The Miseducation of Evie Epworth: Radio 2 Book Club Pick

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Such a joyful and uplifting read. Just the sort of thing that people will want to be reading right now.’ Anita Rani, Radio 2 Book Club Moving, inventive and achingly funny, with an all-star cast of bold-as-brass characters, The Miseducation of Evie Epworth is a perfectly pitched modern fairytale about love, friendship and following your dreams while having a lot of fun along the way. So many books have inspired me, and still do, but probably the first one was The Hobbit. My favourite teacher, Mr Barton, gave it to me in my last year at primary school. I loved it and read it again and again. I loved how it built such a complete world, with all the different types of people and creatures and the made-up history, even the made-up maps printed on the endpapers! I felt very grown up too because it looked like a ‘real’ book rather than a school picture book and I was very proud when I took it home and showed it to mum.

A rush of light suddenly bounces around the room. I love it when people say my mother's name. It's like she's living again, if only for a second. I let the golden flare of her name burst over me. p 49However, at the heart of the novel is the chasm left by Evie’s abruptly-ended relationship with her mother and the recognition of ‘the huge, enormous, unfair if that hangs over everything I do. If my mother were still alive, things would be very different’.

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.It's 1972 and Yorkshirewoman, Evie Epworth has been living in London, working as a production assistant for the BBC for nine years. Navigating the power cuts and fashions of the era, and an unfortunate incident involving Princess Anne and a mug, results in Evie losing her dream job. Down in the dumps, old friends Caroline and Digby do their best to help her find a new job; she's cheered up by the arrival of a friend of a friend, Geneviève a fellow Yorkshirewoman and; spending time with her opera-loving, BBC Radio 3 friend, Lolo and dog, Oscar. Where will Evie's adventures take her this time and what will she learn about herself along the way? I loved the characterisation, as each of the characters were bursting with vitality and so very unique in their own way. Set in the 1960s, Evie is a 16 year old girl from Yorkshire and she lives with her widowed father and his 'housekeeper' (Christine) who is a younger woman with her heart set on marrying Evie's dad. Evie, of course, is not a fan of the idea and sets out to derail the relationship. Evie recognises that Christine is not necessarily in love with her father and because Evie dotes on her father she thinks he deserves better. Written as a diary, we get to know Evie’s thoughts and feelings intimately and there is a poignancy to the novel when she recalls her glamorous and loving, but now long-deceased mother. Descriptions of how the parents met and fell in love are particularly touching and evocative.

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. All About Evie is set 10 years after the events of the first book. Evie’s life is turned upside down when a very unfortunate accident happens involved Princess Margaret. But is this a tragedy or the chance to start a new life? 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. Q. Nowadays Evie would now be in her 70s. Do you think she would be an avid cook and baker? And if so, what culinary delights would she be creating? This was such a fun and quirky coming of age story that I thoroughly enjoyed. The writing was witty and entertaining and captured the essence of a country teenager so well. The characters were lovable and fun (even the contemptible Christine, who you just loved to hate!). Evie’s awe and zest for life was heartwarming and it was just such a fun and entertaining book to lose yourself in, with plenty of laugh out loud moments.Funny and original with a cast of eccentric characters, this debut novel is a tour de force. Not to be missed.' Sunday Express The book was selected with the help of a panel of library staff from across the UK. Our readers loved The Miseducation of Evie Epworth – here are some of their comments: I’ve been looking forward to this one for ages and it didn’t disappoint: the second instalment of Evie’s adventures was even better than the first! Although she’s ten years older, I was delighted that Evie still has her sparkling personality and her aptitude for mischief. Without giving too much away, I was also thrilled that the first chapter ended with just as much of a bang as last time… It hasn’t helped my phobia, but it made me laugh and I know I won’t forget “that scene” in a long time.