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Review: Sarah Waters - Tipping the Velvet (1998)
This was Sarah Waters’ debut novel, and the second of hers that I’ve read after the Fingersmith. I didn’t enjoy this novel as much as the Fingersmith as I enjoyed the thriller aspects of the Fingersmith. As well, I found the narrator character in Tipping the Velvet somewhat unlikeable at times. But I can see why people would like this novel. It was about a woman exploring her sexuality, and had a big happy ending with all the closure. It just didn’t draw me in, specifically because I am not lesbian and so the sexuality journey did not speak to me, but again I just felt the main character hard to sympathize with at times. But still, I know some people will love this novel so please read it if you like novels about lesbian characters that are happy!
Spoilers.
Story
The story followed Nancy King on her journey of exploring her sexuality.
It first began when she went to the theatre and fell in love with Kitty Butler, a female performer who wore men’s clothes and performed as a man. At first she kept it a crush, but even then, while her family just thought it amusing, her sister started to show disgust. Later on, Kitty was to move to London to perform at another theatre and Nancy followed her there as her costumer. After dancing around each other, they became lovers. Nancy wrote of this to her sister Alice but her sister replied with even more disgust. Eventually, Walter Bliss, Kitty’s manager, thought they would be even more popular as a duo and so Nancy joined the stage with Kitty. They became immensely popular and made tons of money. But as they became more popular, they became more the topic of gossip. Kitty was extremely paranoid of being found out as a lesbian and so she would try to distance herself from Nancy or any situation that would lead to those kinds of comments. One time, Nancy returned home, bringing gifts and such but she soon found that she didn’t fit in. Her family worked around her and she was the guest, the outsider. Her family appreciated her gifts but they didn’t know what to do with them since they were so precious. And Alice was very cold to Nancy. So Nancy decided to leave her family home early and returned to London to surprise Kitty, only to find her in bed with Walter. Kitty tried to explain, she said she was going to tell Nancy that they were getting married. This shocked Nancy and she ran away. She went to the theatre and took what she could find, some money and some of her costumes, and ran away.
Nancy found a motel that was willing to accept a desolate single woman such as herself. For a little while, Nancy was inconsolable and she just rotted in bed. When she finally found the energy to leave, she walked the streets. She had an idea, and rented a room at an hourly rate to change into her costume, the men’s clothes. She even fashioned herself as a man, putting cloth at the crotch to simulate a bulge. She found confidence in walking the streets as a man. One night, a man asked her for a favour. She was confused, but she later realized that he thought she was a boy, and wanted him to perform sexual favours for him. She did so, and thus began her short stint as a streetwalker, a ‘renter.’ She made a friend, a boy by the name of Alice. But one day, she returned home in her male costume. The landlady mistook her for having brought over a male guest which was not allowed for single female guests, so she was kicked out.
Nancy moved on to live as a boarder at the house of Mrs. Milne and her daughter Grace. Nancy told Mrs. Milne that she worked a job that required dressing up. Mrs. Milne accepted this, and even said her daughter Grace would be interested. And Grace was interested. The three of them became pretty tight, though Nancy kept her job as a renter a secret from them. Briefly, Nancy befriended a socialist named Florence who worked at non-profits helping girls and women who had fallen on bad times.
One night, Nancy was accosted by a rich lady in a carriage. She had been watching Nancy and knew that she was a girl, and she wanted her as a younger female lover. She had sex with this woman, Diana Lethaby, while wearing a strapon, and it was a huge jump in terms of Nancy’s sexual journey. Diana offered for Nancy to be her kept lover. Nancy jumped at the chance. She went home and concocted a lie to Mrs. Milne and Grace that a friend needed a roommate to share the rent. Mrs. Milne accepted it, but Grace was very disappointed by the abrupt farewell. On the way back to Diana’s, Nancy caught sight of Florence waiting at a theatre, because they had agreed to meet together on that day for a lecture. It was at this point that I started to dislike Nancy. She was impulsive and she disregarded the feelings of Mrs. Milne, Grace, and Florence, because she was so enamoured by the money and the sex. I know she was young and in lust but I still found that attitude distasteful.
Nancy lived in luxury with Diana. She had many suits made, and she had sex with Diana often. Diana also showed her off, sometimes calling her Neville in public, portraying her as a male ward. Diana also had Nancy pose for her friends in various states of dress and undress. Nancy began to befriend Zena Blake, the maid. During a party, Diana and her friends wanted Zena to flip up her skirt to show them her crotch. Nancy defended Zena from the bullying and got into a fight with Diana. Nancy ridiculed all the people at the party and left. Later, Nancy and Zena had sex, with Zena wearing the strapon. Diana and her friends caught them and they threw them out. Zena was very upset. She’d been saving money to go to the colonies. As for Nancy, she begged Diana to take her back but Diana refused. Nancy then became very distraught and Zena was keeping them alive. Zena sold Nancy’s things for some more practical clothes and some food. They paid for board for the night at a place, but the next morning, Zena was gone and had taken all the money.
Nancy sought out Mrs. Milne and Grace but they had moved far away. Nancy then went to Florence’s place of work and tricked her way into finding out where she lived. Florence reluctantly let Nancy stay the night, which led to the week, and extended further. Nancy had mistaken Florence for being married with a baby, but she was actually living with her brother Ralph and the baby was an orphan. Nancy was supposed to leave but she low key pressured Florence into letting her stay if she cleaned the place and took care of the baby Cyril. As they got to know each other, Nancy found out that Florence was in love with a woman Lilian and that the baby was Lilian’s. Nancy also revealed herself to be a lesbian, and joined Florence and her group of friends. One time while out, Nancy was recognized for her time as a performer. When they got home, Nancy revealed her entire history to Florence, who accepted it. Nancy and Florence lived happily (with Ralph and Cyril). Florence had some siblings who disproved of her sexuality but she lived unabashedly as herself. Florence got Nancy into the socialist movement as well. They organized a huge rally, which took place at the end of the book.
The rally was the big huge closure for Nancy. She bumped into Zena who told her that her friend came back from the colonies and told her it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be and that she was staying in London, quite close to Nancy actually. She told Nancy that she saw Diana, and when Nancy took a look she saw that Diana now had another boy, wearing the watch that Nancy used to wear. I’m unsure if the boy was actually a girl but Nancy was past that stage in her life. Lastly, Kitty had arrived at the rally. She came as Walter was in Liverpool for business and Kitty was retired now. She had had a miscarriage and was rather weak. She asked Nancy to come back to her, and that she didn’t love Florence as she loved Kitty. But Nancy refused. She refused to live in secret as Kitty always wanted, and she realized she loved not only Florence, but the life she had built with her friends who accepted her for who she was. They parted, with Kitty agreeing to send Nancy the letters from her family as well as the money she’d earned as a performer. Nancy then went to look for Florence, who admitted that she thought Nancy would go with Kitty. Nancy and Florence reaffirmed their love and it was a big happy ending.
While I understood the appeal of Nancy’s journey, a necessary one for people learning of their sexuality, I found Nancy a bit inconsiderate. Of course, she was young. When she left home she was nineteen years old and full of dreams. And she had her heart harshly torn out by Kitty who was two-timing her. But as I mentioned, I started to feel iffy about her when she went to Diana’s, ignoring all the people who had ever been kind to her. Maybe it was because she was desperate for luxury, having fallen so far from being Nancy King, and maybe she was still in ecstasy from the sexual high with Diana, but Nancy knew that she was hurting these people. And when Nancy was thrown out, she pleaded to be led back in, showing she had not considered her actions when she was angry with Diana. When she was thrown out, Nancy went back to pleading with others. First with Zena, then with Mrs. Milne, then with Florence. She strong-armed her way into making Florence let her in. it all felt very manipulative and inconsiderate and it rubbed me the wrong way.
