As a fan of Emma Donoghue, I was eager to read her newest release, Learned by Heart. Before reading, I didn't know how much of this novel is based in fact. After reading the extensive author's note, it is clear that not much of this story is fictionalized and it is the product of many years of research into one of history's most famous lesbians- Anne Lister. 

Learned by Heart is told in brief letters from Eliza Raine to Anne Lister written ten years after they met and fell in love at their boarding school for less than well to do young ladies. The school was strict and hoped to prepare them for marriage, but it was where Raine and Lister discovered something much deeper about themselves. Beautifully written, this is the story of a fourteen year old girl developing an all consuming friendship with her peer. The thoughts and emotions of adolescence are accurately portrayed, which I know won't work for all readers. And there is very little plot until the final 30 to 40 pages. 

That said, this book is beautiful and tender, heartbreaking and a testament to how society can twist normal human experience into something gut wrenching and terrible. To say much more would be a spoiler for those unfamiliar so I'll leave it here. This is less plot than The Wonder or The Pull of the Stars, but the character depth will feel familiar.