Matson Taylor

We're thrilled to welcome Matson Taylor to the shop for an evening event on Thursday 18th May! 

Matson writes funny books about serious things. His first book, The Miseducation of Evie Epworth, was chosen for both the Richard & Judy Bookclub and the BBC Radio 2 Bookclub, and went on to become a bestseller. 

All About Evie is set ten years later and charts the messy end of the 1960s and the choppy beginnings of the 1970s. It was first published in 2022 and has recently been released in paperback. Matson is now working on his third novel. 

Matson is originally from Yorkshire, and now lives in London where he works simultaneously as a novelist and design historian. The Miseducation of Evie Epworth was inspired by his experiences of growing up in rural Yorkshire, and his work at the V&A Museum where he specialises in the luxury goods trade. 

You can read more about Matson on his website, or by following him on Instagram or Twitter. 

The Miseducation of Evie Epworth

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?

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.

Luckily Evie is not alone. With the help of a few friends, and the wise counsel of the two Adam Faith posters on her bedroom wall ('brooding Adam' and 'sophisticated Adam'), Evie comes up with a plan to rescue her future from Christine's pink and over-perfumed clutches. She will need a little luck, a dash of charm and a big dollop of Yorkshire magic if she is to succeed, but in the process she may just discover who exactly it is she is meant to be.

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.

All About Evie

“A thoroughly uplifting and unputdownable sequel to the bestselling The Miseducation of Evie Epworth” Waterstones

1972. Ten years on from the events of The Miseducation of Evie Epworth and Evie is settled in London working for the BBC. She has everything she's ever dreamed of (a career, a leatherette briefcase, an Ossie Clark poncho) but, following an unfortunate incident involving Princess Anne and a Hornsea Pottery mug, she finds herself having to rethink her life and piece together work, love, grief and multiple pairs of cork-soled platform sandals. 

Ghosts from the past and the spirit of the future collide in a joyous adventure that sees Evie navigate the choppy waters of her messy twenties. Can a 1960s miseducation prepare her for the growing pains of the 1970s? 

Big-hearted, uplifting, bittersweet and tender, All About Evie is a novel fizzing with wit and alive to the power of friendship in all its forms.

‘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.’ The Yorkshire Post