Tipping the Velvet (Paperback) By (author) Sarah Waters Paperback – 2012

Oh, where do I begin? First of all, I have to say that I haven't read that many erotic novels and this is only my third book about lesbian sex. So I'm not jaded as some reviewers are. I have read my share of novels, but in recent years I've preferred memoirs. So, unlike some reviewers, who felt that this story was predictable or boring or had too much sex or not enough, I can't say any of those things. I found the story to be original, interesting, exciting, stimulating, shocking, and touching. The sexual content was just right. I love books written in the first person--makes me feel so close to the protagonist. Some reviewers didn't find Nancy to be likable, but I never stopped liking her. She was certainly no saint, but she had some difficult times and brutal circumstances to contend with. To be brief, this story is about an innocent young girl who falls in love with a female performer who happens to be a male impersonator. As her life progresses, she loses some of her innocence when she uses her sexual prowess to support herself financially. The complications that develop make for a heartbreaking story as well as an amusing one. I was very happy with her choice of a final love partner, the first girlfriend she has who is more concerned with others than herself and who helps Nancy to become a more caring person. I read this book in three or four sessions and the last day I read for hours until I finished it. I had to know what happened. My world disappeared for a while. If I were to compare it to the other book I have read by Sarah Waters, The Paying Guests, I thought Tipping the Velvet moved faster than The Paying Guests, but I was more touched by the sexual descriptions in The Paying Guests.

Sarah Waters is an amazing writer. This was my 1st book of hers.Given the comments I've seen about her books, I gave this one a try. What a story! Nan is from a working class family. She grew up inthe kitchen of her family's restaurant. Nan's job was an oyster-opener.That was the specialty of the house, fresh oysters. Her only outlet was goto the local musical hall & heard the voice of Kitty Butler. Nan becomesenamoured with this song-bird.She saves every penny to see her, at oftenas possible. Their relationship is close, but Nan truly falls for Kitty. Nan becomes herdresser, and then part of the act itself. As time goes by, walk begins aboutthe ladies being "more than friends & fellow entertainers. A split happens, andNan finds herself out on her own. Here is where the story takes off. Nan becomes a dandy, a girl-boy or dyke\in a man attire. She attracts many clients, but one is a very wealthy woman of means.They meet and the story takes several erotic turns & twists. Even though this is a love story between women, there is a lot in commonwith love between any two people. A book to have on a rainy day, or while sittingin a doctor's office.Brava!

I don't usually like historical fiction but will read it if there's a queer, social or political context to it, and this novel is a really valuable, well-researched glance into the world of late 19th century lesbians, drag kings, and, later in the book, feminists and socialists. I often found the stylized language to make the novel seem a tad overwritten, however, I think that it enjoys a pretty tight structure. I also loved the good balance of steamy sex scenes and real-life considerations with lodging and money, which are usually overlooked once the emphasis shifts to romantic matters.Nancy, the protagonist, is often unlikeable, which made me like the book even more: I think Waters captured the othering and the disenfranchisement that so often happens to queer teenagers and young adults, pretty well. And I was thankful for a happy ending, which I also don't really like in general, but feel like it's an important political statement nowadays to give queer characters a non-deadly resolution.

1880s. Kent, England. Sisters, Nancy and Alice leave their oyster house to travel to Canterbury to see the stage acts, singers, acrobats, jugglers, comedians, and other entertainers at the Palace theater. There Nancy first hears Kitty Butler, a woman who performs dressed as a man, a masher, singing slightly ribald songs. Nancy loves the songs, and later finds herself somewhat sheepishly in love with Kitty. She, after some little time, also finds herself leaving her parents’ Whitstable home to be Butler’s dresser, and somewhat later Butler’s singing partner on the stages of London. Nancy accumulates wealth as an entertainer, but forfeits all when she feels betrayed by her lover. She falls far, rises again, falls again farther yet, before finding a much more stable landing place. Sarah Waters tells a good story, shows us the scenes, and holds us closely in Nancy’s mind and heart from beginning to end as she is steamed, roasted, and served raw.

This is a strange book. A very strange book. But it is also captivating—even riveting at times. While the engrossing plot, superb writing and rich historical details work seamlessly to keep the story moving along, I found it hard to continually have sympathy for the main character, and for me that is always a problem in a book. For that reason alone I am giving it four stars instead of five.Taking place in the Victorian period of the late 1880s and 1890s, this is the story of Nancy Astley, born to be an "oyster girl," shucking and cooking oysters in her family's restaurant in Whitstable on the coast of England. But Nancy is not like the rest of her family. She would rather be in the gaudy music halls than working in the kitchen, and she eventually realizes she is more different than anyone suspected: She is a lesbian. The story focuses on this self-discovery in a time when such things cannot be publicly confessed and the bizarre, frightening, outrageous and absolutely shocking life she leads on the streets of London as she searches to define who she is and maybe, just maybe, find true love.This is an excellent, extremely well-written book by Sarah Waters, but it is not for the faint-hearted.