Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters

[katekintailbc]

Tipping the Velvet
by Sarah Waters
http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/8158610

I have seen the miniseries based on this book probably 8-10 times. And I've read several other Sarah Waters novels. I've been wanting to read this one for years, but I could never find a copy. Copies of Fingersmith have been EVERYWHERE. I can't go anywhere without seeing a copy of Fingersmith or Affinity for that matter. But Tipping the Velvet? Nada. Nowhere. Then, during the BookCrossing convention in Dublin I was out on a scavenger hunt-turned release walk with a bunch of BookCrossers on the last day. I released a book in a sculpture and there was a copy of Tipping the Velvet. I grabbed it, hugged it, and started reading it that night.

Obviously, I'm familiar with the story thanks to the miniseries. And I heard a lot of the actors' voices (including the wonderful Benedict Cumberbatch) while reading. But the book was just as good as the miniseries. It's the story of Nan King, destined to be nothing but an oyster girl in Whitstable... until she sees the great Kitty Butler at the music hall and falls in lust. Told in a beautiful style with gorgeous, delicious language, we follow Nan from the moment she gets noticed by Kitty (the object of her adoration), through her ups and downs in Victorian England as a young lesbian. We follow her onto the streets where she pretends to be a Tom and sells her services to men, to the fine lady who takes her in as a play thing, to a woman who is kind enough to take her in at the worst moment of her life.

I love Sarah Waters' writing style and the way she brings to life lesbian themes and human themes through her historical fiction. I love her characters, and Nan is my favorite of them all. It was such a treat to get into her head for almost 500 pages here and really get to know every aspect of her. She's such a brave, adventurous, humorous, hurt spirit; so many times I wished I could reach in and hug her and tell her it would all turn out all right because I knew how her story ended. But Nan's the type who wouldn't have believed me in any case ;-)

What a fun adventure to go on with such a happy ending! I'm so thrilled to have gotten to finally read it!