Staff Pick
Nan is a small-town oyster girl in Victorian England. She falls in love with Kitty, a touring male impersonator, who sweeps her off her feet and on the road to big-city London. Nan's first love is a beautiful introduction to this coming-of-age tale, but her narrative evolves into so much more. Nan's story is one of romance, heartbreak, eroticism, and fascinating historical portrayals of lesbians and queers, expertly brought to life with interesting period slang and realistic descriptions of urban life in London. Reading this book felt like peering through a keyhole into a salacious gay past I didn't know I was missing. Recommended By Tehya R., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
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 lesbians, lust, kept girls, Socialists, oyster-shuckers and of course...love. It's a feast for the imagination, and just when we think we know 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
"Erotic and absorbing...Written with starling power."--The New York Times Book Review Nan King, an oyster girl, is captivated by the music hall phenomenon Kitty Butler, a male impersonator extraordinaire treading the boards in Canterbury. Through a friend at the box office, Nan manages to visit all her shows and finally meet her heroine. Soon after, she becomes Kitty's dresser and the two head for the bright lights of Leicester Square where they begin a glittering career as music-hall stars in an all-singing and dancing double act. At the same time, behind closed doors, they admit their attraction to each other and their affair begins.
Synopsis
Nan King, an oyster girl, is captivated by the music hall phenomenon Kitty Butler, a male impersonator extraordinaire treading the boards in Canterbury. Through a friend at the box office, Nan manages to visit all her shows and finally meet her heroine. Soon after, she becomes Kitty's dresser and the two head for the bright lights of Leicester Square where they begin a glittering career as music-hall stars in an all-singing and dancing double act. At the same time, behind closed doors, they admit their attraction to each other and their affair begins.
About the Author
Sarah Waters is the author of Tipping the Velvet, a New York Times Notable Book; Affinity, which won her the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award; Fingersmith and The Night Watch, both of which were shortlisted for both the Orange Prize and the Man Booker Prize; and The Little Stranger, which was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, a finalist for the Shirley Jackson Award and a New York Times Notable Book. She has also been named one of Granta's best young British novelists. She lives in London.