Epistolary novels, or novels writing in letter form, are mt favorite kind of genre. I feel a deep connection to the characters, get transported into another time and place and feel that deep-rooted desire to write old-fashioned letters return at an all time high. Here’s a list of my favorite epistolary novels sure to send you to the stationary store! Together, we’ll revive the art of letter-writing!
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The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society Paperback by Mary Ann Shaffer
Can I tell you something? When I turned the last page….I hugged this book. Yes, I literally hugged it.
The book chronicles the lives of multiple people living on the Island of Guernsey. It centers around Juliet, a writer living in London, and the letters she received and writes to people she’s never met, yet is connected to by the love of books and each other. I felt fiercely connected to these characters, could imagine each of them writing their respective letters and could literally see their stories unfolding and intertwining on the page.
Love & Saffron: A Novel of Friendship, Food, and Love by Kim Fay
This epistolary novel will have you yearning to break out your old-fashioned note cards and get writing. I promise. It all begins when Joan, a young aspiring writer writes to her long-time mentor, Imogene with gratitude for her inspiration and a pouch of saffron as a token of her appreciation. This single letter starts a long distance friendship bound by their love of words and delicious food. Their new connection helps them experience new ideas and flavors and opens their eyes to new possibilities in their own lives, too. Joan said it best: the less we cement ourselves to our certainties, the fuller our lives can be. This book showcased how we can do just that through writing, food, friendship and love.
Dear Sister by: Alison McGhee
This was a delightfully graphic book that I devoured in a single sitting. Told from the perspective of an older (and reluctant!) brother, each page reveals a letter written to his younger sister over the course of their childhoods. From her first day home to his last day home before heading to college, McGhee beautifully captures the complexity of sibling relationships in letter format. I laughed. I cried. And I opened my notebook. Inspired by the format, I started writing letters to my younger self and to my children at different phases of their life. Oh, how I wished I would have started this years ago as I am pretty choked up at the legacy of love these letters could leave behind.
84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
This is a delightful little book full of letters from a writer in New York to a bookseller and his family in London. This book reminded me The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Annie Barrows and I enjoyed getting to know each letter-writer as their relationships deepened over time. While I didn’t get the happy ending I’m always hoping for, I did get a reminder of the power of handwritten letters and why we should never wait too long to answer a calling of the heart.
