Her memoir also recounts her romantic relationships, from toxic partnerships to more nurturing ones, and details how her activism has always informed her creative work. Aspiring authors, too, will be heartened by her honesty when detailing not just the long journey to publication but also the painstaking process of drafting and redrafting.

Evaristo’s first book, Lara, was a novel in verse inspired by her family’s history and published in 1997; she followed it up with The Emperor’s Babe, a verse novel set in the days of the Roman Empire.

Then came Soul Tourists (2005), Blonde Roots (2008) and Mr Loverman (2014) before the release of Girl, Woman, Other in 2019. The book, which tells the interconnected stories of 12 different characters across 120 years, deftly exploring ideas around race, gender and sexuality, would go on to win the 2019 Booker Prize.

Stylist Live 2022: Bernardine Evaristo will share her inspiring advice on never giving up