corner corner Tipping the Velvet

Medium

Tipping the Velvet
by Sarah Waters | Literature & Fiction
Registered by wingcally-cwing of Alfreton, Derbyshire United Kingdom on Monday, February 05, 2007
Average 8 star rating by BookCrossing Members 

status (set by GateGypsy): reserved


9 journalers for this copy...

Journal Entry 1 by wingcally-cwing from Alfreton, Derbyshire United Kingdom on Monday, February 05, 2007

9 out of 10

Amazon.co.uk Review
The heroine of Sarah Waters's audacious first novel knows her destiny, and seems content with it. Her place is in her father's seaside restaurant, shucking shellfish and stirring soup, singing all the while. "Although I didn't believe the story told to me by Mother--that they had found me as a baby in an oyster-shell, and a greedy customer had almost eaten me for lunch--for 18 years I never doubted my own oysterish sympathies, never looked beyond my father's kitchen for occupation, or for love." At night Nancy Astley often ventures to the nearby music hall, not that she has illusions of being more than an audience member. But the moment she spies a new male impersonator--still something of a curiosity in England circa 1888--her years of innocence come to an end and a life of transformations begins.
Tipping the Velvet, all 472 pages of it, is as saucy, as tantalising, and as touching as the narrator's first encounter with the seductive but shame-ridden Miss Kitty Butler. And at first even Nancy's family is thrilled with her gender-bending pal, all but her sister, best friend, and bedmate, Alice, "her eyes shining cold and dull, with starlight and suspicion". Not to worry. Soon Nancy and Kitty are off to London, their relationship close though (alas for our heroine) sisterly. We know that bliss will come, and it does, in an exceptionally charged moment. A lesser author would have been content to stop her story there, but Waters has much more in mind for her buttonholing heroine, and for us. In brief, her Everywoman with a sexual difference goes from success onstage to heartbreak to a stint as a male prostitute (necessity truly is the mother of invention) to keeping house for a brother and sister in the Labour movement. And did I mention her long stint as a plaything in the pleasure palace of a rich Sapphist extraordinaire? Diana Lethaby is as cruel as she is carnal, and even the well- concealed Cavendish Ladies' Club isn't outré enough for her. Kitting Nancy out in full, elegant drag, she dares the front desk to turn them away. "We are here," she mocks, "for the sake of the irregular."

Only after some seven years of hard twists and sensual turns does Nancy conclude that a life of sensation is not enough. Still, Tipping the Velvet is so entertaining that readers will wish her sentimental--and hedonistic--education had taken twice as long.

This is great - really enjoyed reading Nancy's story - reminded me a bit of Moll Flanders.
 

Journal Entry 2 by wingcally-cwing from Alfreton, Derbyshire United Kingdom on Saturday, January 05, 2008

This book has not been rated.

Offering this as a 1001 BookRay.
Participants so far:

CaterinaAnna (UK-Int'l)
darkhorse4460 (UK-Int'l)
kiyoitsukikage (Poland - Int'l surface)
angela861(US-Int'l)
LadyIndigo (Aus-Aus)
cat207 (Aus-Aus pref)
tqd (Aus-Int'l)
darkpunkangel (Canada-Int'l) (Here!)
GateGypsy (Canada-Int'l)

15th Jan 08 - Book is on its way! 

Journal Entry 3 by wingCaterinaannawing from Coventry, West Midlands United Kingdom on Thursday, January 17, 2008

This book has not been rated.

Arrived today. Thank you cally. 

Journal Entry 4 by wingCaterinaannawing from Coventry, West Midlands United Kingdom on Wednesday, January 30, 2008

6 out of 10

I enjoyed this, but not as much as I was hoping to after Fingersmith. Nancy's adventures in different strata of Victorian society were interesting and provided an insight into the different ways in which people (may have? I don't know how well researched it is - I leave that assessment to the social historians among you) dealt with their homosexuality at the time. However it felt somewhat episodic, as if the illustration of the milieu was the point of each phase in the heroine's life, and I never really got to feel anything very much for her. I felt much more interest in Kitty, trying to come to terms with being someone who wanted to do so much she thought was wrong: I didn't think a cowardly and selfish concern for her career was the full story of her desertion.

So sorry, given that I am trying to differentiate much more between my grading this year (virtually everything has had 7, 8 or 9 in the past) this rates a 'decent, but not great' 6 from me.

Have PM'd darkhorse4460 for an address. 

