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Lambda Literary Award winner in 2000, TIPPING THE VELVET tells the story of young Nancy Astley.
She first finds her way from the simple life of an oyster girl, still living with her parents, to London in the 1880s, following her heart and the woman who caught it, into a live of performance and glamour and love.
Later on, she discovers her sexuality in the hands of another woman, a rich lady who takes Nancy in as a kept girl.
In the end, however, after ups and downs, she finally becomes a woman who has found her identity, love, purpose, and a home.

Nancy’s journey is not an easy one, yet it is quite extraordinary. I could identify with her on many accounts.
Leaving your parents behind and moving into another world leaves you estranged and brings upon a change that you can’t quite bridge.
Searching for love and for one’s self, growing up, is not easy and often brings us to places that are not ideal but that we wouldn’t want to have missed because otherwise we wouldn’t be where we are now.

In much detail and vividly written, Sarah Waters let’s us dive into another world in another time. The historical setting comes alive and can be easily experienced.
The author’s writing style gripped me from the very first sentence and it still makes me smile because I never knew I wanted to know so much about oysters :)
The writing is not flowery, yet time-appropriate and quite beautiful, like you can see in this quote where Nancy talks about Kitty, her first love:

‘When I see her,� I said, ‘it’s like � I don’t know what it’s like. It’s like I never saw anything at all before. It’s like I am filling up, like a wine-glass when it’s filled with wine. I watch the acts before her and they are like nothing � they’re like dust. Then she walks on the stage and � she is so pretty; and her suit is so nice; and her voice is so sweet � She makes me want to smile and weep, at once. She makes me sore, here.� I placed a hand upon my chest, upon the breast-bone. ‘I never saw a girl like her before. I never knew that there were girls like her …� My voice became a trembling whisper then, and I found that I could say no more.

TIPPING THE VELVET is solely written from Nancy’s point of view and divided into three different parts.
While the first one is very romantic and lush and, in a way, very innocent, the second part is quite the opposite. I found it to be very interesting but also hard to witness in parts. Part three seems like a revival after the storm, and concludes with a very satisfying ending.

Prominent themes throughout the book are sexual and gender identity, love, survival, and personal and social change. If you are interested in these topics, you should definitely give this book a try. I enjoyed reading this very much and I will surely read more books by the author.

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Genre: lesbian historical fiction
Tags: theater/dancing, love, gender, sexuality, London 1890
Awards: Lambda Literary Award 2000