Hello to you all and welcome to our first discussion of Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters. For those that are new to this community, TC Reads selects a book for each show in our season that connects to our production in theme, period, author, or as the original work our stage adaptation is based on. Our next production is William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, running January 30th – February 24th, and almost immediately I start to notice parallels with Shakespeare's play and Waters’ Tipping the Velvet.
February will mark the 20th year anniversary of Tipping the Velvet’s first publication and as I start to consume myself in a story narrated by a self-described “unremarkable-looking girl” named Nancy, I realize quickly that although set in different times and written in different times, both Twelfth Night(believed to have been written in 1601), and Tipping the Velvet display visible relevancy to today with themes of identity, gender and love. However, the first thing that gripped me in this novel is the commentary on smell evoking memories. Every place, every person, and everything can have its own individual scent and in turn create an everlasting memory. Nancy describes the Palace as a scent she loved “uncritically”; “the scent of wood and grease-paint and spilling beer, of gas and of tobacco and of hair oil, all combined."
What are some memories you relive each time you catch the scent of something? Is it a place? A person? A feeling? Is it a positive memory, or a negative one?
I look forward to reading your comments and continuing our discussion on January 30th!
February will mark the 20th year anniversary of Tipping the Velvet’s first publication and as I start to consume myself in a story narrated by a self-described “unremarkable-looking girl” named Nancy, I realize quickly that although set in different times and written in different times, both Twelfth Night(believed to have been written in 1601), and Tipping the Velvet display visible relevancy to today with themes of identity, gender and love. However, the first thing that gripped me in this novel is the commentary on smell evoking memories. Every place, every person, and everything can have its own individual scent and in turn create an everlasting memory. Nancy describes the Palace as a scent she loved “uncritically”; “the scent of wood and grease-paint and spilling beer, of gas and of tobacco and of hair oil, all combined."
What are some memories you relive each time you catch the scent of something? Is it a place? A person? A feeling? Is it a positive memory, or a negative one?
I look forward to reading your comments and continuing our discussion on January 30th!
Jamie Tymchuk – Learning and Engagement Associate