Beautiful, brilliant, ruthless – nothing can stop Becky Sharp.

Becky Sharp has big dreams and no connections. Determined to swap the gutters of Soho for the glamorous, exclusive world behind the velvet rope, Becky will do anything to achieve fame, riches and status.

Whether it’s seducing society’s most eligible bachelors, or befriending silly debutantes and rich old ladies, Becky Sharp is destined for great things. Because it might be tough at the top but it’s worse at the bottom.

From London to Paris and beyond, Becky Sharp is going places – so get the hell out of her way…

My thanks to the publishers for my digital copy of this book, received via NetGalley, which I have reviewed honestly and impartially.

I finally got round to reading this modern retelling of Vanity Fair. I have to admit, I have not read the original. It is one of those classics that has been sat on my TBR and I have just not got round to picking up, so I went in to this book with no preconceptions and no comparisons to Thackeray’s novel and my review will be of this novel in its own right, not as a retelling.

I absolutely loved the opening chapter of the book, which sets Becky up immediately as a modern woman seeking fame in a way that has become most popular in the twenty-first century. I don’t want to say too much more and spoil the beginning of the book for anyone who has not read it but, as a member of Generation X, the events that open this book played an important part in my life. In fact, I was at school with the very first person to emerge from this experience – one of my claims to fame – and I’ll say no more than that! As soon as I started reading it, i knew this book was something different, smart and relevant.

The main character of the book, Becky Sharp, is determined and ruthless in her pursuit of a better life for herself and, as we hear the beginnings of the story, we have a lot of sympathy for her, because she has not had it easy. However, as the book carries on and she becomes more and more careless with other people in her eagerness for advancement, that sympathy begins to evaporate and, by the end, she is fairly detestable. It is a fascinating story arc, the opposite of the way most books and characters develop and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The book has many interesting and fun supporting characters as well, and the strong streak of humour running through the novel was really well done. I alternating between willing Becky on, and praying for her downfall, largely depending on how I felt about the supporting character she was taking advantage of at the time. This is the genius behind the plot, the constant conflict between the self-serving behaviour of Becky and the nature of the supporting characters leading to the reader sometimes having to choose to support the lesser of two evils.

The book in pacy and entertaining and provided a thoroughly enjoyable reading experience. I really ended up caring about the characters and wanting to know if they got what they deserved by the end. It has made me want to pick up that copy of Vanity Fair that has been languishing on my shelf for far too long and see how well this author has interpreted the book into its modern setting. I know this is an odd way round to read them, but it is a great plaudit for the efficacy of this novel.

The Rise and Fall of Becky Sharp is out now and you can buy a copy here.

About the Author

Sarra Manning is an author and journalist. She started her writing career on Melody Maker, than spent five years on legendary UK teen mag, J17, first as a writer, then as Entertainment Editor. Subsequently she edited teen fashion bible Ellegirl UK and the BBC’s What To Wear magazine.

Sarra has written for ELLE, Grazia, Red, InStyle, The Guardian, Sunday Times Style, The Mail On Sunday’s You, Harper’s Bazaar, Stylisr, Time Out and The Sunday Telegraph’s Stella. Her best-selling YA novels, which include Guitar Girl, Let’s Get Lost, Pretty Things, The Diary Of A Crush trilogy and Nobody’s Girl have been translated into numerous languages. Her latest YA novel, Adorkable, was published by Atom.

She has also written a number of grown-up novels.

Sarra lives in North London with her Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Miss Betsy, and prides herself on her unique ability to accessorise.

Connect with Sarra:

Twitter: @sarramanning

Instagram: @sarra_manning