Sarah Waters - Tipping The Velvet

Yay! I've finished all of Sarah Waters' novels. That's the first thought that crossed my mind after I finished this book, and it was immediately followed by a pang of disappointment, for now I have to wait for her next book to be released, before I can lose myself in one of the wonderful worlds she masterfully creates. Tipping The Velvet is Sarah Waters' debut novel, and it's quite impressive. Set in Victorian England, this is a coming-of-age story written in first person, where the narrator is Nancy Astley, or simply, Nan.

Nancy is a small-town girl, who helps out in her family's business to do with the famous Whitstable oysters. She's naive, innocent and loves the theatre, and so, she often attends shows at a nearby music hall, where she is smitten by the 'masher' (a girl dressed as a man) - Kitty Butler. The two soon meet, and a warm friendship strikes. So, when Kitty finds an agent and moves to the capital, Nancy goes with her as her dresser. However, soon enough, she swaps her skirts and dresses for the trousers, and joins Kitty's act on stage - as a masher as well. Soon enough, Kitty's and Nan's act are popular and the two are raking in the money. The two girls are attracted to each other, and so, we are introduced to the first of many lesbian relationships in this book.

However, there's a twist and a turn, and Nancy's life in London changes drastically, as she moves from lifestyle to lifestyle, partner to partner, in search of something. We discover the darker smuttier side of Victorian London, and while I don't want to give too much away, I have to admit, it was a hell of a ride. Cross-dressers, rent-boys and lesbians made appearances, and through them, we discovered how prominent lesbianism was, some two hundred years ago with both - the rich and poor. And, we also discover how people considered it to be taboo, much as it still is in some parts of the world today. And, as we all know, homophobia is rampant!

That said, some parts of the book made me look away. Okay, I know that doesn't make sense, but let me try and explain: I tend to look away from the screen during an overtly steamy scene, just because... well, I don't know... I don't know where to look? Some of the sex scenes in this book are extremely descriptive and long, and I just didn't know where to look, and it's much harder to look away while reading... Am I being weird? Is this out of the ordinary?

The story is interesting - who doesn't like reading about the dark underbelly of the Victorian age? And the writing is incredible - but that's something I've come to expect from Sarah Waters anyway. It's an ambitious debut novel - it covers a lot, and is racy and gripping - and she pulls it off in an inconceivable fashion.

However, it is with a vague sense of deja vu that I admit that I didn't think this book was a patch on Fingersmith either. Something to this effect almost seems obligatory, as I post my thoughts on Waters' books. I think I might have to re-read Fingersmith, just to see if I've imagined how good it was, or if I'm holding her other books to unrealistically high standards.

What's your favourite book by Sarah Waters? I guess Fingersmith's mine, with The Night Watch being the least favourite.

Do you have any other recommendations for books set in Victorian times? The more I read, the more drawn in I am.

Sarah Waters - Affinity

In a world where twenty-seven year old women are called "spinsters" and they aren't allowed to study further, despite being inclined towards academia, where they still need their mother's permission to carry out certain activities, and where they're bound by society's rules and regulations, this story is about a woman desperately trying to find her place and her footing while her siblings are getting married, having babies and moving ahead. It's also a story about another woman, a spiritualist, who has been imprisoned due to her involvement in an affair which led to the unfortunate demise of one of her clients. She blames it on the spirits who she interacts with, but there isn't any evidence in her favour.

Set in London in the 1870s, this book is about two women: Selina, the prisoner (and spiritualist) and Margaret, the Lady Visitor at the prison who is trying to overcome an "illness."

Early on in the book, Margaret's visit to Millibank Prison are more about meeting Selina (who she's never met before), than the other prisoners. Selina, who communicates with various spirits from the prison cell as well, interacts with Margaret's father who passed away two years previously. As they form a special spiritual bond - a result of loneliness and despondence - they start sharing the details of their past (and their present), which brings them closer together, leading Margaret to believe that Selina is her "affinity."

One sympathises with Margaret, wonders whether Selina is really a spiritualist or not (well, I did - I don't really have believe in spirits being able to interact with humans via various media), and dreads the prison - which essentially could be a character in itself. Dark and gloomy, with endless passages, odours, wards, and extremely strict (almost inhumane) matrons who patrol the wards and punish the prisoners for their crimes.

As I've come to expect with Sarah Waters' novels, there's a breathtaking plot twist, which just leaves the reader gripped to the book, long after they've turned the last page. The book is written in interleaving chapters of the present and the past: the present is Margaret's voice, writing in her diary, and the past is Selina's, presumably writing in her diary as well. Thus, the whole book is presented to us from the eyes of the two protagonists, and one does start seeing things from their points of view. It's easy to relate to them, sympathise with their predicaments, and hope for a "happily ever after" that's only ever seen in fairy tales.

