The Miseducation of Evie Epworth

The Miseducation of Evie Epworth by Matson Taylor.
Published 14th July 2020 by Scribner.
Read June 2020.

It's July, 1962, and Evie Epworth is looking forward to the summer holidays on the Yorkshire dairy farm that is home to her and her widowed father. Time to make some decisions about what sort of future she wants for herself, now she has finished her 'O' Level exams. What sort of woman should she become?

She dreams of becoming a smart, independent woman in the big city (London, or maybe Leeds?), but more than that she does not know - and her posters of "Brooding/Sophisticated" Adam Faith are not being much help.

But before Evie can start her new life, she has a problem to resolve - a big pink problem - in the shape of the buxom, gold-digging Christine, who has her sights on becoming Evie's step-mother and getting all she can out of Evie's mild-mannered father, including trying to persuade him to sell off their beloved farm.

How can Evie rescue her poor old dad from the clutches of the determined Christine and save her home - all while working out who she is meant to be? This is going to take some planning - and the help of some amazing friends....

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The Miseducation Of Evie Epsworth is a coming of age story, set in 1960s East Yorkshire. Sixteen and a half and on the cusp of womanhood, Evie is trying to decide what to do with her future. If this wasn't difficult enough, her quiet life has been disrupted by the arrival of the manipulating scarlet woman, Christine, who is intent on getting between Evie and her father, and taking him for all he is worth - as well as gradually erasing all reminders of Evie's mother from their home.

Evie needs a plan to scupper the ambitions of the formidable Christine, and it seems she has a variety of friends and allies to help her along the way, some of whom she did not even know existed until recently - friends who will also teach her about the world and the mother she does not even remember. I adored each and every gorgeous one of them - except the grasping Christine and her mother obviously, who Matson Taylor draws deliciously as the despicable villains of the piece!

The story is told through the eyes of the clever, young Evie as she undergoes her campaign against the evil Christine, interspersed with romantic and heart-breaking episodes from the  history of her mother and father's relationship. Evie's observations on life are both funny and poignant, and filled with all the moments of teenage drama you would expect (and more!), as she tries to fathom what this becoming an adult lark is all about.

There is so much humour - of the Yorkshire, London and even French variety - and lots of touching and emotional moments that will have your heart and eyes brimming over, especially to do with friendship and family reconciliations.

I was particularly impressed by how much our author was able to bring the 1960s alive too, especially with his references to popular culture, as he must surely be just a slip of a lad! There is a real feel that the times they are a-changing for everyone, especially women, and that Evie may be on the brink of a whole new life. Although I was not born until the end of the 60s, I found all this very nostalgic, which was absolutely blooming lovely!

I can't tell you how much I enjoyed this romp through the East Yorkshire countryside. It is an utterly fabulous read, and I found it such a tonic. This is just the kind of book we should all be reading at the moment, so do yourself and favour and order a copy right now!

The Miseducation of Evie Epsworth is available to pre-order in ebook and hardback formats, and to buy as an audio book, from your favourite book retailer right now.

Thank you to Matson Taylor and Scribner for providing me with a copy of this book in return for an honest review, and to Anne Cater of Random Things Tours for inviting me to be a part of this blog tour.

From the cover of the book:

July, 1962

Sixteen year-old Evie Epworth stands on the cusp of womanhood. 

But what kind of a woman will she become?

The fastest milk bottle-delivery girl in East Yorkshire, Evie is tall as a tree 

and hot as the desert sand. She dreams of an independent life lived 

under the bright lights of London (or Leeds). The two posters of Adam Faith 

on her bedroom wall (‘brooding Adam’ and ‘sophisticated Adam’) 

offer wise counsel about a future beyond rural East Yorkshire. 

Her role models are Charlotte Bronte, Shirley MacLaine 

and the Queen. But, before she can decide on a career, 

she must first deal with the malign presence of her future step-mother,

 the manipulative and money-grubbing Christine.

If Evie can rescue her bereaved father, Arthur, from Christine’s pink 

and over-perfumed clutches, and save the farmhouse from being sold off 

then maybe she can move on with her own life 

and finally work out exactly who it is she is meant to be.

Moving, inventive and richly comic, The Miseducation of Evie Epworth is the most joyful 

debut novel of the year and the best thing to have come out of Yorkshire 

since Wensleydale cheese.

About the author:

Matson Taylor grew up in Yorkshire, but now lives in London. 

He is a design historian and academic-writing tutor and has worked at various universities and museums around the world; he currently teaches at the V&A, Imperial College, and the RCA. 

He has also worked on Camden Market, appeared in an Italian TV commercial, and been a pronunciation coach for Catalan opera singers.