The Devil Wears Prada

The Devil Wears Prada is a 2003 novel by Lauren Weisberger about a young woman who is hired as a personal assistant to a powerful fashion magazine editor, a job that becomes nightmarish as she struggles to keep up with her boss's grueling schedule and demeaning demands. It spent six months on the New York Times bestseller list and became the basis for the 2006 film of the same name, starring Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, and Emily Blunt. The novel is considered by many to be an example of the "chick lit" genre. Upon its publication The Devil Wears Prada attracted attention because of its author's background. Before writing the novel, Weisberger had worked as a personal assistant for American Vogue editor Anna Wintour, much like the novel's protagonist works for a powerful fashion magazine editor, who also happens to be British like Wintour. Reviewers considered the book a roman à clef, offering insider perspectives on Wintour and other Vogue staff. A sequel, Revenge Wears Prada: The Devil Returns, was published in 2013, while a third novel, When Life Gives You Lululemons, was published in 2018. Plot summary Andrea Sachs, a recent graduate of Brown University with a degree in English, moves to New York City with her best friend, Lily, a graduate student at Columbia. Andrea hopes to find a career in publishing and blankets the city with her résumé. She believes she will be closer to her dream of working for The New Yorker if she can get a job in the magazine industry. She gets a surprise interview at the Elias-Clark Group and is hired as junior assistant for Miranda Priestly, editor-in-chief of the fashion magazine Runway. Although she knows little of the fashion world, everyone tells her that "a million girls would die for [her] job". If she manages to work for Miranda for a year, people tell her, she can have her choice of jobs within the magazine industry.