diff --git a/anesthetic/samples.py b/anesthetic/samples.py
index 05743ea7..5523b5f5 100644
--- a/anesthetic/samples.py
+++ b/anesthetic/samples.py
@@ -93,6 +93,7 @@ def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
             logzero = kwargs.pop('logzero', -1e30)
             logL = kwargs.pop('logL', None)
             if logL is not None:
+                logL = np.array(logL)
                 logL = np.where(logL <= logzero, -np.inf, logL)
             self.tex = kwargs.pop('tex', {})
             self.limits = kwargs.pop('limits', {})
@@ -487,6 +488,7 @@ def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
             self._beta = kwargs.pop('beta', 1.)
             logL_birth = kwargs.pop('logL_birth', None)
             if not isinstance(logL_birth, int) and logL_birth is not None:
+                logL_birth = np.array(logL_birth)
                 logL_birth = np.where(logL_birth <= logzero, -np.inf,
                                       logL_birth)
 
diff --git a/tests/test_samples.py b/tests/test_samples.py
index 4f956cf0..9cc8c558 100644
--- a/tests/test_samples.py
+++ b/tests/test_samples.py
@@ -885,3 +885,14 @@ def test_plotting_with_integer_names():
     assert_array_equal(samples_1.loc[:, 0], samples_1.iloc[:, 0])
     with pytest.raises(KeyError):
         samples_1['0']
+
+
+def test_logL_list():
+    np.random.seed(5)
+    default = NestedSamples(root='./tests/example_data/pc')
+    logL = default.logL.tolist()
+    logL_birth = default.logL_birth.tolist()
+    data = default.iloc[:, :5].to_numpy().tolist()
+
+    samples = NestedSamples(data=data, logL=logL, logL_birth=logL_birth)
+    assert_array_equal(default, samples)