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An epistolary novel is a
novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself ...
written as a series of letters. The term is often extended to cover novels that intersperse documents of other kinds with the letters, most commonly diary entries and
newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, spor ...
clippings, and sometimes considered to include novels composed of documents even if they don't include letters at all. More recently, epistolaries may include electronic documents such as recordings and radio,
blog A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in Reverse ...
posts, and
e-mails Electronic mail (email or e-mail) is a method of exchanging messages ("mail") between people using electronic devices. Email was thus conceived as the electronic (digital) version of, or counterpart to, mail, at a time when "mail" meant ...
. The word ''
epistolary Epistolary means "in the form of a letter or letters", and may refer to: * Epistolary ( la, epistolarium), a Christian liturgical book containing set readings for church services from the New Testament Epistles * Epistolary novel * Epistolary po ...
'' is derived from
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
from the Greek word ἐπιστολή ''epistolē'', meaning a letter (see
epistle An epistle (; el, ἐπιστολή, ''epistolē,'' "letter") is a writing directed or sent to a person or group of people, usually an elegant and formal didactic letter. The epistle genre of letter-writing was common in ancient Egypt as par ...
). In
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
, this type of novel is known as a Briefroman. The epistolary form can add greater
realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: * Classical Realism *Literary realism, a mov ...
to a story, because it mimics the workings of real life. It is thus able to demonstrate differing points of view without recourse to the device of an omniscient narrator. An important strategic device in the epistolary novel for creating the impression of authenticity of the letters is the fictional editor.


