I have to say I prefer Tipping the Velvet. I saw both on LOGO but Tipping the Velvet was not as sad as Fingersmith from what I remember.

tipping the velvet, i've seen both, i've also read both books which is a must do if you enjoyed the films!

i love the actress keeley hawes (kitty butler) and i think she made tipping the velvet that much better than fingersmith!

i love both, books and films, though the books are generally better.

but i found fingersmith was more true to sarah waters great book.

tipping the velvet was so different from what i felt and imagined when reading the book. its a good film, no question, but not as well transformed into a film as fingersmith, i think.

I've read both books and I'd have to say that tipping the velvet was a dissapointment for me. It changed certain bits of the book for no reason (especially the Nan/Flo relationship at the end - where some of their personality traits are more or less swapped around), I just wans't in the vibe of it (the music ticked me off quite a bit too) and just lacked a bit of subtlety. I expected much more from it because I read the book first and it is a really great novel, I do own the DVD but I have no real urge to watch it again (aside from Keely Hawes).

Fingersmith on the other hand is more or less my favourite film. It's truer to the book when compared to TTV and a much calmer feel with more believable chemistry between the two leads. I find it far more watchable, there isn't an overriding musical score and everything to me appears slicker. When it does deviate from the book it isn't major and adds to the story. Plus (maybe I shouldn't admit this) I always get really involved into it - always makes me want to cry at the end...

Hmm, anyway that's my view on it (not that I've thought about it at length before or anything *shifts eyes wildly*)!

"Hatred is blind, as well as love." - Oscar Wilde 

I have to say i never heard of sarah waters when i saw tipping the velvet a few years ago and didn't know what to expect but it had such an impact...i loved it! the character nan was so funny, so unique, its like one of those dvd's if i was sick or wanted the ultimate tv day i would put on and watch from start to finsh.

on the other hand, i read fingersmith recently and felt the misery aspect was overdone. you gotta be careful, as a writer, when protraying tragedy, and for its part i think fingersmith wallowed too long in the depths of despair. its like sarah was trying to do a dickens on it but it didn't work. i am referring of course to the asylum episode.

 by the way, has she any other novels worth a look?

mine is not to reason why

LOVE IT!!  Keeley Hawes in the movie and the book written by Sarah Waters??!!  It is a win-win situation! ;-)

After Ellen..came me!! 18 years to the day later to be extact!!

After thinking about this long and hard I have to say that they are both equally good in their own way, but the portrayals of the books does differ in each adaptation. Fingersmith is a much subtler calmer film than Tipping which is full of colour and noise and expression, but they both need to be, to portray the lives of the characters. I agree with the comments about the chemistry between Elaine Cassidy and Sally Hawkins, and I believe that it would not have been the same with different actors.

P.S. aimsir te - a couple of other books by Sarah Waters that are well worth a read are Affinity and Nightwatch. Very good.

After Ellen..came me!! 18 years to the day later to be extact!!

Hey Angel74, I guess great minds think alike!!

I saw the movies before I read the books, and liked them both.  Now that I have read the books, I actually prefer the book version of Tipping the Velvet to Fingersmith, but I like the movie version of Fingersmith better than the movie version of Tipping the Velvet.  I agree that I think the chemisty is better in the movie Fingersmith than Tipping the Velvet, and the characters were a little bit more likeable.  And as for Tipping the Velvet, I thought the characters, Flo in particular, had more depth in the book than in the movie.  Just my two cents.

Fingersmith was a better book and a better movie by far. I enjoyed tipping the velvet, the book, but the movie excluded important aspects of the book and added things that didn't seem to fit well to me. Though, I enjoyed the theatricals the movie was a disappointment. The book had a really good beginning and a really good end but the middle just seemed like soft porn. I mean I appreciate a love scene as much as the next girl but, I think it was overdone.

Fingersmith on the other hand was written brilliantly from beginning to end. I loved how the perspective changed from Sue to Maud. I liked the plot and the treachery. I loved how the line between innocent and villianous were completely blurred. The dialouge was brilliant. I mean I can't say anything bad about this book. The same goes for the movie. Sally Hawkins is just amazing as is Elaine Cassidy and pretty much the entire cast.

Someone said that the book was too dark or something. I have to respecfully disagree. a book is written in a certain way to project a certain feeling and create a certain atmosphere. Not all books are meant to make you feel bubbly inside. Fingersmith was meant to be suspenseful. It showed what I believe to be an accurate portrayal of those times. In life, sometimes the dark moments greatly out way the lighter ones. I think the best writers show life in many different lights.

Fingersmith is my favorite book but I think Affinity may be just as good or better. It's the first Sarah Waters book I read and it's amazing. I would definitely recommend it. As for Nightwatch, it left a lot to be desired.

