Sarah Waters: Tipping the Velvet

Sarah Waters: TIPPING THE VELVET (1998) is a historic novel - setted in Victorian England - about Nancy who falls in love with male impersonater Kitty Butler, becomes a male impersonater herself and also lover of Kitty. Then Kitty deserts her for a man and Nancy starts to earn her money by working as a hustler before she becomes sort of a salaried lover of a high society lady. Afte she looses her "job", she has to search again for luck - and the love of her live.

What can I say? I am a big Sarah Waters afficionada! I love that she is true to detail - and its always thrilling to read her novels. I read TIPPING THE VELVET now twice and loved it both times.

I got to confess that mostly I don't read books that are this direct with its sexual language - well, most of the books I read are classics - so: No wonder.. ;")

The German title of the novel is DIE MUSCHELÖFFNERIN (lit.= "the shellopener") and like sooo many times I like the English cover waaaayys more than the German one.

I just watched the BBC adaptation and I liked it very much, though there are some changes and I like the end of the novel much more than the one in the TV series. I was so happy that two of my favourite actors (Hugh Bonneville and Sally Hawkins) were in it, too. Even if their parts were not that big - but they have important ones. Oh and I love Keeley Hawes (who is perfect for Kitty), Anna Chancellor (who looks soo beautiful - like always), Jodhi May (soo cute) and Rachael Stirling (who is Diana Rigg's daughter and reminds me of Marlene Dietrich when she is wearing a high hat and a tuxedo).