Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke review – the downfall of an all‑American tradwife

The premise – Instagram influencer is confronted by pioneer reality – is genius. But does this high-concept debut live up to the hype? Could Caro Claire Burke’s Yesteryear be the first great tradwife novel? This was my hope: finally, a literary response to the unhinged social trend of women cosplaying “traditional Christian values” – pronatalism and obeying one’s husband – to large social media followings. I am not immune to hype, and Yesteryear has been hyped to high heaven, prompting massiv...

By Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett