...'we were girls with curious histories – girls with pasts like boxes with ill-fitting lids.'

My lid has never seemed to fit properly!

This is a I can't possibly review this review.

Sarah Waters can do no wrong in my eyes. She could publish her shopping list and I'd give it five stars.

Every book I've read by this author (all of them) pleases me like nothing else. I'm sure her pen, laptop or notebook is really some kind of magic paintbrush that comes pre-installed with genius edition software for which she alone knows the password.

Tipping the Velvet is perfection. Sarah has an incredible ability at sucking me in, chewing me up, and spitting me out. I feel satisfied, yet longing for more. I need more, Sarah, write more, write fifty more.

I'm invested in all her characters one hundred percent, I feel for them, I want to be their friend, I want to tell them it'll be alright and pass them a smoke and appreciate their taste in attire, without judgement.

I can't review this! I feel as though I'm not worthy or wordy enough!

I am suffering from the biggest book hangover ever. Send help.

I'm in love with Sarah Waters and her style of writing. I am also in love with Nancy - I'll just add her to my ever-growing list of fictional crushes.

I was lucky to receive a proof copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I had never read this particular Waters' novel although all of her others. I had only a vague recollection of the TV dramatization so wasn't sure what to expect. I guess this must have been shocking to some people on its first publication but simultaneously ground breaking.



The plot is a sort of Cinderella variation. Young Whitstable oyster girl, Nan King, has an interesting journey in life from "rags to riches" although the "rags" parts happen several times and the riches are not of her own making. Along the way she finds out more about all aspects of her sexuality and the particular world of lesbians in that time. There are scenes ranging from music hall to the mansions of the rich to the poorer districts of London.
I am going to concentrate on my reactions to the book rather than a plot synopsis however.

It has a fast plot driven by the changes in Nan's fortunes. Nan isn't always a sympathetic character., she abandons people when they are no longer useful to her with little compunction and has little empathy for others. I recently read a Guardian article by Waters on the anniversary edition. She said she felt sorry for poor Kitty. Nan is essentially selfish and gains little self-awareness through the book.


This is a pacy "romp", a latter- day Moll Flanders. It is saucy and entertaining and the period detail seems authentic. However, my favourite Waters novel remains "Fingersmith" for its amazing plotting.

Fantastic Victorian vaudeville. Sarah Waters is an adept at conjuring atmosphere and a dazzling storyteller.

This is one of my favourite books ever, written by one of my favourite authors ever. You can always trust Sarah Waters to tell a good, and well researched, tale.

Lesbian sex parties, socialist rallies, seductive scenes of shucking and eating oysters? Yes please to all of it. A great take on the Victorian bildungsroman picaresque. I'm a decade late to the game on this one, but so happy I finally read it. Now on to Sarah Waters's other titles!

Incredibly, it has been twenty years since the publication of the brilliant Tipping the Velvet. Sarah Waters is a master of character study, immersing the reader in the atmosphere of the period along with the attention to detail and development of the story.
With this particular edition of the VMC Designer Editions, it has convinced me to buy the hardback copy - even though I already own an older edition in paperback - just for the sheer beauty of the design and to be able to read this beauty of a book all over again.

Having greatly enjoyed 'Fingersmith' by the same author, I anticipated that I'd also enjoy this and I was right. It's mostly set in the Victorian era's cross-dressing lesbian community, and it's erotic in parts. Nan Butler is an engaging, but not always likeable protagonist, but it's fascinating and as usually beautifully written
Thanks to the publisher for the digital ARC.

It has taken me a long time to get round to reading this - 20 years in fact. This is the 20th Anniversary edition, and it's still as relevant now as it has always been (and will continue to be relevant, I should think!). This is the story of Nancy Astley and her rise to fame in the music halls in the late 1800's as Nan King, along with her partner on stage and secretly in life too. The novel follows her sexual awakening as a lesbian. Nancy wants to live her life true to herself but Kitty, her partner, does not. Kitty is ashamed and they end up parting under very upsetting circumstances. nan runs away from her stage life , and her life takes a very different turn. She goes through a few different stages in her life - all very remarkable (hey, this is fiction after all!), before she reaches her happy ending. She is uncompromising throughout.
This was so well written, all from Nancy's point of view, which gave the advantage of an insight into her emotions and feelings about all of the things that happened to her. This isn't a book for the faint-hearted. There is a fair amount of sexually descriptive language, but if you like this kind of book (a sexual awakening and a strong independent woman), you'll really enjoy this.

