For most of my childhood, I wanted to be Han Solo. When I realised that this probably wasn’t going to happen I went for writer or pop star (the two are very similar). 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.” But one of the stand-out things for me about the book is how Matson has managed to capture perfectly the ‘playful’ (his word) voice of a 16 year old girl in the sixties. Hard enough for someone like me who was there!

Matson Taylor doesn’t stop their though and he introduces us to a whole community to love. Mrs Scott-Pym was my favourite of the supporting characters. Her kind nature and motherly attitude towards Evie melted my heart. Evie had found a sanctuary in that house and you could feel the love between these two characters. As much as Evie helped Mrs Scott-Pym I also felt the older woman learnt a thing or two from Evie too. 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. 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 doors creak open to reveal an orgy of pastel. Christine’s taste is the colour palette of a box of fondant fancies’. Up until now, Evie's life has been nothing special: a patchwork of school, Guides, cows, lost mothers, lacrosse and village fetes. But, inspired by her idols (Charlotte Bronte, Shirley MacLaine, the Queen), she dreams of a world far away from rural East Yorkshire, a world of glamour lived under the bright lights of London (or Leeds). Standing in the way of these dreams, though, is Christine, Evie's soon-to-be stepmother, a manipulative and money-grubbing schemer who is lining Evie up for a life of shampoo-and-set drudgery at the stinky local salon.The theme of 'becoming a Woman' is one Evie revisits throughout the novel. And I guess, in many ways this is a coming-of-age novel. One that takes place over a few weeks (or perhaps months) of Evie's life. At a pivotal point in that life. As well as working at various universities and museums around the world, Matson has worked on Camden Market, appeared in an Italian TV commercial, and been a pronunciation coach for Catalan opera singers. The Miseducation of Evie Epworth is his first novel. Q. I loved how you used food to symbolise Evie’s ‘coming of age’ journey. How did that arise and was that a conscious decision in your plot development? 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. If you like your stories with a dose of fun, quirky and full of family dramas then The Miseducation Of Evie Epworth is for you.

The Miseducation of Evie Epworth tells the story of Evie, aged 16 and struggling to know what to do with her life. She lives in a small Yorkshire village with her Dad and awful Step-mother. However, Evie has some wonderful friends to give her a hand.As we identified as fellow foodies, Matson very kindly gave me an interview focusing on the symbolic role food plays in the novel. He also reveals more about Evie’s character and her brilliant, quirky story. When the frothy pink 24 year old ‘housekeeper’ Christine catches her father’s eye and sets about making Evie’s life miserable, Mrs Scott-Pym and Evie hatch a plan to be rid of Christine. But when Mrs Scott-Pym meets with an accident and her long lost glamorous daughter Caroline arrives on the scene, will their ‘magic’ work? There is never a dull moment with Evie around, everyone should A sweet, fizzy sherbet dib-dab of a book - deliciously nostalgic, hugely funny and ultimately heartwarming. The perfect book for our times.’ Veronica Henry 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.

Evie, our "heroine", is a 16 year old (who comes across as a 10 year old), the daughter of a farm owner, or "the naive father", who seemed besotted by a 22 year old, or "the evil step mother". The "perfect mother" died when Evie was just a baby and nobody ever told her anything about this maternal figure. As I read the book sometimes I had the feeling that the characters (family members, neighbours...) had just met!! And I could go on and on... There are some funny situations described, but overall they don't contribute to the plot or the main storyline. Sixteen year-old Evie Epworth stands on the cusp of womanhood. But what kind of a woman will she become?Oh this book is the perfect antidote to all of the horrendous things that seem to be on the news this year! I loved the characterisation, as each of the characters were bursting with vitality and so very unique in their own way.