Journal Entry 5 by wingCaterinaannawing at Bookring in to another bookcrosser, By Post -- Controlled Releases on Monday, February 04, 2008

This book has not been rated.

Released 4 yrs ago (2/5/2008 UTC) at Bookring in to another bookcrosser, By Post -- Controlled Releases

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

RELEASE NOTES:

All packed and ready go in the post box as soon as I leave the house in the morning 

Journal Entry 6 by darkhorse4460 from Wallingford, Oxfordshire United Kingdom on Thursday, February 07, 2008

This book has not been rated.

Received safely this morning. Thank you CaterinaAnna. I should be able to get started on this next week. 

Journal Entry 7 by darkhorse4460 from Wallingford, Oxfordshire United Kingdom on Tuesday, February 26, 2008

8 out of 10

Fingersmith was one of my favourite reads of last year so I was really looking forward to this. I enjoyed it very much but don’t rate it quite as highly, the structure of the story is more linear and episodic without the clever and complex plotting and twists that make Fingersmith special.

Sarah Waters writes very well, develops her characters and makes the worlds she describes very vivid to the reader. I particularly enjoyed the evocation of the sites, sounds and smells of the music hall theatre; the acts, the atmosphere, the romantic pull of it to the ‘fans’ in the days before cinema became the main form of mass entertainment.

Nancy is not always likeable, but she’s on a journey of self discovery and is bound to make mistakes; an innocent at first she has to quickly learn how to survive in a harsh world. What she learns about herself is not acceptable in polite society at the time so she inevitably ends up moving through the sexual underworld of London in the 1890s and discovering some interesting ‘alternative lifestyles’ that could barely even be alluded to by writers at the time. It was quite an education for me and full of surprises – especially the terminology and culture of lesbianism. A ‘tom’ was a lesbian and a ‘gay’ girl a prostitute, now its completely the other way round. How did that happen?

I’m not sure whether to be amused or irritated by Sarah Waters’ continual over use of the words ‘gay’ and ‘queer’ in their original sense througout the novel. Are these just knowing winks to the readers who will all know what they have come to mean and be constantly reminded of the present and how language and attitudes have changed – I don’t know, it feels as though she’s playing a game with us.

Altogether this is an engrossing, colourful and sometimes pretty raunchy read.


I'll be contacting kiyoitsukikage about this soon and sending it on.
 

Journal Entry 8 by darkhorse4460 at By post to another bookcrosser in Banbury, Oxfordshire United Kingdom on Wednesday, February 27, 2008

This book has not been rated.

Released 3 yrs ago (2/27/2008 UTC) at By post to another bookcrosser in Banbury, Oxfordshire United Kingdom

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

RELEASE NOTES:

Posted to Kiyoitskikage in Poland this morning. Enjoy it! 

Journal Entry 9 by kiyoitsukikage from Brixton, Greater London United Kingdom on Friday, February 29, 2008

This book has not been rated.

it's arrived, thank you. 

Journal Entry 10 by kiyoitsukikage from Brixton, Greater London United Kingdom on Monday, April 28, 2008

9 out of 10

I am sorry it took me so long to get going with this book - I've had a lot of bookring on my hands for some time - but when I finally got round to reading it, I could hardly put it down. It was really engrossing and Nan's character was quite well developed, I should say. I only wonder how "real" it is, I mean, if the author did any research on the epoch... That way or another I enjoyed it a lot. Thank you for letting me read this!
 

Journal Entry 11 by kiyoitsukikage at by mail in To the next participant, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases on Thursday, May 01, 2008

This book has not been rated.

Released 3 yrs ago (4/28/2008 UTC) at by mail in To the next participant, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

RELEASE NOTES:

 

Journal Entry 12 by angela861 from Chicago, Illinois USA on Wednesday, July 09, 2008

This book has not been rated.

It's here! :-) I have a few ahead of it but will get to it ASAP. Thanks for sending my way! 

Journal Entry 13 by angela861 from Chicago, Illinois USA on Tuesday, July 29, 2008

6 out of 10

I don't know what to say about this book... I've never read anything by her and didn't even read the back of the book so I had no idea what to expect. I really liked the vivid details (most of the time). You could picture each scene as it played. I couldn't pick the book up to finish or put the book down to go to bed. It was the strangest experience. I really did not like Nan. She drove me nuts! If she were more likeable, the story wouldn't have been the same... but I may have enjoyed it more.

