The Miseducation of Evie Epworth: The Bestselling Richard & Judy Book Club Pick

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Tight, clever and riddled with wit. Like discovering Adrian Mole or Bridget Jones for the first time.’ Joanna Nadin, author of The Queen of Bloody Everything A great, pacy coming of age novel set in Yorkshire in the early 60s. Brilliant plot charts the ups and downs of the journey of a young girl from childhood to womenhood with a few twists and turns, lots of comedy and a plenty of drama thrown in. A really enjoyable read but also a serious exploration of the role of women in families and the workplace.” The next book to be featured on the Jo Whiley Radio 2 Book Club will be The Miseducation of Evie Epworth, the wonderful debut novel by Matson Taylor. The book was released on 14 July and Matson will be on the show on Monday 10 August. The Miseducation of Evie Epworth is a charming debut from Matson Taylor, featuring sixteen-year-old Evie in the heart of the Yorkshire countryside during the 1906s. This book delivered everything I love: quirky characters, zippy one-liners, heartfelt relationships, and real-life emotional struggle blended with humorous, light-hearted moments. Though perhaps I need to throw an asterisk on “humorous” because we’re talking dry, witty British humor here, and that’s not going to make everyone laugh out loud. Given my British roots, though, I found it enjoyable and I think many others will as well. It hasn’t helped my phobia, but it made me laugh and I know I won’t forget “that scene” in a long time.

Matson Taylor’s sparkling debut “The Miseducation of Evie Epworth” is instantly addictive, witty, uplifting and very realistic. Featuring sixteen (and a half) year old, Adam Faith’s number one fan Evie Epworth (tall as a tree and wise as time) she made a truly endearing young narrator that you couldn’t help fall in love with. Of course, unlike me, Evie defines Womanhood narrowly based on her own experience. Will she become a farmer's wife as desired by her father, a hairdresser (Christine's idea), will she continue at school and become a teacher (a friend's suggestion) or will she become an Independent Woman like her neighbour, Mrs Scott-Pym's daughter? This is a superficial novel, full of stereotypes. None of the characters seemed believable and I didn't care for any of them. Everybody was quite annoying in fact! I was disappointed by this one (one of the rare occasions where a 4.0 rated book in Goodreads has failed my expectations). I loved the characterisation, as each of the characters were bursting with vitality and so very unique in their own way.

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One of my favourite books of 2019 was Allegra in Three Parts and it came to mind as I was reading this. Perhaps because both are from the point of view of a smart and sassy young person grappling with the grief of those around them. Evie didn't know her mother, but grows up in the shadow of that loss. Now Christine is the one character in this book that I don’t think anyone likes. She is the gold digging villain of the story that you can’t help but want to see fail. She took the term evil step-mother and fully embodied it. The pleasure I felt when Evie was trying to rid her life of all things Christine was second to none and the dialogue between these two characters was written perfectly. One of my friends loved this debut novel by Matson Taylor but it still took me months to get to it and I am so thankful I did. In fact, although I was keen for something light... a good psychological thriller about some murderous psychopath; from the opening lines of this novel I was transported into Evie's world. It's written in first person from 16 year old Evie's point of view and almost akin to stream-of-consciousness thinking. Taylor gives Evie a really delightful voice and this is a quirky and often-funny read. At the same time however, there are moments of poignancy, some of which come as a result of life experience and realising things young Evie does not. Oh this book is the perfect antidote to all of the horrendous things that seem to be on the news this year! The most wonderful thing about this book is Evie's voice. Written by an adult male, I am in awe of how well he made me believe that I was reading the thoughts and words of a adolescent girl. On top of that, Evie is hilarious. She is sweet and caring but oh so very naive, yet weirdly astute despite her naivety. She cares deeply for her next door neighbour Mrs Scott-Pym, and as the book progresses she meets an array of characters who help her to figure out her identity, and the kind of woman she wants to grow up to be.

What I liked in this story was the past narrative of Evie's parents relationship. Here we got to see a different side to Arthur, the side that showed Evie's mother was his world. I'm not sure how much more I can rave about this book other than to comment on Taylor's use of humour and irony throughout. Of course (on a more serious note) there is an underlying theme about loss and grief, about the way we deal with both and the destructiveness of trying to bury them. The Miseducation of Evie Epworth is one of the funniest most enjoyable books that I have read. Author Matson Taylor has got the balance just right of a comical story all about Evie Epworth. The Miseducation of Evie Epworth is set in Yorkshire in the early 1960’s and centres around 16 year old Evie Epworth who lives with her father, Arthur and his live-in housekeeper/fiance Christine on the family farm. Evie’s on the cusp of womanhood and doesn’t quite know what kind of woman she will be. Her mother died when she was a baby and the only female role models in her life are her wonderful elderly next door neighbour Mrs Scott-Pym and the utterly despicable soon to be stepmother Christine.

Comments

It is the summer of 1962 and sixteen-year-old Evie Epworth stands on the cusp of womanhood. But what kind of a woman will she be? I am thrilled to have spent a few days in the delightful company of Evie Epworth, the heroine of Matson Taylor's début novel, The Miseducation of Evie Epworth. What a hoot this novel turned out to be! Set in Yorkshire in 1962, sixteen-year-old, Adam Faith-loving, Evie lives with her widowed dad, Arthur, and Christine, a woman who is set on marrying him. Evie is not a fan, and thinks her father can do much better, and she also needs to decide what she wants to do with her own life now that she's finished school. What happens next is exceptionally compelling... I absolutely loved the characters in this, they were all so vibrant and vivid. It’s a perfect summer read and had me smiling from ear to ear. Evie herself isn’t an annoying protagonist like some younger characters can be. She had a maturity whilst maintaining a young aura. I just wanted to wrap myself up in village life. I know there are parts of growing up covered in this that many of us will relate to. It is set in 1962 which made it feel both modern and historical. 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. A sweet, fizzy sherbet dib-dab of a book - deliciously nostalgic, hugely funny and ultimately heartwarming. The perfect book for our times.’ Veronica Henry

Planning to buy The Miseducation of Evie Epworth for your group? Buy books from Hive and support The Reading Agency and local bookshops at no extra cost to you. The Miseducation of Evie Epworth by Matson Taylor was published in Australia by Simon & Schuster and is now available. The Miseducation of Evie Epworth is the first novel by British author, Matson Taylor. At sixteen and a half, Evie Epworth is faced with a decision: what to do with the rest of her life. There are plenty of suggestions (marry a farmer [Dad], do her A levels [best friend Margaret], work in a hair salon [Christine], marry a doctor [Mrs Swithenbank]). This is where she so misses having a mum. Matson Taylor grew up in Yorkshire but now lives in London. He is a design historian and works at the V&A museum, where he teaches on the History of Design programme and spends a lot of time trying to convince people that the luxury goods industry helped win the Second World War. He wrote a chapter on Edward Molyneux, inventor of the flapper dress, for the V&A’s London Couture book and has helped develop a number of projects for TV and radio. He also works at Imperial College, helping scientists communicate very complicated things in a reasonably simple way.

Selection panel review

There were some really moving moments which made me shed a little tear, especially when concerning her beloved dead mother, her father who is obviously in over his head with the gold-digging revolting Christine, and her unconditional friendship with Mrs Scott-Pym who treats Evie like a daughter.