While this book is no Fingersmith (I doubt Waters will be able to re-do that kind of magic), it is still immense in terms of character development and scene setting. It's probably my second favourite book by Waters (although I still have Tipping The Velvet to go). I've read/heard many comments saying Waters is at her best while writing about the Victorian period, and as things stand, I'm bound to agree.

Have you read Affinity? Where do you think it stands amidst Sarah Waters' other novels?

Sarah Waters - Fingersmith

It's the 1860s, and Lant Street, a dodgy street near Southwark Bridge, is inhabited by petty thieves, small-time burglars, piddling swindlers and the like. Here lives Sue Trinder, a seventeen year old, with Mrs. Sucksby (her guardian), and Mr. Ibbs (a man who fences stolen items), along with a bunch of infants, unwanted in this world, who Mrs. Sucksby brings up and introduces to the world of small crime; and, some adolescent pickpockets (or, "fingersmiths", if you like).

We were all more or less thieves at Lant Street. But we were that kind of thief that rather eased the dodgy deed along, than did it . We could pass anything, anything at all, at speeds which would astonish you.

One day, Gentleman, a fraudster who was born into a rich cultured family, but went wayward with time, comes to visit (as he oft' does), with a proposal: He wants to take Sue to become a maid to a rich heiress (standing to get the money upon marriage) who lives at The Briar (a dark miserable place, where the sun never seems to shine), with an eccentric Uncle: Maud. Maud is unaware of how much she is worth, and she is supposed to be a lady in all rights. Sue's job is simple: make Maud her confidante, and convince her to marry Gentleman. After marriage, Gentleman will have Maud committed to a mad person's home (lunatic asylum), and, take her fortune as his own. Sue will get £3,000 for her role in the affair, and while she is slightly dubious about the plan, she agrees, to make Mrs. Sucksby and Mr. Ibbs proud.

And so, after being trained by Gentleman, Sue heads to The Briar, and seeks to get the wheels in motion. Everything is going exactly according to the plan: the Gentleman arrives, Maud is completely smitten, they plan the elopement, and Sue helps at every stage.

However, just as you, the reader, thinks everything is happening as planned, and the plot falls into place, Waters does an incredible job of delivering twist after twist - things that you'd never expect, but that doesn't come across as unbelievable. It's a book about love, jealousy, betrayal and a web of lies, that seems to spin deeper and deeper, denser and denser. It's dark, ruthless, and sinister. The characters almost float off the page and dance before you, just as if to prove how real they are. However, despite being descriptive, the book isn't dull at any stage. Instead, it grips you, and you just keep turning the page, desperate to know what happens next. And... with amazing skill, Waters ensures that you're always guessing... for nothing is as it seems.

Rating: 5

Kate Summerscale - Suspicions of Mr. Whicher

A book with so much potential, and a book I struggled to finish... I just finished it because I hate leaving books half-read.

The author (Kate Summerscale) writes about the non-fictional Road Hill House Murder, also known as the case of Constance Kent. A young boy is murdered by one of thirteen people in a house, and a detective from Scotland Yard (Mr. Whicher) is assigned to the case, six weeks after the actual murder took place. The local police are an incompetent lot, who try to undermine the value of Mr. Whicher, which the latter attributes to jealousy.

A proper whodunnit, this book could honestly have been one of the most gripping mystery books around. However, the author has focused on Victorian social values, details into the emerging field of detectives and the Scotland Yard, and she freely discusses other cases and murders of the time. This obviously causes a break in the story, and draws the reader’s attention away from the main plot: who killed Saville Kent? The point is, that’s what this book is about! Why try to meander around the subject, and have lots of filler-kind of writing? It’s almost like a student dissertation, where she’s struggling to make the word count.

I concur, a lot of research has gone into it. However, this book’s touted as ‘The Murder At Road Hill House’ and not, ‘Mystery Solving in the 19th Century’. It’s factual, with no imagination whatsoever. Just a little hyperbolism always helps a mystery book - but this is banal, dull, and well, I regret ever buying it, let alone reading it. Ironically, it’s probably one of the most expensive paperbacks out there - I actually voluntarily paid thirteen quid for it, and spent over five hours reading it. Thank god time’s not money, for if it were, I’d be broke by now. Five hours of my life I’m not getting back (and that’s after skim-reading the last 200 pages)!!

Overall, a 3 on 10, and the 3's only for all the research effort put in.