Having never read Vanity Fair I cannot tell you if The Rise and Fall of Becky Sharp stays true to it or not. One thing I can tell you if that this retelling of the classic book was both witty and interesting to read.

Let me start by saying that Becky Sharp is most definitely an unlikeable character. However, she is a character whose motivations are clear. I don’t agree with the way she goes about it sometimes but wanting to attain social mobility is not enough to condemn her in and of itself.

What I like about The Rise and Fall of Becky Sharp is that whilst Becky is clearly condemned the author makes it clear several times that she is using the only weapon available to her – her sexuality. She also makes it clear that the behaviour of the men in Becky’s life is often as reprehensible, or more so, than hers.

Becky Sharp’s childhood was characterised by dire poverty and the lack of a parental figure so when Becky ends up on Big Brother, she used the chance to try to improve her situation. She befriends naïve Amelia whilst in the house and plays on her background to get Amelia to feel sorry for her and invite her into her home.

Once she is in Amelia’s home, she gets a glimpse of the life she thinks she should be leading and determines to get it by any means.

The Rise and Fall of Becky Sharp contains a lot of annoying characters. Becky is shallow, greedy and untrustworthy but so is George. George is Amelia’s boyfriend and I detested him. He is entitled, shallow and only looks after number one but because of the family he was born into nobody bats an eyelid at his behaviour.

Amelia is a cloying character throughout much of the novel, but I did like her more towards the end of the book.

My favourite character was Matilda and I could easily picture her. In my head she looked a lot like Dame Judy Dench.

As I said earlier, I can’t say if this is a true retelling of Vanity Fair, but I can say that I enjoyed reading it.

I have not read Vanity Fair but this did not detract away from my enjoyment of this novel. It was a glorious romp through modern society and politics with a dash of social media influence and I particularly enjoyed the little newspaper article snippets throughout. It was difficult to decide whether to love or hate Becky but in the end I found I was rooting for her. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and HarperCollins for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

A sharp and funny book, full of well-observed satire and sparkling dialogue. I wolfed this delicious novel down in a matter of days and would recommend you do the same!

In a comedic modern re-telling of Vanity Fair, Becky Sharp first tastes fame as the runner-up of Big Brother. Determined that her success will not end there, she plots, flirts and tricks her way to the top. Whether it's using her new BFF Amelia Sedley to step up into the rarified world of London's upper classes, or seducing society's most eligible bachelors, Becky Sharp is destined for great things - at any cost...

I was first introduced to Vanity Fair when I was much younger: I was looking for a DVD in my local shops and came across the adaptation starring Reese Witherspoon (the height of quality at the time). While the adaptation is an enjoyable if slightly forgettable romp, I was utterly fascinated by the character of Rebecca Sharp, an ambitious and persistent woman who never gives up on her quest for success, and subverting the very real limitations presented by her class and gender. I quickly picked up the original novel and fell in love. Becky is a true anti-heroine, and it is extraordinary for the time that Thackeray does not hesitate to depict her as thoroughly unlikeable and extremely calculating in an age when strict Victorian feminine ideals would have represented a real challenge and risk in publishing. At the same time, as many other modern readers have found, Becky was wronged by her creator whose sensibilities gave more credence to Becky's foil, Amelia, and punish Becky for stepping out of the traditional feminine traits. Nevertheless, despite the faults of the original plotting, I thoroughly recommend Vanity Fair to all. Despite its length, it is a very rewarding read - and I keep on going back to in the years after.

Enter Manning's modern day re-envisioning in which our cast of characters become blockbuster stars, leading actresses in BBC period dramas, Members of Parliament, media barons and Instagram models. Manning's Becky Sharp is a timely and empowering reimagining, granting the character more agency whilst retaining the moral ambiguity (and sometimes straight out reprehensible conduct) of our anti-heroine. She really comes alive in this novel and setting. I must say that I really enjoyed The Rise and Fall of Becky Sharp. As a modern adaptation, it has achieved a lot as well as keeping that whimsical and satirical sense of humour, scrutinising the ridiculousness and complexity of society in a manner very reminiscent to the original novel. I was actually quite surprised to see how close this novel stayed to the original novel and was impressed by Manning's creative modern day parallels (I also appreciated that Becky's fate is dealt with much more kindly). At the same time, this novel succeeded in carving its own story in a way that I have not much experienced in modern reimaginings of classic novels. I truly feel that it can be enjoyed just as much at face-value without any comparison being made to the original.

Many thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins for providing me with a copy for review.

I've never read Vanity Fair but totally loved this, a really good fun read, easy to get into and hard to put down, loved it!

For any of your who, like me , were feeling a little put off about this book having not read Vanity Fair let me put your mind at ease and say it is absolutely fine to read as a standalone book, had I not read the reviews mentioning that I wouldn’t have been any of the wiser and would have still been thoroughly entertained by this storyline.