The ending was very big and happy and that was kind of cheesy. Nancy literally met all of her lovers and found closure with all of them, in reverse order. She and Zena are now best friends and neighbours. Diana had already moved on. Kitty asked for her but Nancy threw it all back in her face. In reality, many of us don’t get closure and don’t get forgiven so easily so it was a little unbelievable for me. But I understand some people would like this. Still, I appreciate the variety that Waters put in the story in terms of the various stages of Nancy’s life.
Writing
I think Waters is a very solid historical writer. Of course, she is a professional writer but it’s always very jarring when someone speaks in a way that is too modern for the period. I’m not saying just their mannerisms and vocabulary, but their ideas. I think the way many characters acted in this book were believable for women of a past era, whether it was Nancy who was just learning about sexuality, Kitty who wanted to keep her ‘deviancies’ a secret, Diana who lived proudly but only because she was rich and able to, etc.
Characters
Nancy Astley
Nancy was our main character who went through this journey of exploring her sexuality. When she first met Kitty, she thought she just admired Kitty. I think it was Alice looking at her weirdly that maybe clued her into the fact that her infatuation might have been something else. Later on, she started to realize it was a crush. She was a small town girl, she didn’t really know of lesbian relationships, so she was content just being by Kitty’s side, and she did everything to be there. In London, she continued to be by Kitty’s side, but after Kitty expressed jealousy at Nancy being flirted with by a man at a party, they admitted their feelings and they kissed, and later had sex.
Nancy was horrified at the idea of going on stage as suggested by Walter, but she agreed and she and Kitty became a huge hit. I do think that was the pinnacle of Nancy’s life, as she had fame, fortune, and love. Alice didn’t approve of their relationship, but that was just one thing. Kitty wanted them to be discreet, but Nancy still had her in private. Nancy didn’t think anything bad would happen.
Nancy’s return home was very insightful. I think this is what happens with many people who leave home. They realize they don’t fit anymore. Only, I don’t think Nancy really knew how to bridge the gap with her family and she just left. Only to return to the most shocking revelation of her life: Kitty in bed with Walter. Before, Nancy would kind of snicker at Walter’s longing looks to Kitty, because she saw herself as Kitty’s true lover. But for Kitty to do that, and also declare her marriage with Walter was the biggest betrayal and Nancy could only run. It was no surprise that Nany fell ill for so long.
Nancy regained her step, her confidence, from wearing her men’s clothes. They gave her confidence. Nancy said that she first agreed to the sexual favour to the man because he looked like Walter (I was confused as to whether it was Walter but after it was done she admitted he only reminded her of Walter). Why did Nancy follow through? I think she was just so lost that she would do anything. She needed money anyway, and she didn’t agree to penetrative sex so it was acceptable to her for the time being. For a period of time, I think Nancy found some happiness with Mrs. Milne and Grace, and her job that was a secret from them. She had people who cared for her, as Mrs. Milne saw her as another daughter, and she had a job that gave her money. I don’t quite remember the details of Florence and Nancy meeting, but I think Nancy reached out to Florence because she simply thought she was interesting and wanted to get to know her better.
When Diana picked up Nancy, she assumed Diana was looking for boy and Nancy insisted Diana was mistaken, but Diana assured her that she was exactly what she wanted. Them having sex was a huge awakening for Nancy. She hadn’t known there was this whole dimension of sex for two women, that played with gender roles a bit too. And she was so excited that she left everything in her old life, abandoning all the people who had ever shown her kindness. In the back of her mind, she knew she was throwing away everything for a brief moment of pleasure; after all, Diana had asked her this exactly and Nancy had agreed.
In the back of her mind, she knew she was second class compared to Diana who held all the reins. But she endured it because she got a lot of what she wanted. She had all kinds of luxuries, she had sex. But soon, Nancy realized she was missing something. That something was companionship, friendship. That was why Nancy started talking to Zena. Because Zena was the only person she could really talk to like an equal. The resentment to Diana’s superiority built and built until Diana’s birthday party, where Diana was completely unimpressed with her costume, and later with bullying Zena. Diana insulted everyone at the party and left. She and Zena reconciled and they had sex for the fun of it. But when Diana caught her, that was when things started tumbling. Diana refused to put on the simple frock that Diana ordered her to dress in. And when Diana finally threw her out, Nancy turned and begged to be let back in. She was blinded by the luxury and was scared of the outside world. So Zena had to drag her around. It was no surprise that Zena abandoned her, since not only did Zena see Nancy as having manipulated her into sex and thus the reason for her dismissal, but she also saw her as dead weight.
This next period of the book was also hard for me to read because now Nancy was going back to the people she abandoned and begging them for help. First Mrs. Milne and then Florence. I mean we do all sorts of things when we’re desperate but it showed how blinded Nancy was. And Nancy refused to leave which irked me too. I felt like she was taking advantage of Florence’s soft heart (which she absolutely was).
But it was living with Florence, Ralph, and Cyril, that Nancy finally learned some semblance of normalcy in London. She lived in fame with Kitty, she lived as a renter, she lived in luxury with Diana, and now she was finally living a normal life with a family who later accepted her, unlike Alice back in Whitstable.
As mentioned, I thought the ending was too cheesy and Nancy was forgiven too easily. I could see someone like Zena not wanting to see Nancy again but Zena took the high road. And Nancy had nothing to say to Diana because she saw that Diana would never change as someone at the top of the food chain. It was with Kitty that Nancy had catharsis. Kitty asked for her back which might have been flattering but instead Kitty turned it into an insult. She said she could tell Nancy didn’t love Florence the way that she loved Kitty. That much is true, and that is because Nancy’s love for Florence is not the same as for Kitty. Nancy was enamoured with Kitty from the beginning. But with Florence, Nancy built their love day by day. They weren’t even in love at first, Nancy just needed somewhere to stay and Florence was a nice and cute enough girl, but Nancy didn’t fall madly in love with her. Also, the reason why Kitty wanted Nancy was because she thought Nancy was still willing to live in the shadows with Kitty, but Nancy would not let herself be Kitty’s dirty secret any longer. She loved Florence because Florence had helped her at her lowest, and she admired Florence’s kindness much more than she could ever love Kitty’s glamour on stage. It took growing up for her to get there.
So I did find Nancy unlikable at times but I accept that she did grow up. Still made the middle parts a bit rough to get through though. I wouldn’t say Nancy was a character I liked.
Kitty Butler
Kitty Butler was the first woman Nancy fell in love with. She grew up without much family and she had been performing for a little while by the time she met Nancy. From what we can gather, Kitty probably knew she liked women, but she refused to acknowledge it. Even when she asked Nancy to come with her, she wouldn’t acknowledge it. I actually think she had asked her to come first, and then only thought of having her as her dresser later. Kitty was only forced to acknowledge her feelings for Nancy when they had that jealous fight.
But while Nancy was on cloud nine, Kitty saw their love as something that needed to be kept under wraps. Nancy was amazed at another performer and dresser who were clearly in a relationship but Kitty told her to stay away from them so they wouldn’t be associated as being ‘like them.’ At a performance, which Nancy chalked up to being at a rowdier establishment, a man had called them toms and Kitty literally had to excuse herself because she was in shock and unable to perform. Walter took care of her and sent Nancy home with their dresser (Nancy and Kitty were performing together at this time).
Not only that, Kitty was also two-timing Nancy and she was in a relationship with Walter. We will never know why. Did she feel pressured into a relationship with Walter because she hoped he would treat her well? When Nancy and Kitty started performing together, Walter had actually assigned his other acts to other managers to spend his time fully on Nancy and Kitty. Or was Kitty just comforted by having a beard so that she would look normal?
