Evie Wyld: ‘It’s not the men who are toxic, but masculinity itself’

The author, whose gothic novel ‘The Bass Rock’ is published in the midst of a global pandemic, talks to Charlotte Cripps about sexism, stockpiling, Twiglets and how #MeToo gave her book meaning

‘I think there is pressure as a female writer to be overly serious and overly nice at the same time’ (Jonathan Cape)

What’s it like having a novel published in the middle of a global pandemic?

“Oh, the book feels completely inconsequential,” says Evie Wyld, whose much-anticipated third book, The Bass Rock, is out next week. “I’ve just done my first bit of stockpiling; it’s mainly Twiglets and whisky.”

We meet in a café around the corner from the author’s home and the independent bookshop she co-owns in “Peckham Village”, southeast London, to talk about her dark, beautiful and funny gothic family saga for the #MeToo generation.