This is the sequel to one of my favourite books, The
Miseducation of Evie Epworth, a funny but moving coming-of-age story with an
irrepressible heroine.
In All about Evie, she’s grown up and making her way in
the London of the 1970s, grappling with the world of work, and with first love.
As someone who grew up in the 70s, it was brilliantly nostalgic, and meeting
Evie again was like catching up with an old friend.
Just as in the first book,
Matson Taylor conjures up a colourful but always utterly believable cast of
characters, who I was sad to say goodbye to when I turned the last page.
EVIE EPWORTH IS TEN YEARS OLDER. BUT IS SHE ANY WISER?!
'It's an uplifting, rip-roaring read, peppered with nostalgic detail and plenty of comic asides.' Daily Express
'A golden ray of sunshine. If you're after a funny, uplifting summer read then this is for you!' Libby Page, author of The Lido
'A joyous way to spend an afternoon.' Joannna Nadin, author of The Double Life of Daisy Hemmings
'Taylor's writing is sublime, effortlessly combining humour with pathos and spot-on period detail while sensitively exploring themes such as loss, grief, love and death. It's sure to be another hit.' Yorkshire Post…
I
picked up this book when I’d just come back from holiday with a bad case of the
back-to-the-desk blues, and it was the perfect remedy.
It’s laugh-out-loud
funny and the heroine, control freak Loretta, just jumped off the page, as did
Phoebe, the little girl who unexpectedly becomes part of her life. It’s
feelgood but not fluffy – there were moments that made me cry as well. I love a
book where you can imagine the characters carrying on with their lives after
you’ve turned the last page, and this one definitely fits that bill.
The book is inspired
by the true story of one of the last women to be hanged for murder in England.
Zina, accused of murdering her daughter-in-law, comes from Cyprus, speaks no
English and can barely read or write in Greek, and the story is told partly
from her point of view, and partly from that of the young interpreter who’s
brought in for her trial. Most people know about Ruth Ellis, the last woman to
be hanged here, but this story isn’t known, and I was fascinated that it
happened a relatively short time ago.
Both the main characters are beautifully
drawn, fully rounded individuals who leap from the page. It’s a sad story and I
usually shy away from those – my own books are definitely more on the feelgood
side – but the beauty of the writing and the characterisation make it a beautiful
read rather than a difficult one. I closed the book feeling glad that I’d read
it.
**Selected for BBC 2 Between the Covers Book Club 2023**
'Tense. Moving. Morally complex. Zina Pavlou is wholly unforgettable.' Rachel Rhys
'Hugely powerful... Easily one of the best books you'll read this year.' Emma Christie
THEY HAVE TOLD SO MANY LIES ABOUT ME.
London, 1954. Zina Pavlou, a Cypriot grandmother, waits quietly in the custody of the Metropolitan police. She can't speak their language, but she understands what their wary looks mean: she has been accused of the brutal murder of her daughter-in-law.
Eva Georgiou, Greek interpreter for the Met, knows how it feels to be voiceless as an immigrant…
Meet Endurance
Proudfoot, the bonesetter’s daughter: clumsy as a carthorse, strong as an ox, with
a tactless tongue and a face she’s sure only a mother could love. Endurance
wants to be a bonesetter too, but her campaign to convince her father she can
do a ‘man’s job’ is thwarted when her beautiful sister’s attempt at social
climbing goes wrong. The pair are bundled off to London, beginning an adventure
that’ll see both of them make their mark on the city as they win, and lose,
fame and fortune. A feel-good novel inspired by the true stories of Crazy Sally
Mapp, Georgian England’s most famous bonesetter, and her sister Lavinia Fenton,
darling of the London stage.
