List of contemporary epistolary novels

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An epistolary novel tells its story through correspondence, letters, telegrams, and the like. Here are some examples of contemporary epistolary novels:

AuthorTitle of WorkYearFormatOther Comments
Adiga, Aravind The White Tiger 2008LettersWritten as a series of letters to "His Excellency Wen Jiabao, The Premier's Office, Beijing"
Ahern, Cecelia Where Rainbows End 2006E-mail, letters, and notes
Ahern, Cecelia Love, Rosie2005Letters and emails
Atkins, Tracy R. Aeternum Ray 2012LettersA series of letters chronicling an immortal man's life from 1979 to 2216, forming a post-technological-singularity memoir
Avi Nothing But the Truth 1991Dialogue transcripts, telephone conversations, letters, telegrams, diary entries, and memos
Bâ, Mariama Une si longue lettre ( So Long a Letter )1980Considered a classical statement of the female condition in Africa
Bantock, Nick Griffin and Sabine: An Extraordinary Correspondence 1991A series of postcards and letters inside envelopesOriginally the first book in a trilogy, The Griffin and Sabine Saga , Bantock wrote another trilogy in the same format to extend the story in The Morning Star Trilogy
Barth, John LETTERS 1979Letters from seven writers, some addressed to the "author", plus one will codicil
Bauer, Wolfgang The Feverhead 1967Letters of two friends that cross all the time, ending in a mise en abyme
Beaumont, Matt e 2000E-mail
Bellow, Saul Herzog 1964LettersReal and imagined letters written by the protagonist Moses E. Herzog to family members, friends, and celebrities
Berger, John From A to X: A Story in Letters 2008LettersLetters from A'ida to her imprisoned insurgent lover, Xavier
Brooks, Geraldine March 2005Letters
Bull, Emma and Steven Brust Freedom and Necessity 1997Letters and diary entries
Butler, Octavia E. Parable of the Sower 1993Diary entries
Butler, Octavia E. Parable of the Talents 1998Diary entries
Cabot, MegThe Boy Next Door (Boy, #1)2002EmailsFirst in series of four books.
Cabot, MegBoy Meets Girl (Boy, #2)2004Emails, letters
Cabot, MegEvery Boy's Got One (Boy, #3)2005Emails, letters, journal entries
Cabot, MegThe Boy is Back (Boy, #4)2016Texts, emails, journal entries
Card, Orson Scott Ender's Shadow Saga 1999emailsEach chapter begins with a correspondence between two characters with limited context, then segues into traditional narrative
Cary, Kate Bloodline 2005Letters, diary entries, and newspaper articlesA sequel to Dracula and thus mimicks the writing format of Bram Stoker's classic novel
Chbosky, Stephen The Perks of Being a Wallflower 1999Letters
Chrostowska, SD Permission2013one-way correspondence
Cleary, Beverly Dear Mr. Henshaw 1983Letters and diary entries
Coady, Lynn The Antagonist 2011Monologic epistolary novel conveyed through increasingly unanswered email messages
Comeau, Joey Overqualified 2009Job application letters
Coupland, Douglas Microserfs 1995Diary entries maintained on a PowerBook
The Gum Thief 2007Journal entries, letters, e-mails, writing exercises, and one work memo
Crumey, Andrew Mr Mee 2001
Danielewski, Mark Z. House of Leaves 2000Fictional manuscript, letters, editorial footnotes, appendices, fictional interviews
de Sade, Marquis Aline and Valcour 1795Letters
Patrick Sheane Duncan Dracula vs. Hitler 2016Fictional author's note, manuscripts, war dispatches
Dunn, Mark Ella Minnow Pea 2001
Ibid: A Life 2004
Echenique, Alfredo Bryce Tarzan's Tonsillitis 2001First person narrative with letters
El-Mohtar, Amal and Max Gladstone This Is How You Lose the Time War 2019Communicated as letters, however the modalities are science fiction and not literal letters.
Elton, Ben Inconceivable 1999Diary entries.Dialogic comedic novel about a couple trying to conceive. They each write their thoughts as a form of therapy to help them in this goal.
Fielding, Helen Bridget Jones's Diary 1996Diary entries
Frayn, Michael The Trick of It 1989
Fuentes, Carlos La silla del águila (The Eagle's Throne)2002Letters and diary entriesWritten as a series of letters between high-ranking officials in the Mexican government and persons aspiring to high office. The letters are being written (in 2020) because all telecommunications in Mexico have been disabled by the United States.
Glattauer, Daniel Gut gegen Nordwind (German)2006EmailE-mail correspondence between a man and a woman who fall in love despite never meeting
Hall, Katie and Bogen Jones The Closeness That Separates Us 2013E-mailsA dramatic love story across conventional and country borders between Lena and Ed, almost exclusively written as an exchange of e-mails between the two protagonists.
Handler, Daniel Why We Broke Up 2011A letterIllustrated by Maira Kalman
Hanff, Helene 84 Charing Cross Road 1970LettersBook, later made into a stage play and film, about the twenty-year correspondence between Hanff and Frank Doel, chief buyer of Marks & Co, antiquarian booksellers located at the eponymous address in London
Ives, David Voss2009Letters
Johnson, Kij The Fox Woman 1999Extracts from diaries
Jones, Hunter S September Ends 2013Diary entries, emails, chat rooms, an experimental pre-Pinterest board, letters, and poetry