It was extremely shitty for Kitty to not only be cheating on Nancy and Walter with each other, but to prolong the secret from Nancy. If I remember correctly, Kitty and Walter were supposed to be married the day after Nancy had caught them. And Nancy only found out because she caught them. If it were up to Kitty, she would never have told Nancy and she would have let the wedding ring and the retirement notice have done the talking for her. Absolutely cowardly behaviour.
Throughout much of the rest of the book, Kitty remained a special person to Nancy. She was very hurt by Kitty, but Kitty remained her pinnacle of true love. When she was with Diana, she knew that she wasn’t in love and she still thought of Kitty. It was only when she began healing, living a normal life with Florence and starting to be able to accept her past, did Nancy stop thinking of Kitty so much.
Kitty showed up at the socialist rally to see Nancy. Nancy noted that she now looked like a lady, like a proper wife I suppose. Walter had gone to Liverpool for business so she took the chance to come to the rally. She said she’d had a miscarriage so she was weaker now. And she insisted to Nancy that there were no feelings between her and Walter now. So she asked Nancy to come back to her. Which is insulting enough, considering Kitty didn’t quite apologize for the hurt and secrecy. But then she went on about how Nancy didn’t look at Florence the way she looked at Kitty. But that makes me think that maybe it’s Kitty who doesn’t understand love like Nancy does now. After all, Kitty had really only been with Walter and Nancy, neither of which relationship was healthy. She only looked to Walter for protection and a semblance of normalcy and she forced Nancy to pretend they weren’t anything. Kitty didn’t understand that a relationship went two ways. The reason that Nancy and Florence were in love was because they supported each other. The reason Kitty asked Nancy to come back was because she thought that since Nancy had once been willing to be her dirty little secret, that she would be willing to again. But Nancy knew better now, and she wasn’t going to throw away not only Florence, but her life with her friends, away for that secrecy. Kitty agreed to send the family letters and money to Nancy.
With that conversation, Nancy shut the book on that relationship. Kitty would forever live in her unhappy marriage with Walter because she refused to be brave enough to be herself and instead forced others to play into a narrative that she thought would make everyone happy but instead hurt everyone.
Walter Bliss
I don’t think Nancy held that much animosity towards Walter. For much of the time she knew him, she just knew him as Kitty’s manager who had a crush on her. That being said, I don’t know if Walter knew about Kitty’s relationship with Nancy. If he did, it was a little shitty, but Nancy definitely wouldn’t have felt as betrayed by him compared to Ky.
Walter definitely cared about showbiz the most. He was very enthusiastic about Kitty, and then about Kitty and Nancy’s act, so much that he decided to reassign his other acts to focus on Kitty and Nancy since they were such a huge hit. For a moment, Walter and Kitty were performing together, with Kitty acting as a child character to his character. I have no idea whether it was successful or not, seeing as how Nancy chose not to know anything about their shows. And even after Walter and Kitty’s marriage fizzled, Walter was still focused on showbiz, going to Liverpool for business according to Kitty.
Walter was more of a symbol to Nancy, a symbol of the side of Kitty who was so deathly afraid of homophobia. She didn’t realize that Nancy had already overcome more homophobia than Kitty had. Alice had shown disgust for Nancy and Kitty’s relationship but Nancy decided to live despite it, while Kitty couldn’t even handle audience members saying it offhandedly. And after that comment, Walter had taken Kitty home.
I wonder why Nancy had seen Walter in the johns she serviced. Was it because he was the only man she had really ever thought about in a relationship? I think she maybe wanted to experience what Kitty experienced, being with a man, to see if it was all it was cracked up to be. It was passable but Nancy felt nothing about it. And nothing about men.
Mrs. Milne
Mrs. Milne was a landlady that Nancy boarded with briefly. She accepted it at face value when Nancy told her she had a job that required dressing up as a man. In fact, Mrs. Milne felt her daughter would be interested. Mrs. Milne was very kind and treated Nancy like a daughter. She was disappointed when Nancy had to leave, but she let her go, probably realizing that Nancy wasn’t actually her daughter and also that she was an adult woman who had her own life. Later, when Nancy came to find her seeking help, Mrs. Milne and Grace had moved away.
Grace Milne
Grace was Mrs. Milne’s daughter. She did take interest in Nancy’s outfits and I think she looked up to Nancy. I assume Grace was a teenager who was exploring gender and sexuality. Grace was very upset when Nancy left abruptly. She scowled and was overall very negative all the while her mom was trying to be courteous and polite when Nancy left. Nancy said that she’d write back and maybe even invite Grace, but I think Nancy knew that she’d disappointed Grace and never did write them. Nancy noticed Grace being down and I think she knew why she was so upset. She knew she was leaving the Milnes in a very unceremonious, almost ungrateful manner. She dumped these friends she had made for some lust and luxuries.
Diana Lethaby
Diana was a rich widow who now indulged in only pleasure. Judging by how she hunted down Nancy, I was inclined to believe Nancy wasn’t her first kept lover. She recruited Nancy to play a role, as her kept lover. Nancy was to do whatever Diana wanted her to do, and to be obedient and good. Diana bought tailored suits for Nancy, bought her a beautiful watch (that Nancy quite liked). Their routine usually consisted of Diana leaving Nancy for long periods during the day but if I remember correctly they had sex quite often.
In my opinion, Diana represented the rich upper class. She decided she could do whatever she wanted with her underlings because she funded their lifestyle. She owned Mrs. Hooper, Blake, and Nancy. And Nancy played by this script. She did whatever Diana told her to do, dressed in whatever she was told to dress in and came to her parties and shows as Diana’s arm candy and trophy boy/girl. Nancy posed dressed and undressed for Diana and her friends, for the friends to admire and to be jealous of Diana of having such a beautiful lover. Diana had Nancy live as a boy “Neville” when they went out. She would tell people that Neville was her ward and living with her until he went to a seminary. I’m guessing she enjoyed the fantasy of having a beautiful young ward with her, as opposed to paying someone to play a role which she was.
But as I alluded to, some resentment built. It was different from Mrs. Hooper and Blake because they were employees and they received a countable amount as compensation. For Nancy, it was not so clear what he was receiving in return for her services. Technically she received everything she wanted, but she took nothing with her, unlike the money that Zena technically earned to her name. Nancy didn’t realize this, but she built resentment towards Diana. She realized that she didn’t love Diana, but she started to hate her.
At the part, she was disappointed that Diana didn’t appreciate the thought she put into her costume and how it matched the bust she had gifted to Diana earlier in the day. That straw that broke the camel’s back was when the party guests wanted Zena to bare her crotch to show them if she actually had a dick. Maybe the women were drunk or maybe they were serious but I felt that Diana ordered Zena because she wanted to show her guests that she could order her underlings to do whatever she wanted. That was the breaking point for Nancy, since it was very invasive and embarrassing to tell someone to bare themselves.
I don’t know if Diana knew already that she was going to get rid of Nancy, but catching Zena and Nancy having sex was the last straw for her. Nancy was supposed to be her kept lover and for them to be having sex without her permission, with her dildo, felt disrespectful to her. So had Nancy and Zena dress and threw them out unceremoniously. Of course she didn’t budget when Nancy begged to be taken back in, Diana didn’t appreciate her authority being questioned. It was after Nancy calmed down that she realized she didn’t care for Diana. It was a physical relationship.
