“Becky is a story I’ve carried inside me for a long time … From the moment she hurls her dictionary out of the carriage window as she leaves Miss Pinkerton’s Academy for Young Ladies, I fell in love with William Thackeray’s Becky Sharp. An eighteen-year-old orphan with no friends in the world and even fewer prospects.”

My thanks to Pan Macmillan Picador for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Becky’ by Sarah May.

In her Author’s Note quoted above, Sarah May talks about her love for William Thackerey’s ‘Vanity Fair’ and her decision to write this modern retelling. She kept Thackeray’s names and timeframe but transported the setting from the Regency period to 1990s London. She also removed Thackerey’s male narrative voice, allowing Becky to tell her own story.

In addition, she places the ambitious Becky in the world of tabloid journalism. She will stop at nothing to reach the top of the career ladder at the Mercury newspaper. As a result Becky finds herself involved with the biggest stories and scandals of the decade, and she has something to do with every one of them. Landing scoop after scoop, Becky ruthlessly carves out a place for herself.

Those familiar with the original novel are aware that Becky’s story is a tale of rags to riches, and riches to rags. It was often described as a ‘novel without a hero’. With celebrities and the royals constantly in the news and the rollercoaster of social media and cancel culture, the message of ‘Becky’ and its classic antecedent, ‘Vanity Fair’ remains relevant.

Overall, I found ‘Becky’ an engaging tale. While I didn’t feel that it was as powerful as its inspiration, I did appreciate seeing Becky Sharp in a 1990s setting as well as Sarah May scathing portrayal of the practices of tabloid journalism.

This was a fast paced and enjoyable read that was different from my usual book pick. I loved the change of genre and this was a gripping and entertaining read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review

This book started out well for me and I was really enjoying it but the the way the story jumps about without any warning became annoying, you really need to keep on track with it as it can be so disjointed. I also found myself totally disliking everyone, not a character in the story is likeable, I liked Becky to begin with and her background story led to sympathy but as it went on I just couldn’t sympathise with her at all. I haven’t read Vanity Fair so can’t comment on similarities but this was just an ok read for me in the end. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy.

Having enjoyed the original, I thought Becky would be an amusing read, bringing Thackeray up to date. Sadly, the reality wasn’t as appealing as expected, and I struggled to read it.

Apologies, but not a book I would recommend.

I expected this book to be a high octane tale of an ambitious woman making her way in the world of journalism. However, I found it very disjointed. The reader is hurled from one paragraph to the next, first in the present, then back in Becky's childhood. Her upbringing was pretty dire, although we only see things from her perspective, and the author rather glosses over her career in any detail - occasionally we jump years. It is really just a pastiche of events in her life,centring around her childhood, a missing child she uses to jump start her career and her relationships.

Overall I enjoyed the story, and once I settled down to be bounced around time lines it makes for a good story, but the reader has to be prepared to work at staying on track. Some sections work better than others.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan, Picador for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Becky by Sarah May is a debut novel by the author and it is set in the mid nineties tabloid era London.Becky wants it all and wants the success as editor of one of the major newspapers of the times. Where the newspaper people mix with the new millionaires, the wheeler dealers, royalty and the politicians of the day.
Then it all comes to an end for Becky with the phone hacking scandal. Reminiscent of Rebecca Brook and those sordid media trials.
An interesting, funny, sad and sometimes humorous storyline reminiscent of times hopefully long gone by.
Highly recommended

100% enjoyable from beginning to end. A masterful update of a classic. Didn't expect to like this as usually find retellings of classics in a modern setting rather dull. This one is anything but, a rip-roaring read from beginning to end.

In this modern telling of 'vanity fair" we meet Becky, a young woman hellbent on succeeding to be the top journalist at a newspaper in London in the 90s. The story alluded to many landmark events in the 90s such as Princess Diana's affairs, her ultimate car crash and death and the phone hacking scandal that caused the implosion of a major news group. Becky was such a complex character and while at times she appeared quite ruthless and unlikeable, the author did a great job of providing a rich backstory that made the reader understand her faults. I loved this book and would definitely recommend!

