The Devil Wears Prada

The Devil Wears Prada, published in 2004, is the debut novel of author Lauren Weisberger. It tells the tale of a hapless assistant working for a tyrannical boss in the fashion industry.

The story takes place largely in present-day New York City, mostly in the offices of a high-fashion magazine called Runway. The central character, Andrea Sachs (who uses the nickname Andy), narrates the story from the first-person perspective, and the events she describes transpire over an 11-month period during her time as assistant to Runway’s editor-in-chief.

The plot describes naïve Andy’s apprenticeship under her aloof and highly demanding boss, Miranda Priestley. Andy panders to Miranda’s outrageous expectations in the hopes that the powerful editor will someday use her connections to help Andy land the job of her dreams at The New Yorker. As Andy’s career ambitions take precedence over everything else, she loses perspective on what’s important in life until it’s nearly too late. The novel uses her plight to examine the themes of narcissistic abuses of power, the temptation to make a deal with the devil, and losing one’s way in a world where image is everything.

The story closely parallels the author’s own experience working for Anna Wintour, the editor of Vogue, whose icy management style earned her the nickname of “Nuclear Wintour.”

After its initial publication, the novel generated some controversy within the fashion industry, and many insiders considered Weisberger a traitor to her former boss. The author claims that the novel is merely a fictional retelling of her experiences, but its depiction of Miranda Priestley succeeded in creating a negative perception of Wintour in the public mind.

Because of its insider view of the glamorous fashion industry, The Devil Wears Prada instantly became a New York Times best seller. Since that time, the book has been translated into 30 languages and has sold 13 million copies. It falls into the categories of Humorous American Literature and Fiction Satire.

The novel was adapted into a popular 2006 film starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway. Streep won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her performance as Miranda Priestly. More recently, the novel inspired a stage musical by Paul Rudnick and Elton John that is expected to premiere in summer 2022.

Weisberger has written several books since her successful debut, including Revenge Wears Prada (2013), a sequel that is set a decade after the events in The Devil Wears Prada.

Plot Summary

Andrea (Andy) Sachs is a 23-year-old college graduate in search of her first job. Her dream is to someday write for The New Yorker. To build her resume, she takes a job as junior assistant to influential fashion editor Miranda Priestley. Miranda is known to use her connections to promote her assistants after they complete a year of service with her, so Andy hopes that taking the low-paying assistant’s job will fast-track her career.

Because Andy has never heard of Miranda or read Runway, she’s unprepared for the toxic world she’s entering. Miranda is a demanding narcissist who expects her assistants to fulfill her every whim. Meeting her boss’s needs becomes an all-consuming ordeal for Andy, who starts to neglect her family, her best friend Lily, and her boyfriend, Alex. All the people in her life are concerned by the toll the job is taking on Andy’s health and her sanity.

Andy herself remains oblivious to the danger and continues to jump through Miranda’s hoops despite repeated warnings that she’s lost all perspective on what matters in life. During a particularly brutal stint as Miranda’s assistant at the spring fashion show in Paris, Andy learns that her best friend was in a car crash. Miranda’s indifference to this tragedy is the last straw. Andy rebels and quits her job. Back in New York, she carves out a new path for herself and frees herself from the temptation that Miranda offers.