Erotica, historical fiction, coming of age story, character portrait... The book was all of these. There were times when I lost my empathy for the main character, but they were times when she was lost herself. I rode the roller coaster with her and was thrilled as she found herself again. It was a good and daring book. Besides the character study, it was interesting for its historical setting and view of society. ( )

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.

A really good book for a debut. I didn't care much for the heroine, but the story was interesting nonetheless. Part 3 was my favorite part. Florence was by far my favorite character and I felt as though she brought out the real Nancy and I was happy with how the book ended. I can't wait to dig into Sarah Waters' other work. ( )

Een vreemd en toch ook wel amusant boek. Bijzonder door de beschrijving van het leven van lesbische vrouwen aan het einde van de 19e eeuw. Als verhaal enigszins wensvervullend, maar ook mooi. ( )

Tipping the Velvet is Sarah Water's debut novel. It is the coming of age story of Nancy Astley, an oyster girl from Whitstable, England. Nancy meets Kitty Butler, a masher (a girl who dresses as a boy and sings for the stage) and falls in love. Nancy and Kitty move to London, develop a cabaret show act as two mashers and enjoy a bit of success. However, as Nancy falls more deeply in love with Kitty, Kitty has other ambitions - to make it as a star on the stage. Nancy suffers her first heartbreak, but has discovered something about herself - she truly enjoys dressing as a boy, and she truly enjoys being a tom - a lesbian. Nancy goes on to earn money on London's streets, then meets a rich widow who takes her on as a sort of sexual slave. When that situation ends disastrously, Nancy moves in with Florence, a socialist activist and a tom. In the process of moving from relationship to relationship, Nancy learns more about herself and finally becomes comfortable with who she is.

Tipping the Velvet is a good book, but not a great book. The setting and historical detail are exquisitely sumptuous, but in the end the story is a simple one. It is a coming of age story that ends with a romance. Nancy starts out as a naive girl, not only not understanding her own sexuality, but really not understanding the ways of the world. As she moves through various aspects of London's society, she discovers that bad people and treachery abound. In the end, though, she is redeemed in her relationship with Florence, who not only is open about her sexuality, but pursues good causes, helping the poor and indigent. Nancy learns that her own background is honest and good, as she is herself.

In many ways, I wish I had read this before I had read Waters' third book, Fingersmith. Fingersmith was so astonishingly good that any other novel, especially a debut, would have a difficult time measuring up. Which is not to say that Tipping the Velvet is not a good book. Waters does a fantastic job of bringing Victorian London alive. There is so much period detail - you feel as if you have been dropped into the middle of the action. Unfortunately for me, though, I didn't particularly like Nancy. I found her to be a bit too naive, too overwrought, and found it difficult to have a lot of sympathy for her. But the other characters, especially the fascinatingly cruel Diana and her friends, helped balance the occasional annoyance I had with Nancy. ( )