The first thing to mention is our leading lady Becky Sharp who is one determined and had no morals when it comes to getting what she wants! She isn’t the kind of character you love or would want to be friends with but she is so interesting to watch her mid at work concocting her devious plans for her next step.

The storyline is fast paced and we meet a large variety of characters for Becky to stamp her heels all over on her way to the top. Becky wasn’t the only character who was ruthless though another that stood out was Gorgeous George who I was desperately hoping Becky would take down a peg or two as he was so arrogant and egotistical. There were other characters I did find generally sweet such as Dobbin and Amelia. There is a slight witty feel to the storyline but that is mainly because people are so blind to her ways and she has no boundaries.

I liked that the book was unpredictable even though we soon become aware that there isn’t a line that Becky isn’t afraid to cross and that she always has a plan B we never quite know if she will end up on top or if everything is about to fall down around her once again. This was refreshing modern storyline with scandal a plenty and a main character in Becky Spark who will be impossible to forget. I am pleased I have discovered author Sarra Manning and I look forward to reading more books by her after enjoying her writing style in this book.

Back in 2007 Vanity Fair was on the reading list for my English Literature degree. I bought the rather sizeable book and put off reading it for as long as I possibly could, somewhat intimidated by its size. However, when I could put off the inevitable no longer, it actually became one of my favourite reads of the entire course, simply because I was so fascinated by the character of Becky Sharp. So, imagine my delight when I stumbled upon this contemporary retelling of Vanity Fair, The Rise and Fall of Becky Sharp. Becky was made for the modern world, and Sarra Manning has plucked her from the past and plonked her slap bang into the present where she can truly shine.
Telling the story of Becky Sharp, and her new BFF Amelia Sedley, the novel follows the two very different women as they navigate their lives. Just as in Vanity Fair, Becky is the scene stealer, determined to make her way in the world by whatever means necessary, always in stark contrast to her sensitive, kind friend, Amelia.
I've read quite a few heavy, thriller type novels recently as well as having quite a stressful time in my personal life with looming university deadlines and sick children thrown into the mix, and so I really wanted something fun, and I am delighted to report that The Rise and Fall of Becky Sharp has delivered fun in abundance! I cannot even tell you how many times I have laughed out loud. Reading it has been a sheer delight.
The author has done a fantastic job of moving a set of characters, retaining their core from the original and setting them against modern day scenarios. For example, instead of meeting at boarding school, Becky and Amelia meet in the Big Brother house. Introducing the characters and seeing them fit so seamlessly into modern day life really made me consider just how timeless the characterisation is, and just how relevant those nineteen century themes still are today, perhaps even more so than they were.
I was initially concerned that Becky would lose something in this retelling, I was especially worried that the author might try and make her something that she never was in the original. She is a character that I know I should hate, but yet actually I rather like her and find myself rooting for her. It's a very difficult thing to pull off - to make the unlikeable, likeable, but Sarra Manning has done it rather effortlessly.
In a world currently ruled by reboots, I am thrilled that The Rise and Fall of Becky Sharp, as far as I am concerned, is a complete and utter success! One of my favourite books of this year, which I will be recommending far and wide.

Sadly, this one didn't wow me. It was just an average read for me.
The writing was wonderful but I just couldn't get on with the character.
I would definitely like to read more from this author but I'll probably stay away from Vanity Fair and its retellings!

I enjoyed this book. Having not read Vanity Fair before, this was a great read and very contemporary. I was actually rooting for Becky and felt for her most of the time.

Vanity Fair with a modern twist. A real must-read book for those who love modern retellings of old novels. I'd never been interested in Vanity Fair or Becky Sharp until seeing her on screen in the recent TV adaptation of Vanity Fair and I loved it, so when I saw this book was a new release I couldn't wait to see what a modern-day Becky would be like - I wasn't disappointed. She is the character you love to hate as she is both sharp by name and by nature. The story loosely follows the original plot - a young girl from a bad upbringing who relies on nothing or no one and who climbs her way through life not really caring for those who she meets or uses along the way so longs as she gets what she wants she doesn't care. We also meet all the original characters including Amelia and Jos Smedley, Dobbins, George and Rawdon Crawley. I loved that there was a little nod to William Makepeace Thackeray in there too. I will certainly be looking for other books from this author soon.

Delightful, debatable and different. A great read and a modern twist on the classic Vanity Fayre story. Thoroughly enjoyable great characterisation-fabulous ending. Recommended.

A cracking yarn retold for today. 4/5 stars.

This is a fun retelling of Vanity Fair in a contemporary context. Free from all of Thackeray’s more (perhaps) long-winded sections, the story zips along, honing in on what makes the original book so brilliant – Becky Sharp – and refocusing the narrative so we’re under no illusions as to which character is the star. That said, just like in Thackeray’s version, Manning’s Becky is also made to earn her time in the limelight, leaving the other characters, and us, slack-jawed in her wake.