Early works

There are two theories on the genesis of the epistolary novel. The first claims that the genre is originated from novels with inserted letters, in which the portion containing the third-person narrative in between the letters was gradually reduced. The other theory claims that the epistolary novel arose from miscellanies of letters and poetry: some of the letters were tied together into a (mostly amorous) plot. Both claims have some validity. The first truly epistolary novel, the Spanish "Prison of Love" (''Cárcel de amor'') (c. 1485) by
Diego de San Pedro Diego de San Pedro (c. 1437 – c. 1498) was a Castilian writer. Little is known about him, besides what is included in his works. Scholars also rely on what they infer from the context in which he wrote and the many nobles to whom he has been l ...
, belongs to a tradition of novels in which a large number of inserted letters already dominated the narrative. Other well-known examples of early epistolary novels are closely related to the tradition of letter-books and miscellanies of letters. Within the successive editions of Edmé Boursault's ''Letters of Respect, Gratitude and Love'' (''Lettres de respect, d'obligation et d'amour'') (1669), a group of letters written to a girl named Babet were expanded and became more and more distinct from the other letters, until it formed a small epistolary novel entitled ''Letters to Babet'' (''Lettres à Babet''). The immensely famous ''
Letters of a Portuguese Nun The ''Letters of a Portuguese Nun'' (French: ''Les Lettres Portugaises'', literally ''The Portuguese Letters''), first published anonymously by Claude Barbin in Paris in 1669, is a work believed by most scholars to be epistolary fiction in the fo ...
'' (''Lettres portugaises'') (1669) generally attributed to Gabriel-Joseph de La Vergne, comte de Guilleragues, though a small minority still regard Marianna Alcoforado as the author, is claimed to be intended to be part of a miscellany of Guilleragues prose and poetry. The founder of the epistolary novel in English is said by many to be
James Howell James Howell (c. 1594 – 1666) was a 17th-century Anglo-Welsh historian and writer who is in many ways a representative figure of his age. The son of a Welsh clergyman, he was for much of his life in the shadow of his elder brother Thomas Ho ...
(1594–1666) with "Familiar Letters" (1645–50), who writes of prison, foreign adventure, and the love of women. Perhaps first work to fully utilize the potential of an epistolary novel was '' Love-Letters Between a Nobleman and His Sister''. This work was published anonymously in three volumes (1684, 1685, and 1687), and has been attributed to
Aphra Behn Aphra Behn (; bapt. 14 December 1640 – 16 April 1689) was an English playwright, poet, prose writer and translator from the Restoration era. As one of the first English women to earn her living by her writing, she broke cultural barrie ...
though its authorship remains disputed in the 21st Century. The novel shows the genre's results of changing perspectives: individual points were presented by the individual characters, and the central voice of the author and moral evaluation disappeared (at least in the first volume; further volumes introduced a narrator). The author furthermore explored a realm of intrigue with complex scenarios such as letters that fall into the wrong hands, faked letters, or letters withheld by protagonists. The epistolary novel as a genre became popular in the 18th century in the works of such authors as Samuel Richardson, with his immensely successful novels '' Pamela'' (1740) and ''
Clarissa ''Clarissa; or, The History of a Young Lady: Comprehending the Most Important Concerns of Private Life. And Particularly Shewing, the Distresses that May Attend the Misconduct Both of Parents and Children, In Relation to Marriage'' is an epist ...
'' (1749). John Cleland's early erotic novel '' Fanny Hill'' (1748) is written as a series of letters from the titular character to an unnamed recipient. In France, there was '' Lettres persanes'' (1721) by
Montesquieu Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (; ; 18 January 168910 February 1755), generally referred to as simply Montesquieu, was a French judge, man of letters, historian, and political philosopher. He is the princi ...
, followed by ''
Julie, ou la nouvelle Héloïse ''Julie; or, The New Heloise'' (french: Julie, ou la nouvelle Héloïse), originally entitled ''Lettres de Deux Amans, Habitans d'une petite Ville au pied des Alpes'' ("Letters from two lovers, living in a small town at the foot of the Alps"), is ...
'' (1761) by
Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...
, and
Choderlos de Laclos Pierre Ambroise François Choderlos de Laclos (; 18 October 1741 – 5 September 1803) was a French novelist, official, Freemason and army general, best known for writing the epistolary novel ''Les Liaisons dangereuses'' (''Dangerous Liaisons'') ...
' '' Les Liaisons dangereuses'' (1782), which used the epistolary form to great dramatic effect, because the sequence of events was not always related directly or explicitly. In Germany, there was
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as t ...
's ''
The Sorrows of Young Werther ''The Sorrows of Young Werther'' (; german: Die Leiden des jungen Werthers) is a 1774 epistolary novel by Johann Wolfgang Goethe, which appeared as a revised edition in 1787. It was one of the main novels in the '' Sturm und Drang'' period in Ge ...
'' (''Die Leiden des jungen Werther'') (1774) and
Friedrich Hölderlin Johann Christian Friedrich Hölderlin (, ; ; 20 March 1770 – 7 June 1843) was a German poet and philosopher. Described by Norbert von Hellingrath as "the most German of Germans", Hölderlin was a key figure of German Romanticism. Part ...
's '' Hyperion''. The first Canadian novel, ''