I loved Vanity Fair, on my reading list at uni I was pretty intimidated by it, but what I discovered was a witty satire teeming energy thanks to the anti heroine, Becky Sharp.
And so I was drawn to Becky by Sarah May. And at first I loved it, the way it pulls on the threads of modern society, and I enjoyed Becky’s unapologetic rise through the social ranks.
I became more uncomfortable when the lines of fiction became blurred and it moved from being a retelling of Vanity Fair to taking whole chunks of an actual persons reality. To me, it seemed obvious that Becky is modelled on Rebekah Brooks, the CEO of I think it was News International, who was heavily implicated in the phone hacking scandal. But that a child abduction mirroring Milly Dowler’s was also used as a central plot device left me with more than a bit of a bad taste that I struggled to get past.

This was a discovery for me u known world of jounalism. Really xould not belive how entertaing it was. I would never could guess or immagine. So thank you Pan Macmillan and netgalley for this opportunity

Rebecca Sharp is determined to slough off her background and be a success. She re-invents herself as a public schoolgirl and manages to gain a foothold in the tabloid press. With a nose for good journalism and a ruthless streak Becky rises high but at a huge personal cost.
This book purports to be a re-telling of the Thackeray novel 'Vanity Fair' with an updated setting and there are many parallels. However it also draws heavily on the story of Rebekah Wade, an infamous tabloid editor and friend to the movers and shakers of the late 1990s. Lots of real-life stories are altered slightly and aspects of the original novel are lost but what emerges is a really entertaining read.

Becky Sharp will do anything to escape her past. From mingling with celebrities and royalty, Becky will stop at nothing to reach the top of the newspaper ladder at The Mercury. She’s ruthless, getting all the best scoops and she is part of every scandalous story that emerges. But Becky has more in common with these people than she thinks. She has spent her life building herself up to be the top of her game. But in a moment, everything can come tumbling down…

I haven’t read Vanity Fair but all of the main characters in Becky are based on those in Thackeray’s novel. Rachel has transported them into the world of media and journalism. An interesting concept and something that had me hooked from the first chapter. Growing up in the 90s, I remember all too well the sensationalism and media obsession with Princess Diana and certain celebrities which Sarah alludes to this in her novel. The phone-tapping scandal rocked the world of the celebrities, politicians and royalty, and Sarah manages to capture perfectly in this story.

Becky as a protagonist is one tough cookie. She has gone through so much but refuses to let it define her. She’s savage when it comes to getting the biggest scoop and her dogged determination to get where she wants leaves a wake of relationships and friendships behind her. Her childhood really has a huge impact on her and I liked how Sarah jumps from the present day to the past to give the readers and insight into what made Becky what she is. At times it is a depressing story filled with some very poignant moments but Sarah successfully depicts Becky’s insatiable hunger to escape from her past and mould herself into a figure of authority in the world of media and journalism. Although she is not a likeable character for many reasons, Sarah ensures that Becky’s reasoning behind every decision she makes is there for us to see.

A gripping narrative full of lies, betrayals, secrets and devastating consequences. Becky is out now. 4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for the arc.

Becky is a contemporary re-telling of Vanity Fair set in the recent past world of media journalism. Becky's story arc is a rags to riches and back to rags again tale. The author retains Vanity Fair's character names and even calls Becky's lawyer William Thackery. However for me that's where the similarity ends.

I remember liking some of the characters in Vanity Fair but couldn't connect with any of the characters in Sarah May's version. Everyone is extremely unlikeable and I couldn't root for anyone.

Sarah May uses real events of the 1990s through to 2010 in her plot. While I thought this was both interesting and nostalgic it took away any intrigue for me. Becky's character shares a lot with media executive, Rebekah Brooks, including the phone hacking scandal.

The most frustrating part of the writing for me was the way the plot jumped around from present back to past. There was no warning this had happened and I found this jarring and disorientating. The story also jumps several years forwards without any sort of resolution with current events.

So I thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy to read and review, but this isn't a title I would recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I don't think I've ever read Vanity Fair so I don't have any frame of reference for how closely this story matches the original, but I thought it was a great read in its own right. Becky is a strong, identifiable character and although she isn't fully likeable, you can follow why she makes every decision. I thought the decision to set the story in the 90s at the height of tabloid power worked really well and allowed May to comment on a multitude of topics from media ethics to class and social mobility. The narrative gripped me and there were times I genuinely couldn't put it down! 4.5 stars.

