Will all be fair in love and war? W

E BRITS love a good period drama, full of colourful costumes and quirky characters with their olde-worldy ways. Throw in clashes of class and culture, a good love story or two, with some deception and scheming for good measure and we’re in TV heaven.

William Makepeace Thackeray’s epic 1848 novel has long been captivating source material for TV and film makers, and this latest version is right up there with the best of them. It stars Olivia Cooke as antihero Becky Sharp, a clever and cunning young woman from humble means, determined to rise above her station and find success in society life.

Michael Palin appears (very briefly) as the author and puppetmaster Thackeray, and the cast also features heavyhitters such as Suranne Jones, Martin Clunes, Frances De La Tour and Tom Bateman.

Last night we saw Becky banished from Miss Pinkerton’s Home for Young Ladies and – after failing to trick her friend Amelia’s dim but wealthy brother Jos into marriage – end up as governess for the tight-fisted MP Sir Pitt Crawley.

Clearly not happy to stay at that level for long, Becky sets her sights on becoming his secretary, or daughter-in-law, and is soon best pals with his wealthy sister.

It might be 170 years old, but – thanks to some fourth wall breaking and the characters’ obsession with status and appearances – it still feels fresh (although we could’ve done without the incongruous modern music choices).

And Frances de la Tour’s Aunt Matilda is straight from the Downton Abbey Dowager school of glorious withering putdowns.