The History of Emily Montague ''The History of Emily Montague'', written by Frances Brooke and first published in 1769, is often considered the first Canadian novel. It is a sentimental novel written in the epistolary form. It also features some elements of a travelogue, as t ...
'' (1769) by
Frances Brooke Frances Brooke ( Moore; 12 January 1724 – 23 January 1789) was an English novelist, essayist, playwright and translator. Hers was the first English novel known to have been written in Canada. Biography Frances Moore was born in Claypole, L ...
, and twenty years later the first American novel, ''
The Power of Sympathy ''The Power of Sympathy: or, The Triumph of Nature'' (1789) is an 18th-century American sentimental novel written in epistolary form by William Hill Brown and is widely considered to be the first American novel. ''The Power of Sympathy'' was Bro ...
'' (1789) by William Hill Brown, were both written in epistolary form. Starting in the 18th century, the epistolary form was subject to much ridicule, resulting in a number of savage
burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.
s. The most notable example of these was
Henry Fielding Henry Fielding (22 April 1707 – 8 October 1754) was an English novelist, irony writer, and dramatist known for earthy humour and satire. His comic novel ''Tom Jones'' is still widely appreciated. He and Samuel Richardson are seen as founders ...
's ''
Shamela ''An Apology for the Life of Mrs. Shamela Andrews'', or simply ''Shamela'', as it is more commonly known, is a satirical burlesque novella by English writer Henry Fielding. It was first published in April 1741 under the name of ''Mr. Conny Key ...
'' (1741), written as a parody of ''Pamela''. In it, the female narrator can be found wielding a pen and scribbling her diary entries under the most dramatic and unlikely of circumstances.
Oliver Goldsmith Oliver Goldsmith (10 November 1728 – 4 April 1774) was an Anglo-Irish novelist, playwright, dramatist and poet, who is best known for his novel '' The Vicar of Wakefield'' (1766), his pastoral poem '' The Deserted Village'' (1770), and his ...
used the form to satirical effect in '' The Citizen of the World'', subtitled "Letters from a Chinese Philosopher Residing in London to his Friends in the East" (1760–61). So did the diarist Fanny Burney in a successful comic first novel, ''
Evelina ''Evelina, or the History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World'' is a novel written by English author Fanny Burney and first published in 1778. Although published anonymously, its authorship was revealed by the poet George Huddesford in ...
'' (1788). The epistolary novel slowly became less popular after 18th century. Although
Jane Austen Jane Austen (; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots of ...
tried the epistolary in juvenile writings and her
novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian ''novella'' meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) fact ...
''
Lady Susan ''Lady Susan'' is an epistolary novella by Jane Austen, possibly written in 1794 but not published until 1871. This early complete work, which the author never submitted for publication, describes the schemes of the title character. Synopsis ...
'' (1794), she abandoned this structure for her later work. It is thought that her lost novel ''First Impressions'', which was redrafted to become ''
Pride and Prejudice ''Pride and Prejudice'' is an 1813 novel of manners by Jane Austen. The novel follows the character development of Elizabeth Bennet, the dynamic protagonist of the book who learns about the repercussions of hasty judgments and comes to appreci ...
'', may have been epistolary: ''Pride and Prejudice'' contains an unusual number of letters quoted in full and some play a critical role in the plot. The epistolary form nonetheless saw continued use, surviving in exceptions or in fragments in nineteenth-century novels. In Honoré de Balzac's novel '' Letters of Two Brides'', two women who became friends during their education at a convent correspond over a 17-year period, exchanging letters describing their lives.
Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an early example of science fiction. She also ...
employs the epistolary form in her novel ''
Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific ...
'' (1818). Shelley uses the letters as one of a variety of framing devices, as the story is presented through the letters of a sea captain and scientific explorer attempting to reach the north pole who encounters Victor Frankenstein and records the dying man's narrative and confessions. Published in 1848,
Anne Brontë Anne Brontë (, commonly ; 17 January 1820 – 28 May 1849) was an English novelist and poet, and the youngest member of the Brontë literary family. Anne Brontë was the daughter of Maria (born Branwell) and Patrick Brontë, a poor Irish cl ...
's novel ''
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall ''The Tenant of Wildfell Hall'' is the second and final novel written by English author Anne Brontë. It was first published in 1848 under the pseudonym Acton Bell. Probably the most shocking of the Brontës' novels, it had an instant and p ...
'' is framed as a retrospective letter from one of the main heroes to his friend and brother-in-law with the diary of the eponymous tenant inside it. In the late 19th century,
Bram Stoker Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912) was an Irish author who is celebrated for his 1897 Gothic horror novel '' Dracula''. During his lifetime, he was better known as the personal assistant of actor Sir Henry Irving and busi ...
released one of the most widely recognized and successful novels in the epistolary form to date, ''
Dracula ''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taki ...
''. Printed in 1897, the novel is compiled entirely of letters, diary entries, newspaper clippings, telegrams, doctor's notes, ship's logs, and the like.


