Shortlisted for the Atwood Gibson Prize.

The heartbreaking story of the love of two women – Anne Lister, the real-life inspiration behind Gentleman Jack, and her first love, Eliza Raine – from the bestselling author of Room and The Wonder.

In 1805, at a boarding school in York, two fourteen-year-old girls first meet.

Eliza Raine, the orphan daughter of an Indian mother, keeps herself apart from the other girls, tired of being picked out for being different. Anne Lister, a gifted troublemaker, is determined to conquer the world, refusing to bow to society’s expectations of what a woman can do.

As they fall in love, the connection they forge will remain with them for the rest of their lives.

Full of passion and heartbreak, evocative and wholly unique, Learned by Heart is the beautiful and moving new historical novel from acclaimed author Emma Donoghue.

'A rich and spellbinding 19th-century story of forbidden love' – Independent

'Donoghue evokes a relationship that is convincing and exquisitely touching.' – The Guardian

"Donoghue's prose is beautiful and beautifully controlled. Simply and without a shred of sentimentality, she evokes a relationship that is convincing and exquisitely touching." - The Guardian

"Offers a refreshing perspective on a celebrated figure in LGBTQ+ history" - Sunday Express

"A slow burning love story of first love. The girls do not so much discover love as feel they are inventing it." - The Times Literary Supplement

"An exquisite coming-of-age love story" - The Times, 'Historical Fiction Book of the Month'

"Spellbinding . . . A moving portrait of two young women who are willing to risk everything for love'" - Independent

"A richly imagined novelistic account of a 19th century love affair" - Vogue

"A fascinating . . . love story that's both queer and multiracial" - The Washington Post

"A master of plot" - Time

"A writer of great vitality and generosity" - The New Yorker

"Donoghue has created a gripping story of the blistering connection between Anne and Eliza Raine . . . This is richly told and built on meticulous research." - Sainsbury's Magazine

"Donoghue delights in the intensity of girlhood . . . The book wears its painstaking research like the light shifts the schoolgirls sleep in." - Financial Times

"Donoghue is a superb stylist – her prose is stirring and tender" - The Sunday Times

"The historical setting comes alive in glorious detail . . . over the course of this entralling novel." - The Irish Times