Another take on Vanity Fair. I found the content a bit dark and depressing, definitely not for the faint hearted. A bad start in life, a ruthless determination to change her life path and a don't care what she has to do to get what she wants. At times I felt sorry for her but at some points I loathed her.

The heroine is the 90s versione of Becky Sharp and she share more than one traits with the Vanity Fair heroine.
It's a bitter sweet story: you laugh, you feel nostalgic and you realize who inspired this book.
The author is a talented storyteller and did an excellent job in writing this story.
It''s complex to explain but it made me think about some story of XVIII which features the rise and fall of a characters and there's always a moral lesson.
This could have been one of those books.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

I found the style of writing in this book abit hard to take too, The characters were not very likeable and I found by the end I just felt dissatisfied.

Description 🔖

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 . . .

General Thoughts 🤔

I really love stories like this about characters that have come from nothing and somehow found their way to the very top of their field. What this book added was all of the drama and scandal that had me hooked and what made it even more interesting, was that the scandals were based on those that have happened in real life. For example the story about the Royal Family and then events such as phone tapping. I’m old enough to loosely remember both of these things so it was super fun to read about them.

Characters 👫👭👬

Becky was obviously the main the character and the story followed her life from childhood through to late adulthood. She was a character that I think readers will either love or hate. I personally went through stages of both whilst reading. I also had moments when I felt extremely sorry for Becky and moments when I felt really proud of her and admired her. She was a highly intelligent woman but her emotional intelligence just wasn’t where it should have been to make her a well rounded human.

One character I particularly disliked was George. Everything about this guy was sleazy and he really got under my skin. He’d had a similar life to Becky in that he’d come from an under privileged background, but managed to make a success of his career, but he really needed to be humbled in my opinion. All of that said; I loved to hate his character and I looked forward to the chapters with him in.

Writing Style ✍️

This is the part where I admit that I haven’t read Vanity Fair, therefore I’m unable to pass judgement on how successful Sarah May was in this re-telling. However, I can appreciate the way that she had smartly woven together a classic re-telling, a fictional version of real life events and the general vibe of the 1990s. Writing it down, it sounds like a lot and I think if I had known all of that before picking up the book I’d have thought twice and presumed it was going to be a bit much. It honestly worked so well though and Sarah May was able to create characters with plot lines that I became heavily invested in.

Conclusion & Scoring 🎖

This was a story full of scandal and deceit all mixed up in family, friend and professional drama. I loved the 1990’s contemporary setting and it’s inspired me to read more books set in this decade; it’s definitely my vibe. Becky was a character that I loved to hate and hated that I loved her which can only mean that she truly got into my head. A great book that had me hooked from start to finish.

I was intrigued by this book from the off (that cover!), and once I started reading, I knew it was going to be a page-turner.

Becky is a complicated character and has her fair share of ups and downs throughout the book. Growing up in a high-rise with little support from her mother, she has ambitious dreams of 'making it' as a journalist. Throughout the novel, we see Becky move up the ladder; she begins her career as a nanny for the children of a tabloid tycoon, then becomes a reporter, and finally ends up in a senior position within the field. Along the way, she becomes involved in all sorts of corruption and scandal, just to make sure the newspaper gets a good headline and makes sales.

The flashbacks to Becky's childhood make this book all the more interesting, as it's not a straightforward portrayal of a woman who becomes absolutely ruthless in her quest for a story that sells. We understand more about the character and how she reached this point, which makes Becky a much more well-rounded figure.

I must confess I haven't read Vanity Fair and I know this book is based on that plot. However, I honestly couldn't get enough of 'Becky' and think it works well as a novel within its own right. Weaving in elements of real life that would have dominated newspapers back in the day, such as Princess Diana's lovers, and phone tapping scandals, Becky is an outstanding novel that I'll be recommending to everyone I know.

Becky is a dark and intriguing read with a strong nod to Vanity Fair. I was never sure I really liked Becky - a harsh and troubled childhood shaped her completely and although I could cheer her ambition in such a male world - her willingness to climb the ladder no matter what was sometimes hard to read.
Her relationships were fascinating to try and unpick - the lack of role models early on obviously gave her a skewed view on love and friendship and I felt sorry for her in the end. A clever tale with a question of morality at its very heart.