Types

Epistolary novels can be categorized based on the number of people whose letters are included. This gives three types of epistolary novels: monophonic (giving the letters of only one character, like ''Letters of a Portuguese Nun'' and ''The Sorrows of Young Werther''), dialogic (giving the letters of two characters, like Mme Marie Jeanne Riccoboni's ''Letters of Fanni Butler'' (1757), and polyphonic (with three or more letter-writing characters, such as in Bram Stoker's ''
Dracula ''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taki ...
''). A crucial element in polyphonic epistolary novels like ''Clarissa'' and ''Dangerous Liaisons'' is the dramatic device of 'discrepant awareness': the simultaneous but separate correspondences of the heroines and the villains creating dramatic tension. They can also be classified according to their type and quantity of use of non-letter documents, though this has obvious correlations with the number of voices - for example, newspaper clippings are unlikely to feature heavily in a monophonic epistolary and considerably more likely in a polyphonic one.


Notable works

The epistolary novel form has continued to be used after the eighteenth century.


Eighteenth century

* '' Les Liaisons dangereuses'' is a 1782 French novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, about the Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont, two narcissistic rivals (and ex-lovers) who use seduction as a weapon to socially control and exploit others, all the while enjoying their cruel games and boasting about their talent for manipulation (also seen as depicting the corruption and depravity of the
French nobility The French nobility (french: la noblesse française) was a privileged social class in France from the Middle Ages until its abolition on June 23, 1790 during the French Revolution. From 1808 to 1815 during the First Empire the Emperor Napol� ...
shortly before the
French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...
). The book is composed entirely of letters written by the various characters to each other. *
Marquis de Sade Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade (; 2 June 1740 – 2 December 1814), was a French nobleman, revolutionary politician, philosopher and writer famous for his literary depictions of a libertine sexuality as well as numerous accusati ...
's '' Aline and Valcour'' (1795).


Nineteenth century

*
Fyodor Dostoevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (, ; rus, Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский, Fyódor Mikháylovich Dostoyévskiy, p=ˈfʲɵdər mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ dəstɐˈjefskʲɪj, a=ru-Dostoevsky.ogg, links=yes; 11 November 18219 ...
used the epistolary format for his first novel, ''
Poor Folk ''Poor Folk'' (russian: Бедные люди, ''Bednye lyudi''), sometimes translated as ''Poor People'', is the first novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky, written over the span of nine months between 1844 and 1845. Dostoevsky was in financial difficul ...
'' (1846), as a series of letters between two friends, struggling to cope with their impoverished circumstances and life in pre-revolution Russia. * '' The Moonstone'' (1868) by Wilkie Collins uses a collection of various documents to construct a detective novel in English. In the second piece, a character explains that he is writing his portion because another had observed to him that the events surrounding the disappearance of the eponymous diamond might reflect poorly on the family, if misunderstood, and therefore he was collecting the true story. This is an unusual element, as most epistolary novels present the documents without questions about how they were gathered. He also used the form previously in '' The Woman in White'' (1859). * Spanish foreign minister Juan Valera's ''Pepita Jiménez'' (1874) is written in three sections, the first and third being a series of letters, the middle part narrated by an unknown observer. *
Bram Stoker Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912) was an Irish author who is celebrated for his 1897 Gothic horror novel '' Dracula''. During his lifetime, he was better known as the personal assistant of actor Sir Henry Irving and busi ...
's ''
Dracula ''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taki ...
'' (1897) uses not only letters and diaries, but also dictation
cylinders A cylinder (from ) has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a prism with a circle as its base. A cylinder may also be defined as an in ...
and
newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, spor ...
accounts.


