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Yesteryear

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Yesteryear

By: Caro Claire Burke
Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman
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THE MULTI-MILLION COPY INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER THE #1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

'NIGHTMARISH, SHOCKING, BRILLIANT’ – STYLIST

'MADDENING, MESMERISING, INGENIOUS’ – NEW YORK TIMES

'FUNNY, SHARP ENOUGH TO DRAW BLOOD’ – STEPHEN KING

'DERANGED, DARING, CLEVERLY WRITTEN’ – VOGUE

'My name is Natalie Heller Mills, and I was perfect at being alive…'

Natalie lives a traditional lifestyle – and her followers are sick with envy. Her charming farmhouse on her working ranch is artfully cluttered, her husband is a handsome cowboy, her homemade sourdough boules are each more beautiful than the last. So what if there are nannies and producers and industrial-grade ovens behind the scenes? What her followers don’t know won’t hurt them.

Then, one morning, Natalie wakes up in a strange, horrible version of reality. Her home, her husband, her children—they’re all familiar, but something’s off. Is this a hoax? A reality show? A test from God? Natalie knows just two things for sure: this isn't her perfect life, and she must escape, by any means possible.

As darkly funny as it is shocking and gripping, Yesteryear is an electrifying examination of tradition, fame, faith and the grand performance of womanhood, from a thrilling new talent in fiction.

NOW BEING ADAPTED INTO A MAJOR FILM STARRING ANNE HATHAWAY

'EVERYONE WILL BE TALKING ABOUT THIS BOOK’ BELLA MACKIE

‘WICKEDLY FUNNY, FRIGHTENINGLY PERCEPTIVE' ABIGAIL DEAN

'INVENTIVE, ADDICTIVE, A WILD RIDE' ASHLEY AUDRAIN

'SHOT THROUGH WITH HUMOUR, LACED WITH DARKNESS' CLARE MACKINTOSH

'THE STEPFORD WIVES MEETS THE HANDMAID'S TALE' HANNAH DEITCH

©2026 Caro Claire Burke (P)2026 Penguin Random House LLC
Domestic Thrillers Family Life Genre Fiction Literature & Fiction Psychological Satire Thriller & Suspense Women's Fiction
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Critics' reviews

'Everyone will be talking about this book' Bella Mackie
'Funny and sharp enough to draw blood from both sexes. This book is going to be around for a long time' Stephen King
'Daring, deranged, cleverly written' Vogue
'Maddening and mesmerizing. The premise is an ingenious, exquisite, be-careful-what-you-wish-for. Draws to a dizzying conclusion, I didn’t see the twist coming' New York Times
'Tense, intriguing, funny and conversation-starting' Sunday Times Culture
‘Intelligent, incisive and insanely readable’ Jennie Godfrey
‘Perceptive, timely, exquisitely written’ Joanna Cannon
‘An absolutely unhinged novel’ Roxane Gay
'Witty and thought-provoking' Independent
'A piece of howling feminist rage. Nightmarish, shocking, brilliant' Stylist
'A bold and biting satire, will have you gasping right to the final page' Nita Prose
'Highly original and utterly addictive' Louise O'Neill
‘Unapologetically political fiction in the tradition of The Stepford Wives or The Handmaid’s Tale. Enraging, thrilling – grimly funny but intensely humane’ Hannah Deitch
‘Wickedly funny, beautifully written, and frighteningly perceptive’ Abigail Dean
‘Inventive, addictive and funny. A dark, biting social commentary and a wild, thought-provoking ride’ Ashley Audrain
‘Shot through with humour and laced with darkness’ Clare Mackintosh
‘Insanely good, fresh, sharp and spiky. It reminded me of Gone Girl, with its unreliable, intensely unlikeable narrator, amazing twist and needlepoint observations’ Stacey Halls
‘Deliciously topical, with a chef’s kiss of a twist’ Pandora Sykes
'Original, biting, propulsive and unhinged' Red
'Funny, terrifying and original' Woman & Home
'Crazy and completely addictive' Prima
'Mind-bending, propulsive, thought-provoking' Good Housekeeping
'A dark comedy and a delicious satire that will keep you guessing' Heat
‘Unpredictable, original and beautifully written. I couldn’t guess the genius ending’ Adele Parks
All stars
Most relevant
Ich fand es witzig, erschreckend, tragisch alles auf einmal und habe es sehr gerne gehört. Auf das Ende wäre ich nicht gekommen

Ein tolles Buch

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Great book. When bot reading, your thoughts keep coming back to it. So many feelings it rises. There arent many stories this good.

Something to think about

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This book is amazing, one of the most transformative books I‘ve ever read. Not only is it well written and narrated, it goes so deep into the psychology of being a woman in our society.

I started reading the book because I wanted to know more about tradwife culture as I am very far away from it as a Swiss scientist without kids or ever wanting to have kids.
But this book goes so much further than tradwife culture or influencer culture. It really shows how this woman came go be that way and how she always did what was expexted of her instead of what she really wanted, deeply believing in the (Christian and American based) stories that she has been told her whole life.
I can deeply relate to that in multiple ways, and I think most of us can to some extent, because in our society we are all told to some degree what to be or who to be and what is or isn‘t an exeptable life path. So even if you can‘t personally relate to tradwife culture, you will probably still be able to relate to the story and be horrified by what can happen if you never question the beliefs you grew up with and just go deeper and deeper into a rabbit hole…
So yeah, definitely a big recommendation from my side and a big applause for the author for making the story so readable, deep, relatable and also pretty horrific.

Insanely reflective on women in our society, not just religious ones.

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I loved this book. The back and forth timeline is developing the story and piecing puzzle pieces together for the reader. You constantly expect a revelation, a breakthrough, just to be disappointed by the increasing insanity of the mental inner workings of Natalie, brain. It makes people pause and think, have a dialogue about purpose, pride, ingrained beliefs, misogyny, our history and the danger of fanatism.
It makes you smile, cringe and sad all at once.

Front row to a psychopaths mental degradation

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I found Yesteryear fascinating and unsettling, particularly how relevant it feels in a world of influencers and carefully constructed online lives. As the story progresses, you feel completely drawn into the main character’s unraveling, to the point where it becomes difficult to distinguish her reality from what is actually happening.

It’s complex and at times quite sad, particularly in showing the impact untreated mental illness can have on an entire family. I wouldn’t quite give it the hype of being one of the best books I’ve read, but it’s very well written, different, and definitely stayed with me.

When the life online becomes more real than reality

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