in Eighteenth-Century England: A Sourcebook. 1 December 1999, updated 23 February 2003

A transcript of this podcast is available here.

Links to the Lesbian Historic Motif Project Online

• Website: http://alpennia.com/lhmp
• Blog: http://alpennia.com/blog
• RSS: http://alpennia.com/blog/feed/
• Twitter: @LesbianMotif
• Discord: Contact Heather for an invitation to the Alpennia/LHMP Discord server
• The Lesbian Historic Motif Project Patreon

Links to Heather Online

• Website: http://alpennia.com
• Email: Heather Rose Jones
• Twitter: @heatherosejones
• Facebook: Heather Rose Jones (author page)