Twentieth century

* Dorothy L. Sayers and
Robert Eustace Robert Eustace was the pen name of Eustace Robert Barton (1854–1943), an English doctor and author of mystery and crime fiction with a theme of scientific innovation. He also wrote as Eustace Robert Rawlings. Eustace often collaborated with ot ...
's ''
The Documents in the Case ''The Documents in the Case'' is a 1930 novel by Dorothy L. Sayers and Robert Eustace. It is the only one of Sayers's twelve major crime novels not to feature Lord Peter Wimsey, her most famous detective character. However, the forensic analyst ...
'' (1930). * E.M. Delafield's '' Diary of a Provincial Lady'' (1930). * Haki Stërmilli's novel '' If I Were a Boy'' (1936) is written in the form of diary entries documenting the life of the protagonist. * Kathrine Taylor's '' Address Unknown'' (1938) is an anti-Nazi novel in which the final letter is returned marked "Address Unknown", indicating the disappearance of the German character. *
Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer, considered one of the most important modernist 20th-century authors and a pioneer in the use of stream of consciousness as a narrative device. Woolf was born ...
used the epistolary form for her feminist essay ''
Three Guineas ''Three Guineas'' is a book-length essay by Virginia Woolf, published in June 1938. Background Although ''Three Guineas'' is a work of non-fiction, it was initially conceived as a "novel–essay" which would tie up the loose ends left in her ...
'' (1938). *
C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univer ...
used the epistolary form for '' The Screwtape Letters'' (1942), and considered writing a companion novel from an
angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles ...
's point of view – though he never did so. It is less generally realized that his '' Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer'' (1964) is a similar exercise, exploring theological questions through correspondence addressed to a fictional recipient, "Malcolm", though this work may be considered a "novel" only loosely in that developments in Malcolm's personal life gradually come to light and impact the discussion. *
Thornton Wilder Thornton Niven Wilder (April 17, 1897 – December 7, 1975) was an American playwright and novelist. He won three Pulitzer Prizes — for the novel '' The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' and for the plays ''Our Town'' and '' The Skin of Our Teeth'' — ...
's fifth novel ''
Ides of March The Ides of March (; la, Idus Martiae, Late Latin: ) is the 74th day in the Roman calendar, corresponding to 15 March. It was marked by several religious observances and was notable in Rome as a deadline for settling debts. In 44 BC, it became ...
'' (1948) consists of letters and documents illuminating the last days of the Roman Republic. * Theodore Sturgeon's short novel '' Some of Your Blood'' (1961) consists of letters and case-notes relating to the psychiatric treatment of a non-supernatural vampire. *
Saul Bellow Saul Bellow (born Solomon Bellows; 10 July 1915 – 5 April 2005) was a Canadian-born American writer. For his literary work, Bellow was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the Nobel Prize for Literature, and the National Medal of Arts. He is the only w ...
's novel ''
Herzog ''Herzog'' (female ''Herzogin'') is a German hereditary title held by one who rules a territorial duchy, exercises feudal authority over an estate called a duchy, or possesses a right by law or tradition to be referred to by the ducal title. ...
