So. Much. Complex. Rep.

A quickfire, bullet-point, review of Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters

Cee R.
2 min readNov 24, 2022
Title: Tipping The Velvet. In the background is an artsy silhouette of a woman wearing a hat and posing
Graphic: author’s own, made with Canva

Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters

I received a free digital review copy of this book via NetGalley as an opportunity to provide a fair and honest review.

🎩 Victorian girl Nancy Astley sees Kitty, a Drag King, perform on stage… and everything changes.

🎩 Now she’s Nan King, male impersonator — nothing will ever be the same.

🏳️‍🌈 So. Much. Complex. Rep.

⚢ A vibrant ensemble of lesbians and other women who love women, it’s truly awesome to have this many Queer ladies in one book.

🏳️‍🌈 There’s also a refusal to pigeon-hole in terms of sexuality and gender.

⚧️ Nan has a complex gender identity; she (as our narrator,) speaks honestly about feeling like she exists between genders. He also uses male pronouns at various times

🌈 For impact, enduring resonance, and more complex and saturation-levels of rep. than we’re used to seeing, this can’t be beat.

For full review, including Content Warnings:

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Cee R.
Cee R.

Written by Cee R.

Writer, poet, (book) blogger @ dorareads.co.uk , Queer, weird, & a tad peculiar. Bookish rebel. Welsh as a tractor on the M4. Buy me a coffee @ ko-fi.com/ceearr

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