When she was 20, the British author Bernardine Evaristo did not own a television. She made the decision to forgo it, she once said, so as not to become a “passive spectator of other people’s success”. From next week, however, telly becomes an integral part of her success as Evaristo’s novel Mr Loverman gets its very own adaptation, courtesy of the BBC.
Evaristo, now 65, isn’t the type of writer to turn up her nose at such opportunities. “Some would say they don’t want their creativity sullied by another medium, but I don’t think I’ve ever felt that,” she says. “No, I’ve always thought it’d be wonderful.” It was a matter of time, really. Evaristo is that rare author whose books have had such a profound impact that she has made the crossing from writer to cultural figure.
