Yesteryear Author Caro Claire Burke on Her Writing Process, Silencing Self-Doubt and the Books That Shaped Her

Caro Claire Burke’s inauguration to the publishing world is one most fledgling authors can only dream of. She has written Yesteryear, the buzziest debut novel of the year - so buzzy, in fact, it’s already being adapted for screen with Anne Hathaway set to produce and star in the feature film iteration. But the novel’s premise, and its thrilling execution, really does live up to its billing.

Natalie Heller Mills, a tradwife influencer living on her exquisitely curated ranch, Yesteryear, watches her sourdough starters rise like her Instagram following, until she one day wakes up horror-stricken in 1855 on her “not ranch, ranch” to her “not husband, husband” and “not life, life.” Burke’s prose grabs you by the wrist and doesn’t let you go, all the way up to the novel’s much anticipated and unguessable (yes, truly, unguessable) twist.

Caro and I tune into our conversation from our respective homes an ocean apart, yet the distance almost immediately melts with her relatability. As I express awe at her antiheroine Natalie’s capacity for seemingly constant procreation (she has five children and a sixth on the way), we discover we are both pregnant with our first child. It feels like kismet that motherhood looms for Burke whose novel concerns the pressures of being a mother in a social media-miraged world. Burke riffs on the idea that sometimes life mimics art and vice versa.

I talk to Caro just before she’s about to set off on a transcontinental book tour. She tells me about the “pinch me” moment of selling her novel and working with Anne Hathaway. She also talks about the evolution of the tradwife phenomenon and her podcast, Diabolical Lies.

So many congratulations are in order! But first and foremost, for the success of Yesteryear. How does it feel?

I feel like I need German words! I haven’t journalled in a long time, but I just got a journal for when I’m on tour, because there are so many emotions going on at once. The experience with Yesteryear has been so far beyond my expectations that it’s hard to process. It’s a crazy experience, and maybe in twenty years I’ll have more eloquent language to describe it. I'm feeling grateful, and horrified, at how relevant Yesteryear feels at the moment. I’m proud of the book, but now the book belongs to the world.

Do you remember when the inspiration for the novel first hit? What kind of research did it involve?

In the winter of 2024, I was already involved in the online tradwife discourse, so that was the seed of inspiration. I already had the opportunity, through work and my personal time, to research and spend time thinking about women in fundamentalist communities. But there was a specific morning when I woke up with the title of the novel and the synopsis of a woman who wakes up in a different time period. I emailed my agent, a wonderful creative partner, and she was super on board. From the start, Yesteryear felt like such a big, bold story.

Natalie’s voice is so brilliantly distinct. It takes real endurance to sustain such a high-octane pitch!

Thank you! I found Natalie’s voice quickly. And then I thought, okay, everything has to come from here. I wanted the novel to be incredibly claustrophobic, and I knew I was going to let Natalie be all the (controversial) things without inserting an authorial or morally righteous voice. I wanted to trust that the reader would understand, because I like to be trusted very much. Natalie has such a specific set of morals and understandings about the world. When those clicked into place, I knew how she would behave in any environment. As soon as I decided I wasn’t going to make an effort to clarify her behaviour, I was able to write the first draft quickly.

Were you conscious of how readers might react to Natalie?

Natalie behaves in very despicable ways. And I have been kind of surprised by the book's reception. I mean, I'm sure there are plenty of people who won't like the book and they’re justified to that opinion. But I was surprised that so many liberal people supported it, like in the publishing industry specifically, because I really didn't make an effort to clarify Natalie’s behaviour or to make a moral statement myself.

How do you feel about Yesteryear being out in the world now, at this moment in time?

You never really know how something's going to go or be received. There was excitement when I sold the book. But there was a four month period when we thought Kamala Harris was going to win the presidency. So I was aware of the publishing cycle and the timing being right. I asked myself: What is the world going to look like when this book comes out?

Speaking of writing quickly, what was your process like?

