GLTBQ Annotation

TIPPING THE VELVET
AUTHOR:  Sarah Waters
PUBLISH DATE: 1998
GENRE: Literary fiction; GLTBQ; Historical fiction 


Nancy is an oyster girl from small town Whitstable in Victorian England. When she meets and falls in love with male impersonator, Kitty Butler, she leaves her family and follows Kitty to London to work the music hall circuit.  When Kitty breaks her heart, she flees into the seedy underworld of London, meeting more women and coming to terms with being a "tom" in a world where such things are unthinkable.  At one point, she is kept by a vicious, depraved wealthy widow as a sex slave, then tossed into the street with nothing but a cheap dress and pinching shoes.  She has forsaken her family and abandoned friends; alone and penniless she finds herself desperate for shelter.  She finds a woman she spoke briefly to 18 months before, the only person in the world she felt to be a "friend".  After finding her new "family", she must decide the course of her future by remembering what matters in love and loyalty.  


ELEMENTS OF APPEAL

Tone: Steamy, reflective, romantic, strong sense of place
Writing style: Lush, descriptive, candid
Pace: Leisurely
Storyline: Character-driven

READ-ALIKES

DESERT OF THE HEART by Jane Rule (1964): When Evelyn goes to Reno to get a divorce, she meets Ann, a casino worker and the two fall in love. 

SHE RISES by Kate Worsley (2013): Kate and Luke Fletcher's lives in 18th century England unfold in vivid, descriptive language.  As young Luke survives aboard a Royal Navy boat bound for the West Indies, Kate becomes a lady's maid to Rebecca, with whom she will fall in love and whose life she will save. 

MY TAKE

This was a really good book.  Sarah Waters' writing is lovely and reminds me of one of my favorites, Donna Tartt.  The story of Nancy begins unhurriedly as she begins to discover her true self with Kitty Butler, and then picks up as she must find unknown resources within herself to survive the gritty streets of London.  I found myself thinking about the book when I wasn't reading it, and I was impatient to see where the story went.  That, in my mind, makes great reading.  This was rather explicit, though, so readers' advisors should be aware.  Interestingly, NoveList classifies this book as "erotic fiction", but I'm dubious about that.  Yes, there are some detailed erotic scenes, but the book was not particularly focused on sex in itself.  Reviews on Goodreads ranged from "masterly" to "meh".  It appears that Ms. Winters has written some better books. including The Paying Guests and The Night Watch.  I am definitely going to check them out!