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Powell's Q&A, Q&A | June 21, 2009

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Tipping the Velvet

by Sarah Waters

Tipping the Velvet Cover

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

A classic picaresque, Tipping the Velvet chronicles the adventures of Nancy King, who begins life as an oyster girl in the provincial seaside town of Whitstable and whose fortunes are forever changed when she falls in love with a cross-dressing music hall singer named Miss Kitty Butler. When Kitty is called up to London for an engagement on "Grease Paint Avenue," Nan follows as her dresser and secret lover. Before long, Nan dons trousers herself, and the two male impersonators become a celebrated pair of the stage. But when Kitty betrays her, a solitary, heartbroken Nan reinvents herself as a butch roue — a sort of Moll Flanders in drag — navigating her way through London's seamy and flourishing gay demimonde as she pursues her thrilling and varied sexual education.

Review:

"Tipping the Velvet is a luscious turn-of-the-century English tale of lesgians, lust, kept girls, Socialists, oyster-shuckers and of course...love. It's a feast for the imagination, and just when we think wek now where the story is going, Sarah Waters takes us in a more seductive and tantalizing direction." Bust

Review:

"This is the lesbian novel we've all been waiting for — a sexy, funny, sometimes deeply moving romp through the Victorian underworld, saturated with period detail and almost completely free of activist harangue." Peter Kurth, Salon

Review:

"Readers of all sexes and orientations should identify with this gutsy hero as she learns who she is and how to love." Newsday

Review:

"A rather formidable debut." Kirkus Reviews

Synopsis:

This stunning and steamy debut chronicles the adventures of Nan King, a small-town girl at the turn of the century whose life takes a wild turn when she follows a local music hall star to London. "Readers of all sexes and orientations should identify with this gutsy hero as she learns who she is and how to love."--"Newsday."
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Average customer rating based on 1 comment:
Jamie, July 19, 2007 (view all comments by Jamie)
This book is so much more than what it is touted as, that is, lesbian erotica. Historical fiction at its best, Waters puts the reader right inside 19th century London and makes you feel real empathy for what it's like to live during this time period. She includes fascinating details about the music-hall lifestyle, the different tactics Nancy uses to survive, and the socialist reform of the time. In addition we get to watch Nancy as she evolves from an inexperienced girl who doesn't know what she wants into a woman who has fully realized her desires and accepted herself for who she is. I appreciated Waters' brilliant depiction of how London in the 1800's viewed lesbianism and what being one meant at the time, how it affected different people. I felt part of everything, and the sex scenes, while graphic, did not overwhelm Waters' writing or turn her literary work into smutty erotica. It was written, of course, to entertain, but also to inform and engross you in the story of a girl who has to figure out her life just as we all do.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9781573227889
Author:
Waters, Sarah
Publisher:
Riverhead Books
Location:
New York
Subject:
Historical
Subject:
Historical - General
Subject:
England
Subject:
Lesbians
Subject:
Historical fiction
Subject:
Lesbian
Subject:
England Social life and customs.
Subject:
Erotic fiction
Copyright:
1988
Edition Description:
1st Riverhead trade pbk. ed.
Series Volume:
IMS-14
Publication Date:
May 2000
Binding:
Paperback
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Pages:
472
Dimensions:
8.03x5.12x1.08 in. .84 lbs.
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