Becky cover art

Becky

The juicy scandal-filled thriller inspired by 90s London

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Becky

By: Sarah May
Narrated by: Charly Clive
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About this listen

'Spiky, clever, funny' – Emma Stonex, author of The Lamplighters
'Brilliant, propulsive . . . A riot'– Maddie Mortimer, author of Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies
'A delicious gallop through 90s tabloid London' – Sam McAlister, author of Scoops

It’s peak 90s London. Shoulder pads are out, crimped hair is in, supermodels are known by their first names, and Becky Sharp will do anything to escape her past.

From mingling with tabloid millionaires to trading favours and fortunes with royalty, she will stop at nothing to reach the top of the career ladder at the Mercury newspaper. Landing scoop after scoop, Becky ruthlessly carves a place for herself in a society determined to ignore her. These are the biggest stories and scandals of the decade, and she has something to do with every one of them.

But Becky may have more in common with the people she writes about than she thinks – what takes a lifetime to build takes only a moment to destroy . . .

'A Vanity Fair for the mass-media age' - The Guardian

 City Life Coming of Age Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Urban Women's Fiction England Comedy

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Critic reviews

The luscious draw of the Nineties glitz, the scandal of the press, and the tangibly descriptive jeopardy throughout makes this a true page-turner
Addictive reading, [Becky's] darkness provid[es] welcome relief in these over-bright times
A keenly observed portrait of elite society which skewers snobbery, sexism and celebrity culture . . . A page-turning blockbuster which pulls off its bold premise with panache
Rattles along very enjoyably, as talented Becky sucks up to celebrities and royalty then exploits them ruthlessly for her own ends
Becky is Sarah May’s sparkling tribute to William Thackeray’s classic novel Vanity Fair . . . entertaining and fast-paced
A scalpel-sharp, visciously funny slice of social comedy fit for our time
Becky by the supremely talented Sarah May is spiky, clever, funny and dark . . . I’m riveted (Emma Stonex, author of The Lamplighters)
A brilliant, propulsive novel crafted with just the kind of roaring wit and striking precision Thackeray himself would commend. Becky is a riot, and Sarah May is a genius (Maddie Mortimer, author of Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies)
A delicious gallop through 90s tabloid London
A supple, witty take on the tabloid world and on Vanity Fair (Jo Baker, author of Longbourn)
Sharp, brutally funny, coruscating . . . Becky by Sarah May is . . . a tonic (Sam Baker)
Clever and timely . . . fascinating on the media and power (Terry Stiastny, author of Acts of Omission)
Becky is a darling of the red tops, and a champion of stolen girls. Set against the backdrop of Princess Diana's death, phone tapping scandals and the dripping hot excitement of nineties Britain, Becky is as close to unputdownable as a book could be (Anna Jean Hughes)
All stars
Most relevant
I enjoyed this novel, which certainly had some of the scandalous energy of Thackeray’s Vanity Fair and drew effectively from the phone hacking trial of the other Rebecca. It’s a good listen, but I can’t help but feel a bit disappointed - this Becky is simply less fun and more frightened. Women are in a much stronger position now than they were in the nineteenth century, and I don’t agree with the Guardian reviewer that this reflected our scarier times. Perhaps I had hoped for too much, this just felt like a missed opportunity. Still, a good listen.

This Becky lacks joie de vivre

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I listened to this book after listening to How to kill your family because I enjoyed Charly Clives narration.
I've loved it so far. 2 hours left to listen and wanting it yo be longer.

the play with language was delicious

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