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sersi's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Lesbophobia
Moderate: Domestic abuse
lizard800's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
This book could have been dramatically shorter and still had the same impact, imo. Pretty well all of the characters are unlikable, but I don't think the author meant for it to be that way? My jaw did drop when -you know who- arrived at the very end of the book which was kind of what we had been waiting for for a while. Also, the story is being told by older Nancy and the author could have done so much more with that. The use of 'queer', 'gay', and 'fag' throughout the book was so smart. The autobook narrator was hit or miss for me. Overall I would not recommend this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Pregnancy
helen777's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Homophobia, and Sexual assault
Minor: Transphobia, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, and Lesbophobia
Sex work/prostitutionpaperquilt's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Lesbophobia, and Sexual content
Moderate: Infidelity, Transphobia, and Gaslighting
Minor: Racial slurs
katewhite77's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A Steamy Coming Of Age Novel 19th Century Style
Our heroine tells her own story form the age of 19 to 25. She starts out as a sheltered music hall fan, working in the family oyster business. She ends up at a socialist convention in Golders Green.
The tale between those two points is a captivating 19 hour listen but it is definitely not one for small ears. As always Waters writing is amazing she really brings the 19th century to life using all five senses. She really made me route for Nancy even though at times I wanted to scream Have A Word With Yourself at her.
I consider this a classic of my life time and can't believe it has taken me this long to get to, but now I have and I loved it.
Our heroine tells her own story form the age of 19 to 25. She starts out as a sheltered music hall fan, working in the family oyster business. She ends up at a socialist convention in Golders Green.
The tale between those two points is a captivating 19 hour listen but it is definitely not one for small ears. As always Waters writing is amazing she really brings the 19th century to life using all five senses. She really made me route for Nancy even though at times I wanted to scream Have A Word With Yourself at her.
I consider this a classic of my life time and can't believe it has taken me this long to get to, but now I have and I loved it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Sexual violence and Domestic abuse
Minor: Emotional abuse, Death, Lesbophobia, and Grief
nekopersona's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship and Sexual content
Minor: Lesbophobia and Miscarriage
ranbara's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
oh.. this is the book of all time. to be a tom from whitstable in 1888..
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Infidelity, Sexual content, Miscarriage, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual harassment, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Drug use, Grief, Death, Alcohol, Cursing, Lesbophobia, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Blood, Forced institutionalization, and Abandonment
skywhales's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
well, i think to myself as i spot this in the used books section of one of my favorite bookstores, everyone puts sarah waters at the top of their lists of great lesbian writers. may as well give her a shot sometime, right?
my only regret is i didn't do it sooner.
this might just be my new favorite historical fiction novel (though to be fair it's not a genre i read all that often, so the competition is slim). (also as i write this i realize i forgot about carter the great. sorry man you're still like hella up there.) admittedly it does start off slow, and i didn't find nancy very likable at first. her infatuation with kitty to the point of neglecting her family really rubbed me the wrong way. though as i kept reading i figured the Point of her is she's not all that likable. sarah waters even says so in her notes at the end. she's kinda cocky and annoying and sometimes lacking in common sense, but even as i hate her i still find her a deeply entertaining protagonist. and i still do Want her to find happiness!
once the plot gets going it really hooks you. you're on this wild ride through victorian london through all the gritty, weird, sometimes sexy places that nan visits on her travels. i don't know how much of this was historically accurate, but i do know that all of it was very very fun. i learned a lot more about oyster preparation than i ever thought i would. and loads about the victorian lesbian scene, which i maybe could have predicted myself taking an interest in at some point in my life.
idk what to say about this that hasn't already been said, to be honest. the romance aspects, which can so easily make or break even a lesbian book for me, felt so fully realized and beautiful (or ugly, at times). the sex was. well. i ain't complaining.
now to add every sarah waters book to my tbr
my only regret is i didn't do it sooner.
this might just be my new favorite historical fiction novel (though to be fair it's not a genre i read all that often, so the competition is slim). (also as i write this i realize i forgot about carter the great. sorry man you're still like hella up there.) admittedly it does start off slow, and i didn't find nancy very likable at first. her infatuation with kitty to the point of neglecting her family really rubbed me the wrong way. though as i kept reading i figured the Point of her is she's not all that likable. sarah waters even says so in her notes at the end. she's kinda cocky and annoying and sometimes lacking in common sense, but even as i hate her i still find her a deeply entertaining protagonist. and i still do Want her to find happiness!
once the plot gets going it really hooks you. you're on this wild ride through victorian london through all the gritty, weird, sometimes sexy places that nan visits on her travels. i don't know how much of this was historically accurate, but i do know that all of it was very very fun. i learned a lot more about oyster preparation than i ever thought i would. and loads about the victorian lesbian scene, which i maybe could have predicted myself taking an interest in at some point in my life.
idk what to say about this that hasn't already been said, to be honest. the romance aspects, which can so easily make or break even a lesbian book for me, felt so fully realized and beautiful (or ugly, at times). the sex was. well. i ain't complaining.
now to add every sarah waters book to my tbr
Content Warnings
Moderate: Lesbophobia and Homophobia
juliastern__'s review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Grief, Toxic relationship, and Sexual content
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Death, Toxic friendship, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Sexism
Minor: Forced institutionalization, Miscarriage, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol
flowersforfroggo's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
All cards on the table, I picked up this book purely because it was on a list of must read spicy sapphic novels and, as the true smut goblin I am, I wanted a fix.
Tipping the Velvet is a genuinely good read and I was hooked and along for the ride from the moment Nan was sitting in her little corner booth in the theatre longing for Kitty to throw the flower to her.
I devoured this book, annotating along the way, and while I happily tagged many a page blue for spicy scenes, by the time I read the final line the whole book was filled with rainbow sticky strips to mark bits and pieces of writing that sung beautifully.
Sarah Waters has such a way of capturing the excitement of first love and the first flickers of desire and we see these moments of sapphic love play out so vividly on the page. So much so, that there is an element of cringe early in the book with Nan expressing her inner thoughts about Kitty that took me right back to being sixteen, when everything was bright and new and just a little spiky. Fellow smut goblins will rejoice at the tasty sex scenes scattered through the book. Not overly explicit, but delicious enough to keep things interesting.
Overall, Nan does not have an easy life and she comes across as selfish and careless with those she loves, but I still rooted for her every step of the way and I loved to see her identity evolve. She is so alone in her world, even surrounded by the other characters and what struck me was that she is constantly being given an identity to perform for others. Nan’s relationships in the book are all in one way or another controlling and it made me sad to see that she doesn’t ever really get the space to settle into herself and be seen.
“Oh! I feel like I’ve been repeating other people’s speeches all my life. Now when I want to make a speech of my own, I find I hardly know how.”
Girl, tell me about it.
It’s only towards the end of the book that she finds her fit and realises there are other girls like her who present the same way. We can’t be who we don’t see. It’s rare to want more from a book but I would have loved to have followed her journey of self expression and gender identity a little more.
Nan is not a perfect character and it is certainly not a perfect love story but it is gritty, messy and so very enjoyable. Tipping the Velvet is absolutely worth the random pick up and has earned its place on the spicy sapphic list. Would read again.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content and Domestic abuse
Minor: Lesbophobia and Sexual assault