Events may seem preposterous at times, but this is a romp, not gritty drama. Even if the characters’ shenanigans don’t make you laugh, you can’t help but smile as the story is told in a breezy tone which is the equivalent of a raised eyebrow and quirked lip. However, this is still a morality tale and this retelling has all the social commentary which underpins Thackeray’s book, particularly when it comes to examining class conflict and snobbery, although here it’s updated to take in the ubiquity of social media (if you’re not on Instagram, do you really exist?) and how reality TV has made a new type of celebrity possible. As ruthless as Becky may be, you have to admire her drive to overcome the poor hand she has been dealt, and the most cutting comments are reserved for those born obliviously into obscene wealth.

I do think you’ll get more out of this book if you’ve read Vanity Fair or watched an adaptation (the recent ITV version was very good). The way Manning transposes the events and characters from the early nineteenth century to the present day is ingenious, especially how she manages to get by without the Napoleonic Wars! I also liked the changes she made to the original story, particularly those which affected the ending for several characters. This is a modern story featuring modern women, and I was pleased to see changes to the fate of the main female characters which reflect these young women making the most of the staggering increase in freedoms and rights that others have fought so hard to give them in the 170 years since Thackeray’s book was first published.

Finally, I was delighted by just how clear this version made it that George is an absolute git (and that’s me choosing a polite-ish word). I always think the original fudges it a bit, putting a lot of the blame for his actions on his upbringing and “weaknesses”, but Manning’s version of the character is completely vile – spot on!

Overall: a fun and thoroughly entertaining retelling of a nineteenth-century classic. I’m pleased to report that Becky Sharp continues to thrive whatever era she’s dropped into!

This is such a fun, humorous novel which is extremely relevant to today's social-media, celebrity-obsessed world, but with an extra layer of bite - Becky is no silly airhead. She's mean, conniving and completely harsh in her treatment of other people to get to where to wants to be... and I both hated and sort-of-loved-her for it!

This is one of those novels that are perfect for when you want something that's easy to read but not too light and fluffy. The story joins Becky in her early adult life (she's only early twenties though at times feels a lot older) as she's just come out of the Big Brother House, of all places, and her sunsequent highs and lows...

I really enjoyed this modern twist on Vanity Fair (I didn't realise this was based on that story until after I'd finished it) and thought that the author, Sarra Manning, did an excellent job of crafting Becky as a mostly-likeable bitch! I really liked her long-suffering friend Amelia, despite her timid personality and meekness, and thought the characters were really amusing to read about.

It's a lot of fun and certainly kept me entertained as I raced through it!

This was an entertaining and light read ideal for fans of romance authors and light summer reads. It did prompt me to want to read the original Vanity Fair!

It was occasionally quite challenging to read a book where the main character was so thoroughly irredeemable and nasty with seemingly no positive traits however. In addition, i found the frequent point of view shifts to be jarring - I prefer a consistent POV within a section instead of "head hopping"

This modern take on Vanity Fair is fun and witty. Those who have read the original will recognise the characters and their trails, but in a very different setting.

Becky meets Amelia on Big Brother, which is the perfect introduction for those who have not read the original as Becky is the stereotypical contestant - self-centred and fame hungry. The characters work so well in a modern setting, and Sarra Manning has done a brilliant job of bringing them up to date.

Whether you have read the original or not, this is a great read.

Really enjoyable, I didn't know what everyone was referring to when they mentioned a modern Vanity Fair (this is probably very bad of me I know) but I loved reading this. Sarra's style of writing was engaging and it was a nice read.

Just not sure this book worked... none of the characters felt developed, and they were all unsympathetic to the point of unreadability.

A very very entertaining retelling of the classic Vanity Fair for the 21st Century.

Fast, always funny and very readable, I thoroughly enjoyed it and by the end I was more than a little in love with our fascinating perennial anti-heroine, Miss Becky Sharp.

Many thanks for giving me the opportunity of reading and reviewing this splendid book.

I had not read or was familiar with the Vanity Fair story so this tale was completely new to me and I enjoyed it so much that I watched the recent BBC drama. Although not completely the same story it was fun to have read the book and follow Becky's antics. Not an entirely nice person I did like Becky and following her story and interactions with the other characters ,especially the men! I would certainly recommend this book to others and would enjoy reading some more of Sarra's novels.

This is such a fun, romp of a novel. A modern day re-telling of Vanity Fair, that doesn't preclude you from any of the fun if you haven't read the original. The book is fast paced, full of amusing characters and wryly pokes fun at the current celebrity culture we live in; where being famous for being famous is something to aspire to.
The titular Becky Sharp is amazing; she is selfish, amoral, a cheat and an outrageous flirt, but my God is she fun. I wouldn't trust her further than I could throw her, but completely admire her steely determination to make something of her life and not just overcome the obstacles in her way, but somehow turn everything to her advantage.

My thanks go to the publishers and Net Galley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review. I shall definitely be seeking out Ms Manning's back catalogue now.