We saw Diana at the end, at the socialist rally. I’m not sure why she would have been there unless it was known that it was just going to be a party. She didn’t strike me as a socialist, unless it was the fashionable woke thing to do at the time. Nancy caught her with a boy wearing the watch that used to be hers. I can’t tell if the boy was actually a girl dressed as a boy, but I’m guess they are. And that showed us that Diana probably wouldn’t change. She had enough money to be who she wanted. That was why Nancy couldn’t be with her. Because Diana would never treat her like an equal.
I felt that Diana’s class influenced her more than her sexuality. If she was straight, I felt she would have been acting the same way. Ordering people about and flexing her authority. Again, I felt she wanted people to look up to her for her power and her riches and to be able to buy beautiful people like Nancy.
Zena Blake
Zena was Diana’s maid. At first, we were just told that Zena was rescued from a gaol for having corrupted another girl. I think Nancy really only started to pay attention to Zena when she started to feel lonely because Diana treated her like a pet and not a human. Nancy and Zena would sometimes chat and joke. It was during these conversations that Nancy found out that Zena wanted to save money to move to the colonies to become a landlady. And it was in these conversations that Zena found out Nancy was the performer she thought she was.
I forget the exact story, but Zena had fallen in love with a girl Agnes that she worked with as a maid, but they later became separated. A new coworker had found out about Zena and Agnes writing love letters and threatened to reveal the secret, making Zena kiss her. When they got into an argument, that person flipped the script and said that Zena had forced her to kiss Zena. And that was why Zena was sent to the gaol.
At Diana’s birthday party, the guests were gossiping about how girls in gaol must have had mad sex with each other because what else have they got to do? And then they discussed whether girls in gaol would have grown dicks, and that was why they dragged out Zena, who was obviously very embarrassed. Nancy sent off Zena and said her piece, after which Nancy was slapped and she fled. Zena went to Nancy to help her with her injuries and they got to talking. Nancy and Zena had some wine, their own ‘party,’ and after that Nancy suggested Zena wear the dildo and fuck her, which Zena did. Diana caught them mid act and Zena was immediately very sorry but the damage was done. She was kicked out without any of the money she had saved.
Zena took charge of the situation, obviously very angry. She sold Nancy’s things for more practical clothes. Nancy didn’t like them because they weren’t nice but Zena was hard. She also used the money to buy them some food and some board for the nice. In the morning, Zena had left and taken the money with her. I think Nancy knew that she deserved it. While the sex was a two-person job, I think Nancy kind of knew that she had goaded Zena with the wine and the sex. And in Zena’s mind, it was only because of Nancy that she got into this trouble and lost all her money.
Zena showed up at the very end at the socialist rally. She said her friend had come back from the colonies and said they weren’t looking for landladies, but rather wives, which Zena would not want to be. She was living close to Nancy with another girl. And, Zena had saw Diana at the rally.
I honestly felt that Zena forgiving Nancy was a bit too fantastical and for the comfort of the readers who liked Nancy. In reality I don’t think Nancy ever would have seen Zena ever again. Nor would I think Zena would be so friendly towards Nancy, as if nothing was wrong. But it’s also not unbelievable. I think Zena has been through enough to let things be water under the bridge. She’s past that stage in her life and she’s built bigger and better things, like Nancy has.
Florence Banner
Florence was a socialist tom who worked with charities. The first time Nancy saw her, she was helping a family move into a house. Nancy was dressed in male clothes then, and Florence felt uncomfortable being eyed up by a man. They met later on the street, and Florence invited her to a socialist lecture, to which Nancy never arrived.
They met again when Nancy tracked her down after being thrown out of Diana’s. Technically Florence was the right person to seek because she helped the needy. Nancy pretended not to be able to read and saw Florence’s address on her letter of resignation. She was now working for a women’s shelter which was technically perfect for Nancy but too far so Nancy went to Florence’s home instead. When Nancy arrived, Florence was holding a baby and Ralph appeared in the back so Nancy assumed she was married to a man with a baby and promptly fainted.
Florence was rightly flustered and uncomfortable with Nancy coming to her house and she insisted that Nancy could only stay a day and would have to go to the shelter later. But I think finding out that Florence wasn’t married to Ralph kind of pushed her to be a little flirtier. I honestly thought Nancy was overstepping boundaries once again, in Florence’s on home. But Nancy, used to luxury, did not want to leave Florence’s home for the shelter. And Florence, being weak to the needy, agreed and relented to Nancy’s pushiness.
But Nancy and Florence did get to know each other. We learned that Florence was a socialist and admired Eleanor Marx. We learned that she loved a woman called Lilian and that Cyril was Lilian’s son. We learned that some of her siblings accepted her leanings but some did not. And when she learned that Nancy was also a tom, she introduced her to her other friends. With having spent so much time together, Nancy and Florence grew to love each other. They accepted that for Nancy, Kitty was her one great love, and for Florence that was Lilian, but they loved each other because they were here now, and they had built something.
Florence influenced Nancy to be more involved in socialist activities. And they roped in Ralph as well. At the end, I think the socialist rally was Florence’s big event that she was proud of.
When Florence saw Kitty with Nancy, she assumed that Nancy would leave her and she went away on her own to grieve. But Nancy came back and told her that she decided to be with Florence, which elated her. While Florence didn’t have a Lilian to go back to, Nancy had a Kitty. But Nancy became illusioned with the Kitty that she had become, and instead loved the Florence that she had felt comfortable being herself with.
While I understand Florence was kind, it felt like she was a pushover for letting Nancy strong arm her way into Florence’s life again and again. Imagine someone you don’t know begging you to stay in your HOUSE. That’s really uncomfortable. I understand this is romance but I couldn’t get past that. Another reason why I couldn’t vibe with Nancy.
Ralph Banner
Ralph was Florence’s brother and a pretty kind person. When he found out that Nancy liked wearing men’s clothes, he would sometimes find stuff for her. He didn’t really care when Florence and Nancy got together. He just went to his job, came home and took care of his family. At the end, he even participated in the rally by delivering a speech. He was a nervous wreck, and in the weeks prior, Nancy had helped him memorize it to the point that she knew it better than him. But it goes on to show that Ralph really cared for Florence, Nancy, and Cyril.
Themes
Sexuality
I think Nancy’s journey of exploring her sexuality was the main theme. First, Kitty was her great awakening, showing her that this was the kind of love that she wanted. She loved Kitty, but their intimacy was limited to kissing and maybe mutual masturbation in the dark behind closed doors. Then, she explored sex with men as a renter, and discovered that it didn’t mean much to her. Then she explored sex with women with Diana, and found it was exciting. Lastly, she finally found a healthy relationship with Florence, what it meant to be with people who accepted you including your sexuality. Nancy befriended many toms, but she found what it was like to have family who supported her like Ralph.
As well, there were sexual references in this novel. At one point, I think tipping the velvet was explained to be cunnilingus. But I felt that Nancy being an oyster girl was also purposeful, since oysters are noted to look like something else. There must have been more references that I missed.
Class
Nancy went through several rises and falls in the class hierarchy. She was a small town girl who rocketed to stardom as part of a masher act and she became rich and famous. But I think she didn’t think as much of that as she did her love with Kitty. I think that was why she was so willing to run away with no money. She felt she couldn’t live without Kitty’s love, but she could live without anything else. She learned to live modestly, becoming a renter to do so.
Things turned upside down for her when she had the chance to live with Diana. Her eyes were so focused on luxury and lust that she left everything behind. Greedy behaviour to be honest. We thought she would have become desensitized to the luxury but we saw the moment she was kicked out of Diana’s house, she was begging to return, at least for the beautiful watch. She had gotten too used to the luxury.
When Nancy got to Florence’s place, she had to start from zero, from something like where she came from in Whitstable. A humble family home. She wasn’t shucking oysters, but she was looking after the household, cleaning the house and taking care of Cyril. And it was from this modest family life, where she wasn’t wanting but instead could work hard for her livelihood, that she learned what happiness was. For the opportunity to be yourself.