Thank you, cally-c for letting me read it! I'm glad I had the chance and now have one more off my 1001 list! LadyIndigo asked to be skipped so I PM'd cat207 for her address. I will send it on once I receive her address. 

Journal Entry 14 by angela861 at Fellow Bookcrosser, A Bookray -- Controlled Releases on Thursday, July 31, 2008

This book has not been rated.

Released 3 yrs ago (7/31/2008 UTC) at Fellow Bookcrosser, A Bookray -- Controlled Releases

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

LadyIndigo asked to be skipped... Off to cat207... Happy Reading!! 

Journal Entry 15 by wingcat207wing from Gladstone, Queensland Australia on Thursday, August 07, 2008

This book has not been rated.

Arrived in today's mail. Thank you angela861, and cally-c for sharing. 

Journal Entry 16 by wingcat207wing from Gladstone, Queensland Australia on Tuesday, August 12, 2008

8 out of 10

I enjoyed this one more than 'Affinity'. Can't wait for 'Fingersmith' if it's even better.

Heading to tqd in tomorrow's mail. 

Journal Entry 17 by wingtqdwing from Sydney, New South Wales Australia on Wednesday, August 13, 2008

This book has not been rated.

Thanks cat207, I've been looking forward to this one! (It's my second attempt to read it through a bookring, the last bookring never made it off the ground, alas.)

I do have a few other books to read before it, but shall get onto this one asap. 

Journal Entry 18 by wingtqdwing from Sydney, New South Wales Australia on Wednesday, September 17, 2008

9 out of 10

Well, I enjoyed this one immensely. What a fabulous world Sarah Waters took us to! I loved all the slang (although - once I found out its meaning - I did hope that no one else on the bus knew exactly what "tipping the velvet" meant). I assume that "tom" is the beginning of "tomboy", but "masher" and "gay girls" were both quite new to me.

The sex scenes were quite explicit (I was desperately hoping that no one was reading over my shoulder on the bus!) and Miss Astley was positively saucy. (Now, "saucy" is a word that needs to be used more!) I loved Nancy, I thought she was a great character: cheeky, dramatic (veering towards drama queen more than once), saucy, and quite believable. Sometimes I wanted to slap her, but then I remembered my youth and early loves (and, quite possibly, my own tendency towards drama queenery more than once), and forgave her sillinesses.

I kept Mr TQD quite entertained over the past week or two of reading ("you know the Victorian lesbian? She's now a rent boy!"), which is unusual for me. Generally I assume he's not interested in my literature readings, but this was so amusing and fascinating that I just kept on telling him about it.

I was quite disappointed when I finished the book this evening: I wanted more of it! I wanted to know what happened to Nancy, and what happened to all the people she met through the course of the book. Wonderful writing, to make me so curious and interested in all the minor characters.

Thank you cally-c for the opportunity to read this book! I've got darkpunkangel's address already, and shall pop this in the post later this week.

And because one needs more of this word: saucy, saucy, saucy. 

Journal Entry 19 by wingtqdwing at Sydney, New South Wales Australia on Wednesday, September 17, 2008

This book has not been rated.

Released 3 yrs ago (9/17/2008 UTC) at Sydney, New South Wales Australia

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Popped into the post to darkpunkangel. Happy reading! 

Journal Entry 20 by darkpunkangel from Barrie, Ontario Canada on Tuesday, October 07, 2008

This book has not been rated.

Arrived safe and sound today, will start reading this today. Thanks tqd for sending this to me. 

Journal Entry 21 by darkpunkangel from Barrie, Ontario Canada on Saturday, November 15, 2008

9 out of 10

Sorry for having this so long, I kinda got busy with school. This was really interesting read and I hope to get a chance to read her other books.

I already have GateGypsy's address and I will mail off to her in the next couple of days. 

Journal Entry 22 by darkpunkangel at sent by mail, A Bookray -- Controlled Releases on Wednesday, December 10, 2008

This book has not been rated.

Released 3 yrs ago (12/10/2008 UTC) at sent by mail, A Bookray -- Controlled Releases

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Sent today to the next participant, hope you enjoy the book! 

Journal Entry 23 by GateGypsy from Whitehorse, Yukon Canada on Monday, December 15, 2008

This book has not been rated.

Rah! Rah! Rah! What a lovely surprise to arrive in the mail. Hurrah! Thanks so much! 



remove ads?

Are you sure you want to delete this item? It cannot be undone.