There is no one trick I deploy to get something done. I will deploy any trick I can. I tried to get Yesteryear out as quickly as I could. I had to get it out before I had time to second guess or doubt myself. I tried to write 2,000-4,000 words per day without thinking too much about it. Forcing myself to drive forward allowed the novel to have that pacy feel.

It’s so pacy. You must have a secret.

I constantly asked myself: What’s the next thing that’s going to happen? I knew the big twist, but I didn't know all the little steps along the way. Every morning, I sat down to write and thought about my next step and typed it out. I rode a momentum that felt different to how I'd written before.

Oh, my goodness—the twist! That’s all I’ll say. How early did you know how it would end?

I knew the twist from very early on, but I didn’t know how exactly I was going to make it work. I knew it around the same time I sent my agent the first thirty pages.

What other books did you look to for inspiration?

I looked to Gone Girl for pacing, because that novel moves like a freight train. I flipped through and thought: Okay, how does Gillian Flynn meter out plot events? Generally speaking, I wasn't reading anything while I wrote Yesteryear to not disrupt my flow.

What surprises you about how the tradwife phenomenon has evolved since you started writing Yesteryear?

Something I have been happy to see is that I don't think we have any evidence people have been convinced to change their ideology or their relationship to power dynamics as a result of this cultural moment. But I do think like we're starting to see the economic outcome of a world where this type of propaganda exists. The tradwife phenomenon, like these other big cultural moments, start out with a clear political lens, and then they become increasingly brand washed, until eventually it's just a bowl. It's just a bowl at Target.

At one point, Natalie calls motherhood its “own kind of curation.” I don’t know about you, but my algorithm is trying to sell me so much baby paraphernalia at the moment.

Yes! My algorithm is going crazy right now, too. There are so many layers of curation to our lives. It's so inescapable. Corporations are always trying to convince people that what they have is not correct. There’s a section in the book where Natalie talks about the great lie that women tell one another about being a mother. I don't have shared opinions with Natalie, but I am very interested in how women teach one another and how they raise children.

Tell me about your podcast Diabolical Lies. It does a great job dissecting the “right now.”

I co-founded the podcast with Katie Gatti Tassin several months after I sold Yesteryear. I think they are different ends of the same project. In the podcast and the new fiction I’m working on, I'm very interested in this idea of the performance of womanhood, and all the contradictions and fictions and fantasies that are sold within that. Diabolical Lies explores this from a nonfiction lens, which requires a different part of my brain.

The Yesteryear film adaptation in the works with Anne Hathaway—how involved have you been in the process?

It’s a major pinch me moment. Anne Hathaway is a genius, and the people who are working on the film are so smart and creative. I made the decision not to be the screenwriter, and it's the happiest decision I've ever made. I want to be a novelist. But I am an executive producer on the film, and so I have spent a decent amount of time working on the adaptation. I speak with the screenwriter Hannah Friedman often, and she's brilliant. She's great at what she does. The work she has done to adapt the novel has been incredible to behold. Anne is going to be a crazy good Natalie too, so it'll be really fun to see the story come to life.

Caro Claire Burke's Book Recs and Writing Advice

Last but not least, some bookish and writing questions. What is…

…the last book you recommended to a friend?

In Memoriam by Alice Winn.

…the first book that ever made you cry?

Looking for Alaska by John Green.

…the book that made you fall in love with reading?

The Secret History by Donna Tart.

…the book that shaped you into the person you are today?

David Foster Wallace’s essay This is Water.

…a book you wish you could read again for the first time?

Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason.

…the most important piece of writing advice anyone ever gave you?

Don’t let anyone mess with your prose.

…a piece of popular writing advice that everyone should ignore?

Show, don’t tell.

…one thing you would tell all new writers at the start of their journey?

You have to put in time. It’s about putting in time so much more than it is about having talent.

Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke is published in the UK by 4th Estate, and is available to buy now.