Overall
Again, I understand why this book would have resonated with others. I am not lesbian so it didn’t specifically speak to me that way but I definitely appreciate the journey of Nancy. Only that I found Nancy unlikable in some parts and the ending was too perfect.
Spoilers.
Story
The story followed Nancy King on her journey of exploring her sexuality.
It first began when she went to the theatre and fell in love with Kitty Butler, a female performer who wore men’s clothes and performed as a man. At first she kept it a crush, but even then, while her family just thought it amusing, her sister started to show disgust. Later on, Kitty was to move to London to perform at another theatre and Nancy followed her there as her costumer. After dancing around each other, they became lovers. Nancy wrote of this to her sister Alice but her sister replied with even more disgust. Eventually, Walter Bliss, Kitty’s manager, thought they would be even more popular as a duo and so Nancy joined the stage with Kitty. They became immensely popular and made tons of money. But as they became more popular, they became more the topic of gossip. Kitty was extremely paranoid of being found out as a lesbian and so she would try to distance herself from Nancy or any situation that would lead to those kinds of comments. One time, Nancy returned home, bringing gifts and such but she soon found that she didn’t fit in. Her family worked around her and she was the guest, the outsider. Her family appreciated her gifts but they didn’t know what to do with them since they were so precious. And Alice was very cold to Nancy. So Nancy decided to leave her family home early and returned to London to surprise Kitty, only to find her in bed with Walter. Kitty tried to explain, she said she was going to tell Nancy that they were getting married. This shocked Nancy and she ran away. She went to the theatre and took what she could find, some money and some of her costumes, and ran away.
Nancy found a motel that was willing to accept a desolate single woman such as herself. For a little while, Nancy was inconsolable and she just rotted in bed. When she finally found the energy to leave, she walked the streets. She had an idea, and rented a room at an hourly rate to change into her costume, the men’s clothes. She even fashioned herself as a man, putting cloth at the crotch to simulate a bulge. She found confidence in walking the streets as a man. One night, a man asked her for a favour. She was confused, but she later realized that he thought she was a boy, and wanted him to perform sexual favours for him. She did so, and thus began her short stint as a streetwalker, a ‘renter.’ She made a friend, a boy by the name of Alice. But one day, she returned home in her male costume. The landlady mistook her for having brought over a male guest which was not allowed for single female guests, so she was kicked out.
Nancy moved on to live as a boarder at the house of Mrs. Milne and her daughter Grace. Nancy told Mrs. Milne that she worked a job that required dressing up. Mrs. Milne accepted this, and even said her daughter Grace would be interested. And Grace was interested. The three of them became pretty tight, though Nancy kept her job as a renter a secret from them. Briefly, Nancy befriended a socialist named Florence who worked at non-profits helping girls and women who had fallen on bad times.
One night, Nancy was accosted by a rich lady in a carriage. She had been watching Nancy and knew that she was a girl, and she wanted her as a younger female lover. She had sex with this woman, Diana Lethaby, while wearing a strapon, and it was a huge jump in terms of Nancy’s sexual journey. Diana offered for Nancy to be her kept lover. Nancy jumped at the chance. She went home and concocted a lie to Mrs. Milne and Grace that a friend needed a roommate to share the rent. Mrs. Milne accepted it, but Grace was very disappointed by the abrupt farewell. On the way back to Diana’s, Nancy caught sight of Florence waiting at a theatre, because they had agreed to meet together on that day for a lecture. It was at this point that I started to dislike Nancy. She was impulsive and she disregarded the feelings of Mrs. Milne, Grace, and Florence, because she was so enamoured by the money and the sex. I know she was young and in lust but I still found that attitude distasteful.
Nancy lived in luxury with Diana. She had many suits made, and she had sex with Diana often. Diana also showed her off, sometimes calling her Neville in public, portraying her as a male ward. Diana also had Nancy pose for her friends in various states of dress and undress. Nancy began to befriend Zena Blake, the maid. During a party, Diana and her friends wanted Zena to flip up her skirt to show them her crotch. Nancy defended Zena from the bullying and got into a fight with Diana. Nancy ridiculed all the people at the party and left. Later, Nancy and Zena had sex, with Zena wearing the strapon. Diana and her friends caught them and they threw them out. Zena was very upset. She’d been saving money to go to the colonies. As for Nancy, she begged Diana to take her back but Diana refused. Nancy then became very distraught and Zena was keeping them alive. Zena sold Nancy’s things for some more practical clothes and some food. They paid for board for the night at a place, but the next morning, Zena was gone and had taken all the money.
Nancy sought out Mrs. Milne and Grace but they had moved far away. Nancy then went to Florence’s place of work and tricked her way into finding out where she lived. Florence reluctantly let Nancy stay the night, which led to the week, and extended further. Nancy had mistaken Florence for being married with a baby, but she was actually living with her brother Ralph and the baby was an orphan. Nancy was supposed to leave but she low key pressured Florence into letting her stay if she cleaned the place and took care of the baby Cyril. As they got to know each other, Nancy found out that Florence was in love with a woman Lilian and that the baby was Lilian’s. Nancy also revealed herself to be a lesbian, and joined Florence and her group of friends. One time while out, Nancy was recognized for her time as a performer. When they got home, Nancy revealed her entire history to Florence, who accepted it. Nancy and Florence lived happily (with Ralph and Cyril). Florence had some siblings who disproved of her sexuality but she lived unabashedly as herself. Florence got Nancy into the socialist movement as well. They organized a huge rally, which took place at the end of the book.
The rally was the big huge closure for Nancy. She bumped into Zena who told her that her friend came back from the colonies and told her it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be and that she was staying in London, quite close to Nancy actually. She told Nancy that she saw Diana, and when Nancy took a look she saw that Diana now had another boy, wearing the watch that Nancy used to wear. I’m unsure if the boy was actually a girl but Nancy was past that stage in her life. Lastly, Kitty had arrived at the rally. She came as Walter was in Liverpool for business and Kitty was retired now. She had had a miscarriage and was rather weak. She asked Nancy to come back to her, and that she didn’t love Florence as she loved Kitty. But Nancy refused. She refused to live in secret as Kitty always wanted, and she realized she loved not only Florence, but the life she had built with her friends who accepted her for who she was. They parted, with Kitty agreeing to send Nancy the letters from her family as well as the money she’d earned as a performer. Nancy then went to look for Florence, who admitted that she thought Nancy would go with Kitty. Nancy and Florence reaffirmed their love and it was a big happy ending.
While I understood the appeal of Nancy’s journey, a necessary one for people learning of their sexuality, I found Nancy a bit inconsiderate. Of course, she was young. When she left home she was nineteen years old and full of dreams. And she had her heart harshly torn out by Kitty who was two-timing her. But as I mentioned, I started to feel iffy about her when she went to Diana’s, ignoring all the people who had ever been kind to her. Maybe it was because she was desperate for luxury, having fallen so far from being Nancy King, and maybe she was still in ecstasy from the sexual high with Diana, but Nancy knew that she was hurting these people. And when Nancy was thrown out, she pleaded to be led back in, showing she had not considered her actions when she was angry with Diana. When she was thrown out, Nancy went back to pleading with others. First with Zena, then with Mrs. Milne, then with Florence. She strong-armed her way into making Florence let her in. it all felt very manipulative and inconsiderate and it rubbed me the wrong way.
