Sarah Waters

Louisa Yates (University of Chester)
Download PDF Add to Bookshelf Report an Error

“Why, oh why, did I ever allow the phrase ‘lesbo-Victorian romp' to cross my lips?” (Patterson, “Sarah Waters: The Hot Tip”). Though Sarah Waters' plaintive tone is obviously tongue-in-cheek, it is certainly true that her novels are chiefly known for their playful, bawdy, and sensual qualities. Television adaptations of

Tipping the Velvet

(BBC: 2002) and

Fingersmith

(BBC: 2005) profited from this popular conception; Andrew Davies' adaptation of

Tipping the Velvet

, in particular, revelled in cheeky double entendres and explicit sex scenes. One specific encounter brought explicit lesbian sex to mainstream television audiences, with actors Anna Chancellor, Rachael Stirling, and one very significant prop – Monsieur Dildo.

Born in Neyland, Pembrokeshire in 1966, Waters describes

1147 words

Citation: Yates, Louisa. "Sarah Waters". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 09 January 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=11906, accessed 19 March 2024.]

11906 Sarah Waters 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

Save this article

If you need to create a new bookshelf to save this article in, please make sure that you are logged in, then go to your 'Account' here

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.