U.S. author Caro Claire Burke has made a spectacular debut with her novel Yesteryear, which follows the story of a famous influencer. Like all ultraconservative influencers, she sells an idyllic image of a past that never existed — something she discovers when she wakes up one day in 1885. The book is sharp and addictive, and with it, the author has managed to earn as much or more than the very women she portrays through Natalie, her anti‑heroine.
The bidding war for publication rights reached seven figures, and the story is already being adapted for film, with Anne Hathaway set to play Natalie, the lead character. Beyond the literary criticism, it has already emerged as one of the most-talked-about books of the year.
Question. What was the seed of your novel?
Answer. In 2024, I downloaded TikTok and was flooded with this type of content, which I consumed for two months, and it was my inspiration.
Q. Did you use more sources of documentation?
A. I studied how the peasantry functioned in the 19th century, I researched religious extremism, particularly Christian fundamentalism, and I looked at influencer camps where you pay thousands of dollars to be told how to get more followers.
Q. Natalie is a questionable person, but she’s simply living out what she was taught from childhood — to be a good Christian, wife, and mother — and the turbocapitalist mandate to monetize your personal brand.
A. Exactly. The way she operates involves a contradiction, and her anger grows proportionally as she discovers that everything she was told to do isn’t producing the results she expected. This fuels her feeling of isolation from the world.
Q. Do tradwives romanticize the past?
A. What they’re selling is a fantasy. The term tradwife originated in incel chat rooms when they were talking about what their ideal woman would be like. And layers of fiction have been superimposed on it — closely tied to this idea of the simple life of the American Wild West, an obsession that’s very present in the country right now. Living off the land, off the fruit of your own labor, and a bit removed from the world. It’s a fantasy from start to finish.
Q. In the influencer world, it’s common for children to be used as unpaid workers with no say over their online exposure.
A. Sometimes I’m much more interested in those children than the influencers themselves because I think it’s difficult to understand the level of exploitation and identity theft from a very young age. In the United States, there are children who are beginning to speak out. However, it’s a complicated conversation: those in charge of child protection can be very reactionary, and their measures often involve separating children from the internet to such an extent that teenagers may not be able to access, for example, queer spaces they might need.
Q. Natalie receives a lot of online hate from “angry women.” Did you create that concept?
A. Yes, and I feel empathy for both sides; I identify with both.
Q. Do you also have haters?
A. As a woman, you can’t share your opinions online without the attention shifting to you. Over time, I’ve developed tools to maintain perspective because it can be overwhelming. The less time I spend online and the less value I place on what people think of me, the less it affects me. It’s a lesson Natalie could have learned: no matter how important you think you are, you’re not. Unless you’re Taylor Swift.
Q. Amazon MGM Studios bought the film rights when the novel was still a first draft.
A. I’m still surprised this book found a commercial audience. I can’t believe they didn’t make me remove the line “America hates women.” I gave them complete freedom to turn the novel into whatever movie they want. They’re two different art forms, and there’s no pressure for them to be identical.
Q. You’re not involved in the adaptation?
A. I’m not a screenwriter, but I’m an executive producer, and I’ve been able to work very closely with the writers, so I’m aware of the changes. I offer advice, and I’m happy doing that.
Q.What do you think of Anne Hathaway for the role of Natalie?
A. I still haven’t processed that she wants to be a part of this. She has an Oscar, it’s a great honor. It exceeds all expectations.
Q. Has the current U.S. government promoted trade wives?
A. When it started, many people treated it as a trivial matter confined to women’s publications. Now we know it was an unmistakable sign of a much more significant sociopolitical shift. I don’t think there’s been a mass exodus of women leaving the workforce to return home. But this extremist religious sect, which is a minority in the country but a majority in the government, is taking legislative steps to confine women to their homes, such as making it harder to access contraception, rolling back reproductive rights, and increasing the cost of childcare and preschool…
Q. You co‑host the podcast Diabolical Lies with Katy Gati. What’s it about?
A. It’s about politics and culture. We’re financed by subscribers, without advertisers, and we cover topics like the relationship between capitalism and conservatism, or television series. It came about because we identified a gap in a very male-dominated sector, a place to talk about our interests in a sardonic and irreverent way. It’s the only good job I’ve ever had.
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