The ending was very big and happy and that was kind of cheesy. Nancy literally met all of her lovers and found closure with all of them, in reverse order. She and Zena are now best friends and neighbours. Diana had already moved on. Kitty asked for her but Nancy threw it all back in her face. In reality, many of us don’t get closure and don’t get forgiven so easily so it was a little unbelievable for me. But I understand some people would like this. Still, I appreciate the variety that Waters put in the story in terms of the various stages of Nancy’s life.
Writing
I think Waters is a very solid historical writer. Of course, she is a professional writer but it’s always very jarring when someone speaks in a way that is too modern for the period. I’m not saying just their mannerisms and vocabulary, but their ideas. I think the way many characters acted in this book were believable for women of a past era, whether it was Nancy who was just learning about sexuality, Kitty who wanted to keep her ‘deviancies’ a secret, Diana who lived proudly but only because she was rich and able to, etc.
Characters
Nancy Astley
Nancy was our main character who went through this journey of exploring her sexuality. When she first met Kitty, she thought she just admired Kitty. I think it was Alice looking at her weirdly that maybe clued her into the fact that her infatuation might have been something else. Later on, she started to realize it was a crush. She was a small town girl, she didn’t really know of lesbian relationships, so she was content just being by Kitty’s side, and she did everything to be there. In London, she continued to be by Kitty’s side, but after Kitty expressed jealousy at Nancy being flirted with by a man at a party, they admitted their feelings and they kissed, and later had sex.
Nancy was horrified at the idea of going on stage as suggested by Walter, but she agreed and she and Kitty became a huge hit. I do think that was the pinnacle of Nancy’s life, as she had fame, fortune, and love. Alice didn’t approve of their relationship, but that was just one thing. Kitty wanted them to be discreet, but Nancy still had her in private. Nancy didn’t think anything bad would happen.
Nancy’s return home was very insightful. I think this is what happens with many people who leave home. They realize they don’t fit anymore. Only, I don’t think Nancy really knew how to bridge the gap with her family and she just left. Only to return to the most shocking revelation of her life: Kitty in bed with Walter. Before, Nancy would kind of snicker at Walter’s longing looks to Kitty, because she saw herself as Kitty’s true lover. But for Kitty to do that, and also declare her marriage with Walter was the biggest betrayal and Nancy could only run. It was no surprise that Nany fell ill for so long.
Nancy regained her step, her confidence, from wearing her men’s clothes. They gave her confidence. Nancy said that she first agreed to the sexual favour to the man because he looked like Walter (I was confused as to whether it was Walter but after it was done she admitted he only reminded her of Walter). Why did Nancy follow through? I think she was just so lost that she would do anything. She needed money anyway, and she didn’t agree to penetrative sex so it was acceptable to her for the time being. For a period of time, I think Nancy found some happiness with Mrs. Milne and Grace, and her job that was a secret from them. She had people who cared for her, as Mrs. Milne saw her as another daughter, and she had a job that gave her money. I don’t quite remember the details of Florence and Nancy meeting, but I think Nancy reached out to Florence because she simply thought she was interesting and wanted to get to know her better.
When Diana picked up Nancy, she assumed Diana was looking for boy and Nancy insisted Diana was mistaken, but Diana assured her that she was exactly what she wanted. Them having sex was a huge awakening for Nancy. She hadn’t known there was this whole dimension of sex for two women, that played with gender roles a bit too. And she was so excited that she left everything in her old life, abandoning all the people who had ever shown her kindness. In the back of her mind, she knew she was throwing away everything for a brief moment of pleasure; after all, Diana had asked her this exactly and Nancy had agreed.
In the back of her mind, she knew she was second class compared to Diana who held all the reins. But she endured it because she got a lot of what she wanted. She had all kinds of luxuries, she had sex. But soon, Nancy realized she was missing something. That something was companionship, friendship. That was why Nancy started talking to Zena. Because Zena was the only person she could really talk to like an equal. The resentment to Diana’s superiority built and built until Diana’s birthday party, where Diana was completely unimpressed with her costume, and later with bullying Zena. Diana insulted everyone at the party and left. She and Zena reconciled and they had sex for the fun of it. But when Diana caught her, that was when things started tumbling. Diana refused to put on the simple frock that Diana ordered her to dress in. And when Diana finally threw her out, Nancy turned and begged to be let back in. She was blinded by the luxury and was scared of the outside world. So Zena had to drag her around. It was no surprise that Zena abandoned her, since not only did Zena see Nancy as having manipulated her into sex and thus the reason for her dismissal, but she also saw her as dead weight.
This next period of the book was also hard for me to read because now Nancy was going back to the people she abandoned and begging them for help. First Mrs. Milne and then Florence. I mean we do all sorts of things when we’re desperate but it showed how blinded Nancy was. And Nancy refused to leave which irked me too. I felt like she was taking advantage of Florence’s soft heart (which she absolutely was).
But it was living with Florence, Ralph, and Cyril, that Nancy finally learned some semblance of normalcy in London. She lived in fame with Kitty, she lived as a renter, she lived in luxury with Diana, and now she was finally living a normal life with a family who later accepted her, unlike Alice back in Whitstable.
As mentioned, I thought the ending was too cheesy and Nancy was forgiven too easily. I could see someone like Zena not wanting to see Nancy again but Zena took the high road. And Nancy had nothing to say to Diana because she saw that Diana would never change as someone at the top of the food chain. It was with Kitty that Nancy had catharsis. Kitty asked for her back which might have been flattering but instead Kitty turned it into an insult. She said she could tell Nancy didn’t love Florence the way that she loved Kitty. That much is true, and that is because Nancy’s love for Florence is not the same as for Kitty. Nancy was enamoured with Kitty from the beginning. But with Florence, Nancy built their love day by day. They weren’t even in love at first, Nancy just needed somewhere to stay and Florence was a nice and cute enough girl, but Nancy didn’t fall madly in love with her. Also, the reason why Kitty wanted Nancy was because she thought Nancy was still willing to live in the shadows with Kitty, but Nancy would not let herself be Kitty’s dirty secret any longer. She loved Florence because Florence had helped her at her lowest, and she admired Florence’s kindness much more than she could ever love Kitty’s glamour on stage. It took growing up for her to get there.
So I did find Nancy unlikable at times but I accept that she did grow up. Still made the middle parts a bit rough to get through though. I wouldn’t say Nancy was a character I liked.
Kitty Butler
Kitty Butler was the first woman Nancy fell in love with. She grew up without much family and she had been performing for a little while by the time she met Nancy. From what we can gather, Kitty probably knew she liked women, but she refused to acknowledge it. Even when she asked Nancy to come with her, she wouldn’t acknowledge it. I actually think she had asked her to come first, and then only thought of having her as her dresser later. Kitty was only forced to acknowledge her feelings for Nancy when they had that jealous fight.
But while Nancy was on cloud nine, Kitty saw their love as something that needed to be kept under wraps. Nancy was amazed at another performer and dresser who were clearly in a relationship but Kitty told her to stay away from them so they wouldn’t be associated as being ‘like them.’ At a performance, which Nancy chalked up to being at a rowdier establishment, a man had called them toms and Kitty literally had to excuse herself because she was in shock and unable to perform. Walter took care of her and sent Nancy home with their dresser (Nancy and Kitty were performing together at this time).
Not only that, Kitty was also two-timing Nancy and she was in a relationship with Walter. We will never know why. Did she feel pressured into a relationship with Walter because she hoped he would treat her well? When Nancy and Kitty started performing together, Walter had actually assigned his other acts to other managers to spend his time fully on Nancy and Kitty. Or was Kitty just comforted by having a beard so that she would look normal?
It was extremely shitty for Kitty to not only be cheating on Nancy and Walter with each other, but to prolong the secret from Nancy. If I remember correctly, Kitty and Walter were supposed to be married the day after Nancy had caught them. And Nancy only found out because she caught them. If it were up to Kitty, she would never have told Nancy and she would have let the wedding ring and the retirement notice have done the talking for her. Absolutely cowardly behaviour.