Kaufman, Amie; Kristoff, Jay Illuminae (Illuminae Files, #1)2015Reports, emails, texts, audio transcriptsFirst in series of three books.
Kaufman, Amie; Kristoff, JayGemina (Illuminae Files, #2)2016Reports, emails, texts, audio transcripts
Kaufman, Amie; Kristoff, JayObsidio (Illuminae Files, #3)2018Reports, emails, texts, audio transcripts
Kaufman, Bel Up the Down Staircase 1965memos, notes dropped in the trash can, student papers, lesson plans, notes from students, and letters to a friend from collegeA classic mid-1960s portrayal of an urban high school that is a microcosm of the New York City school system that was also made into a film
Kellaway, Lucy Who Moved My Blackberry?2005EmailNovelisation of the author's Financial Times column featuring Martin Lukes. Most emails are from Lukes himself, so the reader deduces the content of emails he is replying to.
Keyes, Daniel Flowers for Algernon 1966JournalAn expanded version of Keyes' 1959 short story of the same name. This book is the journal of mentally disabled janitor, Charlie Gordon, who temporarily becomes a super-genius during a medical experiment. Through changes in grammar and style, Charlie's mental rise and fall are presented.
Kimball, Michael Dear Everybody 2008Letters, diary entries, and newspaper articlesThe unsent letters of Jonathon Bender, detailing his thoughts from 1966 to 1999
King, Stephen Carrie 1976Traditional narrative fused with journal articles, interviews, AP ticker reports, and court transcripts
The Plant 2000The story is told through various letters, and memosUnfinished
Kluger, Steve Last Days of Summer 1998Letters, postcards, progress reports, and newspaper clippings.A series of letters during the 1940s between a twelve-year-old and a rookie baseball player
Almost Like Being in Love 2004The story is told primarily through diary entries, newspaper clippings, office documents, letters, e-mails, menus, Post-It notes and checklists, with only minor reliance on narrative.
Kostova, Elizabeth The Historian 2005LettersLetters, excerpts from books and academic literature, and the narrator's reconstructions of stories told to her by her father.
Pierre Choderlos de Laclos Les Liaisons dangereuses 1782LettersA 1782 French novel 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 shortly before the French Revolution). The book is composed entirely of letters written by the various characters to each other.
Lardner, Ring You Know Me Al1916LettersLardner's first successful book; written by "Jack Keefe", a bush league baseball player, to a friend back home
Lessing, Doris Shikasta 1979Letters and reportsPresented as reports on the state of Earth's inhabitants, to a space-faring bureaucratic civilization, authored by one of their own members - Johor, the novel's narrator/protagonist—who incarnates into society to live among humans across several lifetimes in various eras of history. Part 1 of a 5-novel cycle Canopus in Argos: Archives .
Lewis, C. S. The Screwtape Letters 1942LettersLetters from a senior demon to his nephew, a junior tempter, on how to tempt humans into sin, and how to contain the damage when things go wrong (i.e., the target human resists temptation or turns to God).
Lethal, Mac Texts from Bennett 2013Text messages"A family story for the twenty-first century, based on the phenomenally popular Texts from Bennett Tumblr blog, this epistolary novel chronicles the year that Bennett and the rest of his freeloading family moved into his cousin Mac's household" through text messages exchanged between Mac and his cousin Bennett.
Llewellyn, David Eleven 2006EmailEmails sent on a single day, between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Lucas, Tim The Book of Renfield 2005Diary entries, dialogue transcriptionsA book about the character of Renfield from Dracula and thus mimics the format of the novel. Excerpts from Bram Stoker's novel are integrated into the plot
Marsden, John Letters from the Inside (Young Adult novel)1991LetterThe story is told in the form of letters exchanged between 15-year-old girls, Mandy and Tracey, who begin writing after Tracey places an ad in fictional magazine GDY
Martel, Yann "Manners of Dying" (short story)1993LetterThe book is presented as a set of different variants of an official letter that a warden writes to a mother of an executed prisoner named Kevin Barlow. In each letter both the exact details of Kevin's execution and the warden's reaction vary slightly
Mitchell, David Cloud Atlas 2004Journal, letter, books (thriller, autobiography), interview transcript, oral historyNested narrative set across various time periods with each manuscript being 'read' at some point by the next narrator. Made into a film in 2012.
Monteilhet, Hubert Les Mantes Religieuses ( The Praying Mantises )1960Made into a BBC television film in 1982
Le Retour des Cendres ( Return From the Ashes )1962Made into a film starring Maximilian Schell in 1965
Morrison, Rodger The My Dearest Letters2003Historical LettersThe book is presented as a set of love letters from a man, William, to a girl he meets on the street, Anne. Set in Antebellum New England, the book follows their developing love for each other in a very formal society. This work is monological with embedded poetry with both romantic and religious overtones.
