The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic

"Confessions of a Shopaholic" redirects here. For film, see Confessions of a Shopaholic (film).

The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic
Author(s)	Sophie Kinsella
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Genre(s)	Comedy, Chick lit

The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic (2000) (Confessions of a Shopaholic in the US and India) is the first in the popular Shopaholic series. It is a chick-lit novel by Sophie Kinsella, a pen-name of Madeline Wickham. It focuses on the main character Rebecca (Becky) Bloomwood, a financial journalist, who is in a serious amount of debt through her shopping addiction.

Plot summary

Rebecca Bloomwood lives in a flat in fashionable Fulham, London, thanks to her flatmate, Suze, being wealthy.^[1] Becky works as a financial journalist for the magazine Successful Savings, a job she says that no one who works there is very excited about, and they all say that they just "fell into," while in fact being unable to get better jobs.^[1] The job bores her. Becky admits to actually knowing very little about personal finance as she is thousands of pounds in debt as is evidenced by a run through of her Visa card bill. She becomes deeper in debt by uncontrollably spending on designer homeware, clothes and beauty products.^[2] The book emphasises that her cycle of debt is not easily broken, as, even as she is thousands of pounds in debt, Becky still receives letters offering her credit and department store cards.^[1] She often rationalises her overspending,^[1] for instance by referring to items as an 'investment' or necessary. Unfortunately for Becky, she considers things such as birthday presents for her friends as necessary.

On her way to a press conference held by Brandon Communications, Becky notices a sale sign in the window of the Denny and George shop. She sees that the scarf she has long craved for is on sale at a discount of 50%. Becky sees this as a unique opportunity but realizes that she has left her Visa card at the office and asks the shop assistant to reserve the scarf until she can retrieve her credit card. The assistant reluctantly agrees to hold it until the end of the day only.

Upon arriving at the press conference, she is greeted by a staff of Brandon Communications, who mentions that there's been some surprising news in the banking field and asks Becky her opinion on the news. Becky has no idea what the woman is referring to and has to feign knowledge. After the staffer leaves, Luke Brandon, head of Brandon Communications, realizing that she was feigning knowledge of what was happening, tells her that one financial group recently bought another, and it was recently rumored that Flagstaff Life was going the same way.

Halfway through the conference Becky is given another errand by her employer and realizes that she will not have time to return to the office for her credit card, but only needs twenty pounds more to buy her Denny & George scarf. She asks her friend Elly Granger if she can borrow some money, but Elly has none. Luke hears Becky ask for twenty pounds, and stops the whole Press Conference just so he can hand a twenty pound note to her, once she has made up a story of needing the money to buy a present for her aunt who is in hospital. Right after she has bought the Denny & George scarf she bumps into Luke Brandon and has to make excuses to leave, before he finds out that she's lied.

Later on during the week, Becky's flatmate Suze asks her to go to a restaurant with her and her cousins, including Tarquin. There, Becky sees Luke and his parents having dinner. The mother comments on Becky's scarf, and she blabs about getting it as a bargain. Then she realizes her mistake, and abruptly tells a suspicious Luke that her aunt died. Becky is mortified.

Luke runs into Becky after that and asks her to come shopping with him at Harrods. Initially she really enjoys shopping with him for luggage and goes up and down the shop wheeling around the luggage playfully, helping Luke choose the best purchase. After he reveals that the luggage is actually for his girlfriend -Sacha, Becky is very upset, telling Luke that she feels he's used her and not treated her with respect.

Throughout the story, a man named Derek Smeath, who is the manager of Becky's bank, is constantly trying to get ahold of her so he can set up a re-payment schedule for her overdraft. Becky always has some excuse as to why she cannot send a cheque or meet with Mr. Smeath and his assistant, Erica. The excuses range from a broken leg, a dead aunt, etc., etc., until it becomes obvious to Mr. Smeath that Becky is quite unable to repay the overdraft. He becomes quite insistent upon setting up a meeting with her.

Suze and Becky happen to be flicking through a magazine and see a list of eligible millionaires. Tarquin is the fifteenth richest there, but also on the list happens to be Luke Brandon. Tarquin asks Becky out, while there Tarquin compliments Becky on her scarf and she continues the pretense that it's from her deceased aunt. She further embroiders that her aunt had set up a charity for children abroad to be given violin teachers. Tarquin writes out a cheque for £5000, which would solve Becky's financial problems, but she feels she can't possibly accept it, and painfully refuses. While Tarquin goes to the bathroom, Becky sneaks a look at his chequebook, wondering if a millionaire gets to buy a lot of lavish items. The content isn't extraordinary. Tarquin returns and Becky is sure he saw her looking at the chequebook.

Becky gives up trying to date Tarquin, as he is just not her type, even if he is very rich.