Throughout much of the rest of the book, Kitty remained a special person to Nancy. She was very hurt by Kitty, but Kitty remained her pinnacle of true love. When she was with Diana, she knew that she wasn’t in love and she still thought of Kitty. It was only when she began healing, living a normal life with Florence and starting to be able to accept her past, did Nancy stop thinking of Kitty so much.
Kitty showed up at the socialist rally to see Nancy. Nancy noted that she now looked like a lady, like a proper wife I suppose. Walter had gone to Liverpool for business so she took the chance to come to the rally. She said she’d had a miscarriage so she was weaker now. And she insisted to Nancy that there were no feelings between her and Walter now. So she asked Nancy to come back to her. Which is insulting enough, considering Kitty didn’t quite apologize for the hurt and secrecy. But then she went on about how Nancy didn’t look at Florence the way she looked at Kitty. But that makes me think that maybe it’s Kitty who doesn’t understand love like Nancy does now. After all, Kitty had really only been with Walter and Nancy, neither of which relationship was healthy. She only looked to Walter for protection and a semblance of normalcy and she forced Nancy to pretend they weren’t anything. Kitty didn’t understand that a relationship went two ways. The reason that Nancy and Florence were in love was because they supported each other. The reason Kitty asked Nancy to come back was because she thought that since Nancy had once been willing to be her dirty little secret, that she would be willing to again. But Nancy knew better now, and she wasn’t going to throw away not only Florence, but her life with her friends, away for that secrecy. Kitty agreed to send the family letters and money to Nancy.
With that conversation, Nancy shut the book on that relationship. Kitty would forever live in her unhappy marriage with Walter because she refused to be brave enough to be herself and instead forced others to play into a narrative that she thought would make everyone happy but instead hurt everyone.
Walter Bliss
I don’t think Nancy held that much animosity towards Walter. For much of the time she knew him, she just knew him as Kitty’s manager who had a crush on her. That being said, I don’t know if Walter knew about Kitty’s relationship with Nancy. If he did, it was a little shitty, but Nancy definitely wouldn’t have felt as betrayed by him compared to Ky.
Walter definitely cared about showbiz the most. He was very enthusiastic about Kitty, and then about Kitty and Nancy’s act, so much that he decided to reassign his other acts to focus on Kitty and Nancy since they were such a huge hit. For a moment, Walter and Kitty were performing together, with Kitty acting as a child character to his character. I have no idea whether it was successful or not, seeing as how Nancy chose not to know anything about their shows. And even after Walter and Kitty’s marriage fizzled, Walter was still focused on showbiz, going to Liverpool for business according to Kitty.
Walter was more of a symbol to Nancy, a symbol of the side of Kitty who was so deathly afraid of homophobia. She didn’t realize that Nancy had already overcome more homophobia than Kitty had. Alice had shown disgust for Nancy and Kitty’s relationship but Nancy decided to live despite it, while Kitty couldn’t even handle audience members saying it offhandedly. And after that comment, Walter had taken Kitty home.
I wonder why Nancy had seen Walter in the johns she serviced. Was it because he was the only man she had really ever thought about in a relationship? I think she maybe wanted to experience what Kitty experienced, being with a man, to see if it was all it was cracked up to be. It was passable but Nancy felt nothing about it. And nothing about men.
Mrs. Milne
Mrs. Milne was a landlady that Nancy boarded with briefly. She accepted it at face value when Nancy told her she had a job that required dressing up as a man. In fact, Mrs. Milne felt her daughter would be interested. Mrs. Milne was very kind and treated Nancy like a daughter. She was disappointed when Nancy had to leave, but she let her go, probably realizing that Nancy wasn’t actually her daughter and also that she was an adult woman who had her own life. Later, when Nancy came to find her seeking help, Mrs. Milne and Grace had moved away.
Grace Milne
Grace was Mrs. Milne’s daughter. She did take interest in Nancy’s outfits and I think she looked up to Nancy. I assume Grace was a teenager who was exploring gender and sexuality. Grace was very upset when Nancy left abruptly. She scowled and was overall very negative all the while her mom was trying to be courteous and polite when Nancy left. Nancy said that she’d write back and maybe even invite Grace, but I think Nancy knew that she’d disappointed Grace and never did write them. Nancy noticed Grace being down and I think she knew why she was so upset. She knew she was leaving the Milnes in a very unceremonious, almost ungrateful manner. She dumped these friends she had made for some lust and luxuries.
Diana Lethaby
Diana was a rich widow who now indulged in only pleasure. Judging by how she hunted down Nancy, I was inclined to believe Nancy wasn’t her first kept lover. She recruited Nancy to play a role, as her kept lover. Nancy was to do whatever Diana wanted her to do, and to be obedient and good. Diana bought tailored suits for Nancy, bought her a beautiful watch (that Nancy quite liked). Their routine usually consisted of Diana leaving Nancy for long periods during the day but if I remember correctly they had sex quite often.
In my opinion, Diana represented the rich upper class. She decided she could do whatever she wanted with her underlings because she funded their lifestyle. She owned Mrs. Hooper, Blake, and Nancy. And Nancy played by this script. She did whatever Diana told her to do, dressed in whatever she was told to dress in and came to her parties and shows as Diana’s arm candy and trophy boy/girl. Nancy posed dressed and undressed for Diana and her friends, for the friends to admire and to be jealous of Diana of having such a beautiful lover. Diana had Nancy live as a boy “Neville” when they went out. She would tell people that Neville was her ward and living with her until he went to a seminary. I’m guessing she enjoyed the fantasy of having a beautiful young ward with her, as opposed to paying someone to play a role which she was.
But as I alluded to, some resentment built. It was different from Mrs. Hooper and Blake because they were employees and they received a countable amount as compensation. For Nancy, it was not so clear what he was receiving in return for her services. Technically she received everything she wanted, but she took nothing with her, unlike the money that Zena technically earned to her name. Nancy didn’t realize this, but she built resentment towards Diana. She realized that she didn’t love Diana, but she started to hate her.
At the part, she was disappointed that Diana didn’t appreciate the thought she put into her costume and how it matched the bust she had gifted to Diana earlier in the day. That straw that broke the camel’s back was when the party guests wanted Zena to bare her crotch to show them if she actually had a dick. Maybe the women were drunk or maybe they were serious but I felt that Diana ordered Zena because she wanted to show her guests that she could order her underlings to do whatever she wanted. That was the breaking point for Nancy, since it was very invasive and embarrassing to tell someone to bare themselves.
I don’t know if Diana knew already that she was going to get rid of Nancy, but catching Zena and Nancy having sex was the last straw for her. Nancy was supposed to be her kept lover and for them to be having sex without her permission, with her dildo, felt disrespectful to her. So had Nancy and Zena dress and threw them out unceremoniously. Of course she didn’t budget when Nancy begged to be taken back in, Diana didn’t appreciate her authority being questioned. It was after Nancy calmed down that she realized she didn’t care for Diana. It was a physical relationship.
We saw Diana at the end, at the socialist rally. I’m not sure why she would have been there unless it was known that it was just going to be a party. She didn’t strike me as a socialist, unless it was the fashionable woke thing to do at the time. Nancy caught her with a boy wearing the watch that used to be hers. I can’t tell if the boy was actually a girl dressed as a boy, but I’m guess they are. And that showed us that Diana probably wouldn’t change. She had enough money to be who she wanted. That was why Nancy couldn’t be with her. Because Diana would never treat her like an equal.