Nabokov, Vladimir Ada 1969
Nieves, Luis López Voltaire's Heart (Spanish)2005E-mail
Nothomb, Amélie Life Form 2010LettersFictional correspondence between the author and a U.S. soldier, reflects on how writing creates reality.
Oz, Amos Black Box 1986
Parks, Tim Home Thoughts 1999
Payne, C. D. Youth in Revolt 1993Journal entries
Perlman, Fredy Letters of Insurgents 1976LettersDeals with anarchist themes and relationships
Priest, Christopher The Prestige 1995Letters and diary entries
Priest, Christopher The Islanders 2011Gazetteer
Randall, Bob The Fan 1977Letters and telegramsDeals with the subject of stalking, but was written years before it became a criminal offense; the title character, Douglas Breen, is shown, in his letters, to be an unreliable narrator and an erotomaniac who turns the blame for things he does onto others
Rieger, SusanThe Divorce Papers2014Emails, newspaper articles, court documents, fictional laws, letters, and internal documents from the firm
Rice, Luane and Joseph Monninger The Letters 2008Letters
Rushton, Rosie and Nina Schindler P.S. He's Mine! 2001E-mail
Saint, H. F. Memoirs of an Invisible Man 1987Narrative manuscriptThis entire novel is put forth as a letter or manuscript, the first-person narrative of the author/protagonist, written down and left for someone to find, to learn of what has befallen him
Salinger, J. D. Short stories about the Glass family 1953, 1961, 1963Letters
Sayers, Dorothy L. and Robert Eustace The Documents in the Case 1930Letters and police statementsSome of the letters contradict each other, requiring the reader to decide which characters are more trustworthy
Shklovsky, Viktor Zoo, or Letters Not About Love 1923Correspondence with Elsa Triolet
Shriver, Lionel We Need to Talk About Kevin 2003LettersThis book consists of letters from Eva, the mother of Kevin, to her husband Franklin
Shteyngart, Gary Super Sad True Love Story 2010Diary entries and digital communication recordsThe book takes alternating narratives through protagonist Lenny Abramov's diary and his love interest's "GlobalTeens" account (an instant messaging technology)
Smith, Lee Fair and Tender Ladies 1988Letters
Snicket, Lemony The Beatrice Letters 2006Letters and notesThe book is obviously meant to be humorous while at the same time explaining some of the mysteries surrounding the Baudelaires. The letters are between Lemony and Beatrice. Several of the letters (mostly from Lemony Snicket) tend to be very long and rambling; one goes on about his love for Beatrice for four pages. As in The Unauthorized Autobiography pictures and letters allow readers to guess about the author's life.
Steadman, Carl Two Solitudes1995E-mail
Stephenson, Neal and Nicole GallandThe Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O.2017Diaries, emails, internal blog posts, government memos, handwritten notes, translations, Wikipedia entries
Stevermer, Caroline and Patricia Wrede Sorcery and Cecelia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot 1988Letters"Being the Correspondence of Two Young Ladies of Quality Regarding Various Magical Scandals in London and the Country" (set in a Regency England where magic works)
The Grand Tour 2004Diary extracts and testimony"Being a Revelation of Matters of High Confidentiality and Greatest Importance, Including Extracts from the Intimate Diary of a Noblewoman and the Sworn Testimony of a Lady of Quality" (immediate sequel to the work above)
The Mislaid Magician or Ten Years After 2006Letters"Being the Private Correspondence Between Two Prominent Families Regarding a Scandal Touching the Highest Levels of Government and the Security of the Realm" (takes place ten years after the previous two books)
Tanizaki, Jun'ichirō Kagi 1956Diary entriesMade into the films Odd Obsession (1960) starring Machiko Kyō and Tatsuya Nakadai, and La Chiave in 1983 by Tinto Brass, starring Frank Finlay and Stefania Sandrelli
Townsend, Sue Adrian Mole series1982–2009Diary entries
Wachs, Joseph Alan and Jason Alan Franzen Treehouse: A Found E-mail Love Affair 2009E-mail, iPhone appA series of five iPhone apps by the design firm FORMation that present a set of emails allegedly found when restoring a corrupted hard drive
Walker, Alice The Color Purple 1983Letters and diary entries
Webster, Jean Daddy-Long-Legs 1912Letters following introductory narrativeAn anonymous benefactor sponsors the college education of an orphan girl, Jerusha (Judy) Abbott, with the provision she write him every month
Dear Enemy 1915LettersSallie McBride, the college roommate of Judy Abbott of "Daddy-Long-Legs", is appointed superintendent of the John Grier Home, where Judy was brought up. She writes about her doings to Judy, Judy's husband (now the president of the orphanage), and the Scotsman Robin (Sandy) McRae (the "Dear Enemy" of the title) who is the orphanage's doctor.
Wharton, Thomas Every Blade of Grass 2014Letters interspersed with narrative and imagesA man and woman who live a continent apart write letters to one another about their discoveries of the wonders of nature
Brooks, Max World War Z 2006Collection of individual accountsNarrated by an agent of the United Nations Postwar Commission after a zombie plague