'' (1964) is largely written in letter format. These are both real and imagined letters, written by the protagonist Moses Herzog to family members, friends, and celebrities. * '' Up the Down Staircase'' is a novel written by Bel Kaufman, published in 1965, which spent 64 weeks on the ''New York Times'' Best Seller list. In 1967 it was released as a movie starring Patrick Bedford, Sandy Dennis and Eileen Heckart. * Shūsaku Endō's novel ''Silence (Endō novel), Silence'' (1966) is an example of the epistolary form, half of which consists of letters from Rodrigues, the other half either in the third person or in letters from other persons. * Daniel Keyes's short story and novel ''Flowers for Algernon'' (1959, 1966) takes the form of a series of lab progress reports written by the main character as his treatment progresses, with his writing style changing correspondingly. * ''The Anderson Tapes'' (1969, 1970) by Lawrence Sanders is a novel primarily consisting of transcripts of tape recordings. * ''84, Charing Cross Road'' (1970, 1990) by Helene Hanff is the correspondence between Helene Hanff, a freelance writer living in New York City, and a used-book dealer working in London at Marks & Co. * ''Augustus (Williams novel), Augustus'' (1972) by John Edward Williams, John Williams is written in a series of letters, poems, journal entries, and other fragments. * Stephen King's novel ''Carrie (novel), Carrie'' (1974) is written in an epistolary structure through newspaper clippings, magazine articles, letters, and book excerpts. * Margaret Atwood's 1985 novel ''The Handmaid's Tale'' is revealed at the end to be a transcription of cassette tape recordings made by the story's protagonist. * Stephen King also used the epistolary style in his short story "Jerusalem's Lot", a prequel to his novel '''Salem's Lot, Salem's Lot'' that was first published in the collection ''Night Shift (short story collection), Night Shift''. * In John Barth's epistolary work ''LETTERS (novel), Letters'' (1979), the author interacts with characters from his other novels. * Alice Walker employed the epistolary form in ''The Color Purple'' (1982). The 1985 film adaptation echoes the form by incorporating into the script some of the novel's letters, which the actors deliver as monologues. * Octavia Butler's speculative fiction novels ''Parable of the Sower (novel), Parable of the Sower'' (1993) and ''Parable of the Talents (novel), Parable of the Talents'' (1998) are predominantly written as journal entries by the main character and protagonist, Lauren Olamina. * ''The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾'' (1982) by Sue Townsend is a comic novel in the form of a diary set in 1980s Britain. * Beverly Cleary’s ''Dear Mr. Henshaw'' is a juvenile novel that was awarded the Newbery Medal in 1984. * John Updike's ''S.'' (1988) is an epistolary novel consisting of the heroine's letters and transcribed audio recordings. * Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer's ''Patricia Wrede#Cecelia and Kate, Sorcery and Cecelia'' (1988) is an epistolary fantasy novel in a Regency era, Regency setting from the first-person perspectives of cousins Kate and Cecelia, who recount their adventures in magic and polite society. Unusually for modern fiction, it is written using the style of the letter game. * Edward Irving Wortis, Avi's young-adult novel ''Nothing but the Truth: A Documentary Novel, Nothing but the Truth'' (1991) uses only documents, letters, and conversation transcripts. * ''Last Words from Montmartre'' (1995) by Qiu Miaojin is a novel written in the form of twenty letters that can be read in any order. * ''Bridget Jones's Diary (novel), Bridget Jones's Diary'' (1996) by Helen Fielding is written in the form of a personal diary. * ''Last Days of Summer'' (1998) by Steve Kluger is written in a series of letters, telegrams, therapy transcripts, newspaper clippings, and baseball box scores. * ''The Perks of Being a Wallflower'' (1999) was written by Stephen Chbosky in the form of letters from an anonymous character to a secret role model of sorts. * ''Griffin and Sabine'' by artist Nick Bantock is a love story written as a series of hand-painted postcards and letters.


