Tipping the Velvet

Tipping the Velvet is a 1998 novel written by Sarah Waters which was later adapted into a three-part BBC serial starring Rachael Stirling. Set in Victorian England, it tells the story of Nancy "Nan" Astley, an oyster girl from Whitstable who falls in love with a music hall male impersonator named Kitty Butler.


 * Adorkable: Ralph.
 * Aristocrats Are Evil: Diana Lethaby and her decadent friends.
 * Bifauxnen: Nan
 * Cast Full of Gay
 * Closet Key: Kitty
 * Dirty Communists: Florence and Ralph are aversions (also socialists instead of communists), as they (especially Ralph) are easily the nicest people in the story
 * Erotic Eating ("Have you ever tasted a Whitstable oyster?")
 * Every One Remembers the Stripper: Is that the series about Victorian lesbians? Sweet.
 * Get Thee to a Nunnery: Quite a few examples, most notably the title.
 * Happy Ending: But not the one you might have expected.
 * Or wanted, depending on your favoured couple.
 * Have a Gay Old Time
 * Hooker with a Heart of Gold: Nan, although she technically works as a rent boy.
 * Iris Out: In the TV version, obviously. Usually on Nan, since she's the narrator.
 * Last Girl Wins:
 * Except that she actually met in the middle and then forgot about her when Diana came along.
 * Lipstick Lesbian
 * Romantic Two-Girl Friendship: Nan and Flo initially. This being a lesbian story, it ultimately ends up being more than just "friendship."
 * Time Passes Montage: Used in the BBC adaptation.
 * True Companions: Nan eventually creates a family for herself made up of . There's even a scene where the adult members speculate as to who would be in their personal heavens with them and each one lists all the others
 * Wholesome Crossdresser: Nan and Kitty