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Learned by Heart

by Emma Donoghue

Narrator Shiromi Arserio

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Length 8 hours 50 minutes

Language English

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Bookseller recommendation

“Immersive, heart wrenching, and meticulously researched, Learned by Heart is everything fans of historical fiction are looking for. Arserio's narration brought the text to life in an almost dreamlike way. I couldn't have loved it more. ”
— Sarah • Parnassus Books

Bookseller recommendation

“Donoghue's exceptional research managed to capture the humanity and romance of a deeply flawed, but essential character in queer history. Anne Lister is famous for having a lot to say, and the fact that the author chose to tell her story by giving voice to the heretofore voiceless Eliza Raine was a stroke of genius. Also Shiromi Arserio's narration was outstanding. ”
— Maren • Nook & Cranny Books

Summary
About the author

A heartbreakingly gorgeous novel based on the true story of two girls who fall secretly, deeply, and dangerously in love at boarding school in 19th century York, from the bestselling author of Room and The Wonder.

Drawing on years of investigation and Anne Lister’s five-million-word secret journal, Learned by Heart is the long-buried love story of Eliza Raine, an orphan heiress banished from India to England at age six, and Anne Lister, a brilliant, troublesome tomboy, who meet at the Manor School for young ladies in York in 1805 when they are both fourteen.

Emotionally intense, psychologically compelling, and deeply researched, Learned by Heart is an extraordinary work of fiction by one of the world’s greatest storytellers. Full of passion and heartbreak, the tangled lives of Anne Lister and Eliza Raine form a love story for the ages.

Fiction Romance Family & Relationships Historical Fiction

Born in Dublin in 1969, and now living in Canada, Emma Donoghue writes fiction (novels and short stories, contemporary and historical, most recently The Pull of the Stars), as well as drama for screen and stage. Room, was a New York Times Best Book of 2010 and a finalist for the Man Booker, Commonwealth, and Orange Prizes, selling between two and three million copies in forty languages. Donoghue was nominated for an Academy Award for her 2015 adaptation starring Brie Larson. She co-wrote the screenplay for the film of her 2016 novel The Wonder, starring Florence Pugh, coming from Netflix. For more information, visit www.emmadonoghue.com.