Twenty-first century

* ''The Whalestoe Letters'' (2000) by Mark Z. Danielewski is an epistolary
novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian ''novella'' meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) fact ...
and a companion piece to his debut novel ''House of Leaves''. It is written with letters from the protagonist's mother who lives in a mental institution. * Richard B. Wright's ''Clara Callan'' (2001) uses letters and journal entries to weave the story of a middle-aged woman in the 1930s. * ''Between Friends'' by Debbie Macomber (2001) tells the story of a lifelong friendship between Jillian Lawton and Lesley Adamski from the 1950s to the early 2000s, using a combination of letters (later becoming emails) and daily paraphernalia like a gas station receipt. * ''The Princess Diaries'' by Meg Cabot is a series of ten novels written in the form of diary entries. Cabot also used the epistolary form in ''The Boy Next Door (novel), The Boy Next Door'' (2002), a romantic comedy novel consisting entirely of e-mails sent among the characters. * Several of Gene Wolfe's novels are written in the forms of diaries, letters, or memoirs. * Mark Dunn's ''Ella Minnow Pea'' (2001) is a progressively lipogrammatic epistolary novel – the letters become increasingly more difficult to read as the lipogrammatic constraints are brought in, and this requires the reader to attempt to interpret what is being written. * ''La silla del águila'' ("The Eagle's Throne") by Carlos Fuentes (2003) is a political satire written as a series of letters between persons in high levels of the Mexican government in 2020. The epistolary format is treated by the author as a consequence of necessity: the United States impedes all telecommunications in Mexico as a retaliatory measure, leaving letters and smoke signals as the only possible methods of communication, particularly ironic given one character's observation that "Mexican politicians put nothing in writing." * ''We Need to Talk About Kevin'' (2003) is a monologic epistolary novel written as a series of letters from Eva, Kevin's mother, to her husband Franklin. * The 2004 novel ''Cloud Atlas (novel), Cloud Atlas'' by David Mitchell (author), David Mitchell tells a story in several time periods in a nested format, with some sections told in epistolary style, including an interview, journal entries and a series of letters. * ''Where Rainbows End'' (alternately titled ''Rosie Dunne'' or ''Love, Rosie'' in the United States) (2004), by Cecelia Ahern, is written in the form of letters, e-mails, instant messages, newspaper articles, etc. *''March (novel), March'' (2005) by Geraldine Brooks (writer), Geraldine Brooks, is a novel depicting the events of the protagonist's experiences during the American Civil War in 1862 through letters. * ''Uncommon Valour'' (2005) by John Stevens, the story of two naval officers in 1779, is primarily written in the form of diary and log extracts. * ''World War Z, World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War'' (2006), by Max Brooks, is a series of interviews from various survivors of a zombie apocalypse. *Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (novel), ''Salmon Fishing in the Yemen'' (2007) by Paul Torday, is a series of letters, e-mails, interview transcripts, newspaper articles and other non-narrative media. * ''Diary of a Wimpy Kid'' (2007), by Jeff Kinney (writer), Jeff Kinney, is a series of fiction books written in the form a diary, including hand-written notes and cartoon drawings. * ''The White Tiger (Adiga novel), The White Tiger'' (2008) by Aravind Adiga, winner of the 40th Man Booker Prize in 2008, is a novel in the form of letters written by an Indian villager to the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. * ''The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society'' (2008), by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, is written as a series of letters and telegraphs sent and received by the protagonist. * ''A Visit from the Goon Squad'' (2010) by Jennifer Egan has parts which are epistolary in nature. One chapter is written as a report of a celebrity interview, and another as a Microsoft PowerPoint, PowerPoint presentation. * ''Super Sad True Love Story'' (2010) by Gary Shteyngart. * ''Why We Broke Up'' (2011) by Daniel Handler, illustrated by Maira Kalman. * ''The Martian (Weir novel), The Martian'', by Andy Weir, is written as a collection of video journal entries for each Martian day (sol) by the protagonist on Mars, and sometimes by main characters on Earth and on the space station ''Hermes''. * ''Adrian Plass, The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass Aged 37 '' is one of a series of books written by Adrian Plass, this one consisting entirely of diary entries. Another consists of transcripts of tapes, yet another consists of letters. * ''Illuminae'', by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufmann, is told exclusively through a series of classified documents, censored emails, interviews, and others. * ''Dear Committee Members'' (2014) by Julie Schumacher is a novel composed entirely through letters of recommendation. *''On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous'' (2019) by Ocean Vuong, written in the form of a letter from a Vietnamese American son to his illiterate mother. *''This Is How You Lose the Time War'' (2019) by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone, written in the form of correspondences between two opposing time-traveling secret agents.


See also

* Epistolography * Epistolary poem * Found footage (film technique) * Letter collection * List of contemporary epistolary novels * List of fictional diaries


Footnotes


External links

* BBC Radio 4's 15 March 2007 edition of ''In Our Times''
"Epistolary Literature"
Hosted by Melvyn Bragg. {{DEFAULTSORT:Epistolary Novel Epistolary novels, Literary genres Narratology