How on earth do you go about reviewing a classic?! And, quite rightly, Tipping the Velvet IS a classic. A groundbreaking historical romance that is a powerfully sexual and sensual story of female awakening, lesbianism, and gender perspectives. And, would you believe, it has been twenty years since this seminal book was first published and so Virago are publishing a special anniversary hardback edition, with a new Afterword from writer, Sarah Waters.

So, what if you haven't had the pleasure of reading this yet? Well, we follow Nan King, a young woman living in Whitstable, Kent, whose life as an oyster preparer in her parent's restaurant is turned upside down when she falls head over heels in love with Kitty, a female performer at the local variety show. Soon, Nan is swept up in Nan's world, both as her lover but also as a performer on the stage as the two leave Kent behind for a whirlwind life performing as two fellas in the London music halls.

But in a world where gay love must be hidden, Nan's relationship with Kitty flounders and, instead, she finds she must make her own way, and so her adventures continue as we follow her through Victoria London and her experiences as a 'renter', kept woman and social activist.

There's a lot in this book by Sarah Waters's writing is terrific. It bounces along, full of energy and vigour. The sensuality and sexuality int he intimate passages are beautiful; and the evocation of the dirty streets of London, the raucous theatres of its music halls, and the salty sea air of Kent is powerful and believable.

But what really keeps you hooked to this story is Nan King herself. She is a spirited young woman, whose naivety gives way to streetwise knowledge as she learns, the hard way, how to survive - but also how to stay true to herself in a world that wants to shame her. Glorious.

A beautifully rejacketed modern classic. A coming of age story with a lovely saga-like feel to it, reimagining a historical London in which an underclass of 'toms' flourish.

After a slightly slow start, this soon takes off into a saucy picaresque romp through a late Victorian London awash with lesbians, cross-dressers, and socialists. Nan, our narrator, is sweet, naive and a teensy bit Bella-from-Twilight as she moons over Kitty, loves and loses... The strength is the gorgeously rendered detail which transforms what is, at heart, a simple story. This lacks the sophistication of later Waters, but remains a charming tale.

It’s been some time since I first read ‘Tipping the Velvet’, so I was worried it wouldn’t live up to how I remembered it. But I needn’t have worried as it was every bit as good as I thought it would be. Well written and superb storytelling that I highly recommend. 4.5 stars.

I really enjoy Sarah Waters' work and Tipping the Velvet is no exception. Historical and classic fiction can be very enjoyable, but usually don't feature queer characters, which is just one of the reasons why Sarah Waters' books are so popular. That is far from the only reason, as they are also very well written. Tipping the Velvet is an exciting read, full of twists and turns. There is first love, heart break, success, failure, joy, despair and new beginnings. Sarah Waters offers an insight into what the lives of queer women in Victorian Britain might have looked like but with universal themes which modern readers, whatever their sexuality, can relate to.

I first read this novel in 2011, and before that I watched the BBC programme featuring Rachael Stirling and Keeley Hawks, and I remember being as captivated by Kitty as Nan was. So when I saw this as an ARC I knew I wanted to dip back into this unique tale of love in Victorian Britain.

Kitty was still as captivating and self centred as I remembered, and I still loved her for it. She knows Nan is utter devoted and besotted and plays her like a fiddle. Nan is naive, new to the bright lights of music halls and love. As the novel progresses we see Nan go from mooning, heartbroken girl to male prostitute (yes, really) to music hall marvel, with an acceptance of herself.

Is it a classic piece of literature? Well, that depends on what you'd call 'classic', but it's well written, well researched about music hall life and great fun - although the pace is slow at the beginning.

I'll admit this isn't my first reading of 'Tipping the Velvet', but it was wonderful to rediscover this fabulous novel. Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to re-read this gem of a book.

The narrative follows Nancy Astley as she leaves her Whitstable home and embarks on a music hall career in London. Led by her love for Kitty Butler, a music hall artiste, she learns about her own sexuality and character as she moves through different levels of Victorian London society. The characters she meets are varied and interesting, and always presented with subtlety and humanity, be they aristocracy or prostitute, Socialist activist or servant, theatre star or charity worker. Nancy herself is a complex and slightly frustrating narrator; she is human and real and sometimes makes bad decisions, but the reader can't help but be charmed by her.

As well as the characters, the settings are also beautifully evoked. Nancy moves from the vibrancy of the Victorian music halls to the seediest boarding houses to the mansions of London's wealthy and all are written in vivid detail by Waters.

The novel is often categorised as a romance, which it undoubtedly is, but I'd say this is also bildungsroman - Nancy leaves Whitstable as a young, innocent girl and embarks on a journey of self-discovery as she finds her place in life.

I really love this book and would recommend it to anyone who likes their historical fiction with intelligence and a whole lot of heart.

This book is one of my favourites. Really well written, informative and I love the characters. The BBC adaption was so good.