At this point her bank manager is trying desperately to arrange a meeting. Unable to come up with any more excuses, Becky goes back home to hide at her parents' house, lying to them when he calls and saying he is a stalker, Becky learns that her next door neighbors made a financial decision based on advice that Becky had absentmindedly given them and stand to miss out on thousands of pounds in a windfall resulting from a bank takeover. The bank had sent an offer of a carriage clock to people who would get the windfall, if they change their account to a different plan. The bank knew of the planned takeover and upcoming windfall, while the customers do not, but if they accepted the plan for which they are offered a gift, the customers will not receive the windfall. Becky is horrified by being partly culpable for her kindly neighbors losing out, and sets out to make things right by writing an article that exposes the bank's duplicity. The article is a success, and leads to Becky appearing on a daytime television show called The Morning Coffee. Unfortunately, Becky did not know that the bank was a client of Luke Brandon's PR firm. Luke became very angry with her, and thought she wrote the article just to get back at him for treating her poorly. Becky and Luke square off during her appearance on The Morning Coffee. After arguing with Becky, Luke conceded that she was right, the bank had defrauded their customers. So Luke Brandon announces that Brandon Communications will no longer be representing that bank. Becky gets a regular slot on the show.

Luke Brandon invites Becky out for a seeming business dinner at the Ritz Hotel. When Becky arrives at their meeting, business is not on the agenda and instead they eat their fill of the food, including a selection of all the puddings they liked the sound of, and then end up spending the night at the Ritz together. Becky has to miss yet another meeting arranged with her bank manager, but he writes and tells her this can be postponed, as due to her regular slot on television, her finances are now rosy. But the bank manager, Derek Smeath, will continue to keep an eye on her account.

Characters

Becky Bloomwood: The main character of the story, Becky Bloomwood is a financial journalist work for Successful Savings. Although she advises others on their money, she is terrible with it herself, and is in debt. She lives in Fulham, and grew up in Oxshott. She is addicted to shopping. She spends $9 on lottery tickets and dreams of how she will spend it, but doesn't win anything. Her dad tells her to cut back or make more money. She tries to cut back but that doesn't work as she ends up spending nearly $200 in one day. She tries making more money by applying for a job that makes more money but by putting she's fluent in Finnish on her CV she ends up running away from the boss.

Jane and Graham Bloomwood: The parents of Becky, they live in Oxshott, Surrey. They only have one child, Becky, and during the book believe she has a stalker, who also happens to be her bank manager. However, the bank manager is merely seeking to get in touch with Becky to discuss her financial situation, and she is avoiding him.

Luke Brandon: Head and creator of a successful PR company, 'Brandon Communications' he repeatedly invites Becky to conferences, and even helps her out when she needs to borrow some money. When Becky begins to realize she has a crush on Luke Brandon after he takes her shopping, she discovers he has a girlfriend, Sacha de Bonneville. He is also known to be the thirty-first richest bachelor in the country.

Susan Cleath-Stuart (Suze): Becky's flatmate. Her parents are very wealthy aristocrats and bought Suze her flat as a present. Suze is Becky's closest friend. Whilst helping Becky make photo frames as part of the MMM (Make More Money plan) she discovers she has a talent for it and begins to work as a professional designer. Suze loves to shop but is living within her means as she has an allowance from her wealthy family.

Tarquin Cleath-Stuart: Suze's 'weird' cousin, and also the 15th most wealthy bachelor in the country. He lives up in Scotland, and has a brief crush on Becky. They go out on a date and to her embarrassment he sees Becky snooping through his chequebook, curious as to how wealthy he is. He takes Becky to Pizza Express when Becky thinks they're going to a posh restaurant. He invites her out again but Becky is having a dinner with Luke Brandon instead.

Elly Granger: Elly is a friendly acquaintance of Becky's at the start of the book, and a fellow financial journalist. However as the book progresses she applies for a new job at Wetherby's Investments, and is accepted. After that Becky and Elly start to grow apart, as Elly decides 'To get somewhere in life,' when previously they'd shared a dislike of their work environment. After this incident, Elly was never mentioned again, making her a one-book-only character.

Derek Smeath: Becky's Bank Manager, throughout the book he is trying to get Becky to visit him to discuss the condition of her bank account and overdraft. At one point her parents believe that he is a stalker. Towards the end of the book Becky reaches out to him and tells him that she sincerely wants to take her debts responsibly. Becky refers to him as 'Sweetie Smeathie.'

Tom Webster: A friend from Becky's childhood, who was once rejected by Becky. He has a starter home in Reigate, Surrey, which is depressing for Becky to hear about as she is in no financial position to buy a home.

Janice and Martin Webster: They are crucial to the development of the story, when they lose out on a £20,000 windfall, and Becky realizes they were tricked out of the money. They live next door to Becky's parents, and so are close friends with them.

Critical reception

The earlier novels in the series received a generally positive reception from critics.