I believe was overall just a better book than Tipping the Velvet was. I became more deeply engrossed in Fingersmith, and found it a much more fascinating read than Velvet.

I was also more impressed with the Fingersmith TV adaptation. The acting was superior, more true to the original novel, and flowed better than the Velvet adaption did.

And most of all I agree that the talent of and the chemistry between Sally Hawkins and Elaine Cassidy is absolutely unparalleled.

Thus, Fingersmith gets my vote :)

I am actually quite looking forward to seeing what they do with the TV adaptation of Affinity. I wasnt so keen on the story, maybe cause there werent much action going on (Tipping the Velvet was great for that) and the plot was good, but i have to say Finger Smith was still the best for a twist! What do you guys think? Also have any of you read her latest one The Night Watch .... i have to say that is her best so far - now that would make a interesting film!

As for the debate ... hmmm Tipping the Velvet (which i am currently rereading) is a saucy, racey read that makes that very adjective quite ironic as it is not a very fast paced book. Finger Smith had the chemistry, the ingenuity and the comeuppance that you yearn for. For what they are, i would say they are pretty even stevens!

I think if I had never read TTV then I'd pick the adaptation. However Fingersmith keeps more to the book, In TTV they cut out some great stuff and Nan (even though I enjoyed Rachel Stirling) was way too femme. Plus I mean Fingersmith had freakin' Imelda Staunton in it! She's a phenominal character actress and she brought such love and compassion to Mrs. Sucksby that you forget that she's the mastermind of the whole plan for Sue and Maud.

But I did absolutely love Anna Chancellor as Diana in TTV. Hee hee Duckface (I couldn't resist throwing in a reference to her character in 4 weddings and a Funeral) kicked ass (well probably beat it more likely). 

Shelley C

I read all 4 of her books, and I kinda like Affinity most. I think the reason is that is so dark. Cant wait to see the movie. I wonder how they turned the book into a movie. Also it would be very interesting to see The night watch. As its written... well backwards.

As for the topic of teh debate. I preffer Fingersmith. Dont get me wrong Tipping the velvet was awesome, but I did not like that they cut so many parts of the book and altered the ending

Between the two books I thought the Tipping the Velvet was much better. But when they made the movie, it seemed to me that the screenwriter read the first part of the book but made up his own ending. I liked the idea of Nan being a player!

Fingersmith the movie was awesome. I can watch it a million times and still not get tired of it.

When Affinity the movie comes out I'll have to watch it with about a dozen kleenex boxes handy. Talk about a tear jerker!

I love Tipping... it was the first movie or adaption that I saw and Nan must stay with Kytti

I think these two movies, fingersmith and tipping the velvet are too different to compare

Tipping the velvet is a drama with a subtone of comedy, whereas fingersmith is a thriller/mistery

Both very good tv series.

i've read both books before seeing both the BBC series........and i can't really say which i like more. they're all good. okay, i think i still prefer the books. but visual is also very important so then Kitty Butler it is! :)

oh Kitty.... ;)

Well, if we're going by the TV productions, I'd have to go for Fingersmith. It had a much better flow and the chemestry between Cassidy and Hawkins was fantastc.

Now if we consider the books, I don't think I could choose. TTV was a much better book than the show (not having to do witht he actors who were mostly great). And with Fingersmith, both the book and the show were wonderful.

Alas! I can't choose! Just watch and read em' both!

In terms of the novels, I liked them both but TTV was more fun. Fingersmith was excellent but could be heavy going at times.

However there was no comparison for me with the adaptations - Fingersmith was miles better! I was so disappointed with TTV, I thought it was turned into a farce. However there pretty much wasn't anything wrong with Fingersmith for me, I thought it was awesome. 

Is set to come out sometime in May or June in the UK.

And PS, Fingersmith was SO much better than TTV, lol.

While Tipping the Velvet really struck a chord with me due to the 'leaving home' themes and recognizable 'growing pains', Fingersmith really is my favourite book out of Sarah Waters' books (I love the suspense and the plot twists, I LOVE being surprised/shocked) and the film version was much better handled than the TTV one (better casting, better script, more true to the book).

As for the casting.. I MEAN COME ON! :D   

 (I bought/buy/dowloaded everything Elaine Cassidy-y I could/can get my hands on now ;)  rawr)

 --
http://ankie.livejournal.com

I'm a big tipping the velvet fan. Fingersmith is a good novel too but still think TTV is far better, both the novel and the movie.
And oh well, Rachael Stirling is absolutely(!) gorgeous.

"I need some psycholesbian theraphy"

I haven't seen Fingersmith (added to my netflix queue, though)

But I LOVED Tipping the Velvet.
srsly. corsets, vaudeville, burlesque, secret rich-people lesbian societies, 1890's London? COME ON. THAT'S HOT.