In this viciously funny, darkly entertaining and ultimately moving read, the much-loved classic Vanity Fair finds itself in 90s London, and Becky couldn’t be a more perfect fit. For fans of Curtis Sittenfeld’s Eligible, Becky by Sarah May is impossible to put down.
Becky Sharp is determined. Determined to get away from the dead-end town where she grew up, determined to make a place for herself in high society, and determined to reach the top of the career ladder. And she doesn’t care how many lives she ruins in the process.
Set in 90s tabloid-era London, Becky charts the rise and fall of a very modern heroine as she inveigles her way into the highest society, where tabloid millionaires mingle and trade favours and fortunes with royalty and aristocracy, pushes her way up through the ranks at the Mercury newspaper with manipulative scoop after scoop, and eventually orchestrates her own dramatic downfall.
These are some of the biggest news stories and scandals of the last few decades, and Becky seems to have something to do with every one of them . . .
Sarah May’s previous novels include The Nudist Colony (shortlisted for The Guardian First Book Award and winner of the Amazon Bursary), Spanish City (shortlisted for the Encore Award), The Internationals (longlisted for the Women’s Prize) and the best-selling Rise and Fall of the Queen of Suburbia.
Sarah also teaches creative writing at Faber Academy and has mentored many brilliant new voices in fiction. She lives in Sussex and when she isn’t writing and teaching, works with her partner taking Shakespeare to young people and places the Bard hasn’t been before.
Becky is published by Pan Macmillan Australia and is available from all leading book sellers including Booktopia.
Image: Becky – courtesy of Pan Macmillan Australia