I felt that Diana’s class influenced her more than her sexuality. If she was straight, I felt she would have been acting the same way. Ordering people about and flexing her authority. Again, I felt she wanted people to look up to her for her power and her riches and to be able to buy beautiful people like Nancy.
Zena Blake
Zena was Diana’s maid. At first, we were just told that Zena was rescued from a gaol for having corrupted another girl. I think Nancy really only started to pay attention to Zena when she started to feel lonely because Diana treated her like a pet and not a human. Nancy and Zena would sometimes chat and joke. It was during these conversations that Nancy found out that Zena wanted to save money to move to the colonies to become a landlady. And it was in these conversations that Zena found out Nancy was the performer she thought she was.
I forget the exact story, but Zena had fallen in love with a girl Agnes that she worked with as a maid, but they later became separated. A new coworker had found out about Zena and Agnes writing love letters and threatened to reveal the secret, making Zena kiss her. When they got into an argument, that person flipped the script and said that Zena had forced her to kiss Zena. And that was why Zena was sent to the gaol.
At Diana’s birthday party, the guests were gossiping about how girls in gaol must have had mad sex with each other because what else have they got to do? And then they discussed whether girls in gaol would have grown dicks, and that was why they dragged out Zena, who was obviously very embarrassed. Nancy sent off Zena and said her piece, after which Nancy was slapped and she fled. Zena went to Nancy to help her with her injuries and they got to talking. Nancy and Zena had some wine, their own ‘party,’ and after that Nancy suggested Zena wear the dildo and fuck her, which Zena did. Diana caught them mid act and Zena was immediately very sorry but the damage was done. She was kicked out without any of the money she had saved.
Zena took charge of the situation, obviously very angry. She sold Nancy’s things for more practical clothes. Nancy didn’t like them because they weren’t nice but Zena was hard. She also used the money to buy them some food and some board for the nice. In the morning, Zena had left and taken the money with her. I think Nancy knew that she deserved it. While the sex was a two-person job, I think Nancy kind of knew that she had goaded Zena with the wine and the sex. And in Zena’s mind, it was only because of Nancy that she got into this trouble and lost all her money.
Zena showed up at the very end at the socialist rally. She said her friend had come back from the colonies and said they weren’t looking for landladies, but rather wives, which Zena would not want to be. She was living close to Nancy with another girl. And, Zena had saw Diana at the rally.
I honestly felt that Zena forgiving Nancy was a bit too fantastical and for the comfort of the readers who liked Nancy. In reality I don’t think Nancy ever would have seen Zena ever again. Nor would I think Zena would be so friendly towards Nancy, as if nothing was wrong. But it’s also not unbelievable. I think Zena has been through enough to let things be water under the bridge. She’s past that stage in her life and she’s built bigger and better things, like Nancy has.
Florence Banner
Florence was a socialist tom who worked with charities. The first time Nancy saw her, she was helping a family move into a house. Nancy was dressed in male clothes then, and Florence felt uncomfortable being eyed up by a man. They met later on the street, and Florence invited her to a socialist lecture, to which Nancy never arrived.
They met again when Nancy tracked her down after being thrown out of Diana’s. Technically Florence was the right person to seek because she helped the needy. Nancy pretended not to be able to read and saw Florence’s address on her letter of resignation. She was now working for a women’s shelter which was technically perfect for Nancy but too far so Nancy went to Florence’s home instead. When Nancy arrived, Florence was holding a baby and Ralph appeared in the back so Nancy assumed she was married to a man with a baby and promptly fainted.
Florence was rightly flustered and uncomfortable with Nancy coming to her house and she insisted that Nancy could only stay a day and would have to go to the shelter later. But I think finding out that Florence wasn’t married to Ralph kind of pushed her to be a little flirtier. I honestly thought Nancy was overstepping boundaries once again, in Florence’s on home. But Nancy, used to luxury, did not want to leave Florence’s home for the shelter. And Florence, being weak to the needy, agreed and relented to Nancy’s pushiness.
But Nancy and Florence did get to know each other. We learned that Florence was a socialist and admired Eleanor Marx. We learned that she loved a woman called Lilian and that Cyril was Lilian’s son. We learned that some of her siblings accepted her leanings but some did not. And when she learned that Nancy was also a tom, she introduced her to her other friends. With having spent so much time together, Nancy and Florence grew to love each other. They accepted that for Nancy, Kitty was her one great love, and for Florence that was Lilian, but they loved each other because they were here now, and they had built something.
Florence influenced Nancy to be more involved in socialist activities. And they roped in Ralph as well. At the end, I think the socialist rally was Florence’s big event that she was proud of.
When Florence saw Kitty with Nancy, she assumed that Nancy would leave her and she went away on her own to grieve. But Nancy came back and told her that she decided to be with Florence, which elated her. While Florence didn’t have a Lilian to go back to, Nancy had a Kitty. But Nancy became illusioned with the Kitty that she had become, and instead loved the Florence that she had felt comfortable being herself with.
While I understand Florence was kind, it felt like she was a pushover for letting Nancy strong arm her way into Florence’s life again and again. Imagine someone you don’t know begging you to stay in your HOUSE. That’s really uncomfortable. I understand this is romance but I couldn’t get past that. Another reason why I couldn’t vibe with Nancy.
Ralph Banner
Ralph was Florence’s brother and a pretty kind person. When he found out that Nancy liked wearing men’s clothes, he would sometimes find stuff for her. He didn’t really care when Florence and Nancy got together. He just went to his job, came home and took care of his family. At the end, he even participated in the rally by delivering a speech. He was a nervous wreck, and in the weeks prior, Nancy had helped him memorize it to the point that she knew it better than him. But it goes on to show that Ralph really cared for Florence, Nancy, and Cyril.
Themes
Sexuality
I think Nancy’s journey of exploring her sexuality was the main theme. First, Kitty was her great awakening, showing her that this was the kind of love that she wanted. She loved Kitty, but their intimacy was limited to kissing and maybe mutual masturbation in the dark behind closed doors. Then, she explored sex with men as a renter, and discovered that it didn’t mean much to her. Then she explored sex with women with Diana, and found it was exciting. Lastly, she finally found a healthy relationship with Florence, what it meant to be with people who accepted you including your sexuality. Nancy befriended many toms, but she found what it was like to have family who supported her like Ralph.
As well, there were sexual references in this novel. At one point, I think tipping the velvet was explained to be cunnilingus. But I felt that Nancy being an oyster girl was also purposeful, since oysters are noted to look like something else. There must have been more references that I missed.
Class
Nancy went through several rises and falls in the class hierarchy. She was a small town girl who rocketed to stardom as part of a masher act and she became rich and famous. But I think she didn’t think as much of that as she did her love with Kitty. I think that was why she was so willing to run away with no money. She felt she couldn’t live without Kitty’s love, but she could live without anything else. She learned to live modestly, becoming a renter to do so.
Things turned upside down for her when she had the chance to live with Diana. Her eyes were so focused on luxury and lust that she left everything behind. Greedy behaviour to be honest. We thought she would have become desensitized to the luxury but we saw the moment she was kicked out of Diana’s house, she was begging to return, at least for the beautiful watch. She had gotten too used to the luxury.
When Nancy got to Florence’s place, she had to start from zero, from something like where she came from in Whitstable. A humble family home. She wasn’t shucking oysters, but she was looking after the household, cleaning the house and taking care of Cyril. And it was from this modest family life, where she wasn’t wanting but instead could work hard for her livelihood, that she learned what happiness was. For the opportunity to be yourself.
Overall
Again, I understand why this book would have resonated with others. I am not lesbian so it didn’t specifically speak to me that way but I definitely appreciate the journey of Nancy. Only that I found Nancy unlikable in some parts and the ending was too perfect.