Read October 2018.
Having previously read and enjoyed Sarah Waters' books Fingersmith and Affinity, it was high old time I got around reading her most famous (or is it infamous!) book, Tipping the Velvet - especially as it is the book that launched her career and it is now 20 years old!
Nancy Astley spends her days shucking the oysters in her family's shell fish restaurant, but she loves the excitement of the music hall.
One day she sees a male impersonator, Miss Kitty Butler, and falls in love. Kitty drags Nancy away from her family and onto the stage, but their love is doomed.
Nancy finds her life in tatters and it takes a downward turn into prostitution and as a kept woman, but she will find true love and herself in the end.
Despite its saucy reputation about Nancy's lesbian/crossdressing adventures, this book is about so much more. I am always impressed by Waters' ability to draw you into the contradictions and repressed sexuality of the Victorian age.
I actually found this book rather touching. This is a great and absorbing read and I can highly recommend it.
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