One review considered it to be clever that Kinsella begins each chapter with an ominous letter to Becky from her bank.^[1]

Readers seemed to like Becky, care about what was happening to her, as if for a friend.^[3] While she has faults, she is 'irresistibly daft.'^[4] When it comes to reviewing this book, many agree that Sophie Kinsella has managed to combine two essential ingredients that make for a favorite among readers: abundant flashes of reality and a witty sense of humor. Women identified with the character and her situation. Reviews encouraged readers to 'stick to' these earlier books in the series, considering them better than the later books which appeared to have been written excessively quickly, although they would still satisfy those already faithful to the series.^[5]

Film adaptation

Main article: Confessions of a Shopaholic (film)

A film adaptation of the novels starring Isla Fisher as Becky Bloomwood, Hugh Dancy as Luke Brandon, and Krysten Ritter as Suze was released on February 13, 2009.^[6]

Differences Between film and novel:

• Becky is from England in the novel, but in the film she is from America. The first novel is set in London and the second in New York; the film is set predominantly in New York.
• Becky is a brunette in the books. In the movie she is a redhead.
• Unlike in the movie, Becky's parents do not wipe out their retirement money on an RV. In fact they tell Becky to shape up and save her money by cutting back on her spending spree or make more money.
• In the novels, Suze and Tarquin are cousins who gradually proceed to date, and Becky is the only bridesmaid. In the film, Suze and Tarquin are dating seriously, appearing in the same bed together and there are multiple bridesmaids.
• In the novels, Luke proposes to Becky at Suze and Tarquin's wedding.
• In the novels, the Denny and George scarf is described as being blue and gray, but the movie prominently features Becky as The Girl With the Green Scarf.
• Luke and Becky never went to Miami in the novel.
• In the novel, we start off with Becky already working at the Successful Saving magazine, but in the film adaptation, she works for a gardening magazine and goes in for an interview at Successful Saving.
• In the novel, Phillip is Becky's boss (at Successful Saving) and Luke owns his own PR firm, Brandon Communications. In the movie, however, Luke is Becky's boss.
• The novels also feature Alicia Billington as an employee of Brandon Communications. In the film, her character is a rival got a job (that Becky had wanted) at a fashion magazine.
• The film omits characters from the novel, such as Martin and Janice Webster (as well as their son, Tom and his girlfriend Lucy), the Bloomwoods' next door neighbors and close friends.
• In the novels, Becky went to the TV program Morning Coffee because of an article that she wrote about a bad thing that Luke's client did to her neighbors. Luke was furious at what she did and argued with her for a while, thinking she was getting back at him for humiliating her. Soon, Luke admits Becky is right and announces that his company won't continue being a client of the bank who defrauded their customers. In the film, she wents to the program with Luke to talk about The Girl With the Green Scarf.
• Also omitted are certain minor story lines from the novels, such as Suze's frame making business and Becky's involvement with her neighbor's pension issues.
• In the novels, bank manager Derek Smeath is not as vicious as he appears to be in the movie, nor he is seeking to humiliate Becky in public on her TV début. He is polite and professional, but very persistent as Becky turns him down on every contact. In the end, Becky and Derek agree to work out a settlement with her card.
• In the novels, Alicia ruins Becky's TV career when she embarrasses her by exposing her in an article from Daily World by calling her a fraud for telling people how to save money when she can't save her own money. Becky loses her job at the Morning Coffee and is replaced by co-worker Clare Edwards. Alicia and a few of her colleagues get fired by Luke when Becky overhears their plans to run Brandon Communications out of business by stealing their most trusted clients and exposes it to Michael Ellis.
• In the novels, Becky doesn't accept a job at Brandon Communications and instead is a personal shopper at Barney's in New York.
• In the novels, Suze tells Becky to merely get rid of some of her unnecessary items from her closet. She has a better idea by auctioning off her clothes, including her Denny and George Scarf.
• Unlike in the movie, Becky never went to a meeting to deal with her addiction for shopping.
• She worked for a clothing store in the first novel to try and make more money. However, Becky was immediately fired on her first day for hiding a pair of fashionable pants from a customer interested in buying them.
• In the novels, Becky's bridesmaid dress was done by Danny Kovitz, an amateur fashion designer and friend of hers while she and Luke were living in New York. He transformed her regular t-shirt into an elegant dress which got him famous.

The Books

• "The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic" (2000) also published as "Confessions of a Shopaholic" (2001)
• "Shopaholic Abroad" (2002) also published as "Shopaholic Takes Manhattan"(2001)
• "Shopaholic Ties The Knot" (2002)
• "Shopaholic & Sister" (2004)
• "Shopaholic & Baby" (2007)
• "Mini Shopaholic" out Sept 2010

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-2101974_ITM
2. ^ http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-11724746_ITM
3. ^ http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-29781649_ITM
4. ^ http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-22829632_ITM
5. ^ [1]
6. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1093908/releaseinfo