Tipping the Velvet cover art

Tipping the Velvet

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
1 credit a month to buy any audiobook in our entire collection.
Access to thousands of additional audiobooks and Originals from the Plus Catalogue.
Member-only deals & discounts.
Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Tipping the Velvet

By: Sarah Waters
Narrated by: Juanita McMahon
Try Premium Plus free

Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $30.99

Buy Now for $30.99

About this listen

'Piercing the shadows of the naked stage was a single shaft of rosy limelight, and in the centre of this was a girl: the most marvellous girl - I knew it at once! - that I had ever seen.'

A saucy, sensuous and multi-layered historical romance, Tipping the Velvet follows the glittering career of Nan King - oyster girl turned music-hall star turned rent boy turned East End 'tom'.

©1998 Sarah Waters (P)1998 W F Howes Ltd Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction

Critic Reviews

"An unstoppable read, a sexy and picaresque romp through the lesbian and queer demi-monde of the roaring Nineties. Imagine Jeanette Winterson on a good day collaborating with Judith Butler to pen a Sapphic Moll Flanders. It's gorgeous" ( Independent on Sunday)
"She is an extremely confident writer, combining precise, sensuous descriptions with irony and wit. This is a lively, gutsy, highly readable debut" ( Observer)
All stars
Most relevant
brilliantly written, you do not want to miss out on this experience. now that it's finished I'll be going to chapter 1 to listen eagerly again.

Marvelous.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
the narrator, perfectly portrayed every character.
completed within days of starting.
I will have to read it again soon not to miss the characters too much.

the book is slightly different to the series.
the ending I feel is much better.
kitty and her rose. *flushes*

Love love love.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Another brilliant novel from Sarah Waters. I have read both the paperback and listened to the audiobook, and can highly recommend either.

Sarah Waters is the bomb!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I loved reading the tale of Nancy's rise and fall in English society and the partners she loved and lost along the way

lovely romance

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I have almost read all of sarah waters work and so far tipping the velvet remains the most original and beautiful. Also the most skillfully written. I truly recommend it.

Marvelous, truly magical

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I love all her books but think this is my favourite - I will miss the characters as it has been such a lovely journey with them and fascinating to get an idea of life as the turn of 20th century approached.

My favourite Sarah Waters

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The scenes, characters and themes within this story are completely unforgettable.
Thank you, Sarah, for bringing me on this journey.

So much in this one brilliantly written book!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I couldn’t pick a normal romance novel now could I? I enjoyed the subject and the voice of the reader.

A queer old time

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.