Book 82: "Tipping the Velvet" by Sarah Waters
Monday, October 19th, 2009 13:11![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kittiwakeIt was the hair, I think, which drew me most. If I had ever seen women with hair as short as hers, it was because they had spent time in hospital or prison; or because they were mad. They could never have looked like Kitty Butler. Her hair fitted her head like a little cap that had been sewn, just for her, by some nimble-fingered milliner.
Nancy's story is a roller-coaster ride, as she goes from oyster girl to theatrical dresser, music-hall artiste, rent boy, and kept woman, before eventually finding her niche in life. It's interesting how slang terms change their meaning over the years - In 1890s London, a tom is a lesbian, while a gay girl is a prostitute.
This is the third Sarah Waters book that I have read, and although I enjoyed this one very much, I think "Affinity" is still my favourite.
Nancy's story is a roller-coaster ride, as she goes from oyster girl to theatrical dresser, music-hall artiste, rent boy, and kept woman, before eventually finding her niche in life. It's interesting how slang terms change their meaning over the years - In 1890s London, a tom is a lesbian, while a gay girl is a prostitute.
This is the third Sarah Waters book that I have read, and although I enjoyed this one very much, I think "Affinity" is still my favourite.