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Epistolary novel</span> Novel written as a series of letters

An epistolary novel is a novel 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 clippings, and sometimes considered to include novels composed of documents even if they do not include letters at all. More recently, epistolaries may include electronic documents such as recordings and radio, blog posts, and e-mails. The word epistolary is derived from Latin from the Greek word ἐπιστολή, epistolē, meaning a letter (see epistle). In German, this type of novel is known as a Briefroman.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samuel Richardson</span> English writer and printer (1689–1761)

Samuel Richardson was an English writer and printer known for three epistolary novels: Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded (1740), Clarissa: Or the History of a Young Lady (1748) and The History of Sir Charles Grandison (1753). He printed almost 500 works, including journals and magazines, working periodically with the London bookseller Andrew Millar. Richardson had been apprenticed to a printer, whose daughter he eventually married. He lost her along with their six children, but remarried and had six more children, of which four daughters reached adulthood, leaving no male heirs to continue the print shop. As it ran down, he wrote his first novel at the age of 51 and joined the admired writers of his day. Leading acquaintances included Samuel Johnson and Sarah Fielding, the physician and Behmenist George Cheyne, and the theologian and writer William Law, whose books he printed. At Law's request, Richardson printed some poems by John Byrom. In literature, he rivalled Henry Fielding; the two responded to each other's literary styles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Epistle</span> Letter written for a didactic purpose

An epistle 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 part of the scribal-school writing curriculum. The letters in the New Testament from Apostles to Christians are usually referred to as epistles. Those traditionally attributed to Paul are known as Pauline epistles and the others as catholic epistles.

<i>Les Liaisons dangereuses</i> 1782 epistolary novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Betje Wolff</span>

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<i>LETTERS</i>

LETTERS is an epistolary novel by the American writer John Barth, published in 1979. It consists of a series of letters in which Barth and the characters of his other books interact.

<i>The Book of Renfield</i> 2005 novel by Tim Lucas

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<i>Mémoires de deux jeunes mariées</i> 1841 novel by Honoré de Balzac

Mémoires de deux jeunes mariées is an epistolary novel by the French writer Honoré de Balzac. It was serialized in the French newspaper La Presse in 1841 and published by Furne in 1842 as the first work in the second volume of Balzac's La Comédie humaine. It was dedicated to the French novelist George Sand. The first English translation of the novel appeared in 1902, with a preface by Henry James.

Found footage is a cinematic technique in which all or a substantial part of the work is presented as if it were discovered film or video recordings. The events on screen are typically seen through the camera of one or more of the characters involved, often accompanied by their real-time, off-camera commentary. For added realism, the cinematography may be done by the actors themselves as they perform, and shaky camera work and naturalistic acting are routinely employed. The footage may be presented as if it were "raw" and complete or as if it had been edited into a narrative by those who "found" it.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Letter collection</span>

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Dracula Daily is a free subscription newsletter that sends Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula to subscribers via email. The epistolary novel takes place within a single calendar year, from May 3 to November 7. Accordingly, Dracula Daily sends a respective portion of the novel for each day. Some days have no email, as there is no corresponding content in the novel, though the entirety of the novel is ultimately transmitted. The newsletter first ran in 2021 and 2022, and is currently running in 2023.