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Tipping the Velvet

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Tipping the Velvet

Written by: Sarah Waters
Narrated by: Juanita McMahon
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Buy Now for $50.93

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About this listen

Nan King, an oyster girl, is captivated by the music hall phenomenon Kitty Butler, a male impersonator extraordinaire treading the boards in Canterbury. Through a friend at the box office, Nan manages to visit all her shows and finally meet her heroine. Soon after, she becomes Kitty's dresser and the two head for the bright lights of Leicester Square where they begin a glittering career as music-hall stars in an all-singing and dancing double act. At the same time, behind closed doors, they admit their attraction to each other and their affair begins.

©1998 Sarah Waters (P)2003 W.F. Howes Coming of Age Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction LGBTQIA2S+ Creators Literature & Fiction
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The narrator is fantastic and brings the whole story to life. I couldn't stop listening!

Favourite audiobook so far

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I must admit that the story was not what I expected. It is set in the 1800’s. It is about a woman who loves women. There are some sexual parts which I never enjoy but the story is solid and interesting.

Tipping the Velvet

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First of all, this book is beautifully written. And second of all, it's thoroughly historically researched as far as I can tell! Waters does a superb job of portraying late 19th-century London, and from a most unusual angle! What is more, she doesn't anachronize as far as I can tell. She portrays Nan's coming out process and life as a Lesbian in that time period in a way that feels very plausible and authentic. And she portrays the underground Queer subcultures of the time in a way that feels very accurate and authentic, too, and resists the urge to project today's sensibilities back on that historical period! Waters has clearly done her homework thoroughly!

On top of that, the reader did a superb job. Their voice and reading style felt appropriate for the period setting, and they did an excellent job giving individual voice and life to all the quite large cast of characters!

The other thing I loved about the book, though, is that it is, ultimately, a romantic love-story. For much of the middle section of the book you think that's not where it's going to end up, but it ultimately does! And part of the excellence of the reader is that they navigate both the romance and the darker sides of the book. But I love the fact that it is, in the end, a love-story, not just a story about sex (not that there's anything wrong with that but...), because so much in Queer culture tends toward the anti-romantic. And this book was a wonderful counter to that!

#Audible1

This book is brilliant! #Audible1

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This story is slow in the beginning but then your in for a wild ride! An excellent and exciting story.

a captivating and exciting read

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I’ve read the book and wanted to listen to it too, and while the performance was great, I found it quite riske (riskay) #Audible1

Riske

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