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§Author· 1 book
Caro Claire Burke
Exploring the modern fascination with curated online personas and traditional lifestyle subcultures, the satirical debut novel Yesteryear examines what happens when an Instagram tradwife is suddenly thrust into the harsh realities of authentic nineteenth-century domestic labor. Author Caro Claire Burke crafts a timely narrative following influencer Natalie Heller Mills as her polished, simulated past is replaced by an actual 1855 homestead without electricity or modern conveniences. The book offers a sharp, nuanced critique of social media aesthetics, digital burnout, and the performance of contemporary womanhood.
Career & Background
Caro Claire Burke earned her Master of Fine Arts from the Bennington Writing Seminars after devoting a decade to honing her craft as a writer and cultural critic. Prior to launching her fiction career, she worked as an editor at Katie Couric Media and contributed work to literary journals including the New Ohio Review. Alongside her literary endeavors, Burke co-hosts Diabolical Lies, a podcast focused on politics and contemporary culture. She lives in Central Virginia, where the surrounding history and rural environment helped shape her perspectives on technological dependence and historical nostalgia.
Writing Style & Themes
Burke's writing interrogates the tension between media-driven fantasy and historical reality, focusing on themes of agency, authenticity, and the labor underlying modern motherhood. In examining the cultural phenomenon of online tradwives, her prose goes behind the curtain of the influencer lifestyle to highlight the contradictions inherent in broadcasting anti-modern ideologies through modern digital platforms. Her work balances satirical social observation with empathetic character development, evaluating how social media platforms shape political discourse, personal identity, and traditional cultural narratives.
Major Works
- Yesteryear — Published by Alfred A. Knopf in 2026, Burke's debut novel follows Instagram influencer Natalie Heller Mills after she is catapulted into the unglamorous 1855 version of her curated life. Selected as an Indies Introduce title and optioned for a film adaptation starring Anne Hathaway, the novel explores social media performance, domesticity, and modern motherhood.
§All Books
Yesteryear
Caro Claire Burke, 2026
233 ratings