Review ~ The Rise and Fall of Becky Sharp by Sarra Manning

Harper Collins
2018

My thanks to the publishers for my copy of this book

A hilarious contemporary retelling of the classic society novel, VANITY FAIR, featuring the irrepressible Becky Sharp

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

Here are my thoughts..

Over Christmas I’ve managed to catch up with the TV adaptation of Vanity Fair in which the intrepid Becky Sharp manipulates her way through Georgian society. With the same kind of flair, this fun re-imagining of the original sees Becky Sharp transformed into one of those minor celebrities who make their name by appearing on a popular reality show. Always with an eye on the main chance, Becky is as unscrupulous as ever in her search for wealth and power.

The author has captured the essence of Becky Sharp and has used this to her advantage so that those who are familiar with the way the original story unfolds will see similarities and yet, those readers who come new to Vanity Fair will discover something fresh, witty and decidedly modern. The similarities to the original are cleverly crafted, keeping similar themes but updating the overall effect for a more contemporary audience of readers.

I know that re-imagining an original classic can be controversial, and perhaps those purists who love Thackeray’s original will not be over-enamoured by this recreation, however, I thought that The Rise and Fall of Becky Sharp was entertaining and that as a fun, light-hearted story, about a modern day Becky Sharp, it worked just fine.

About the Author

Sarra Manning is an author and journalist, Her novels include Unsticky, You Don't Have To Say You Love Me, and her latest The House of Secrets.

Sarra has written both adult and YA novels and has contributed to the Guardian, ELLE, Grazia, Stylist, Fabulous, Stella, You Magazine, Harper's Bazaar and is currently the Literary Editor of Red Magazine. Sarra lives in London.

Twitter @sarramanning

@HarperCollins