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:

Author Title of Work Year Format Other Comments
Ahern, Cecilia Where Rainbows End 2006 E-mail
Avi Nothing But the Truth 1991 Dialogue transcripts, telephone conversations, letters, telegrams, diary entries and memos
Bâ, Mariama Une si longue lettre (So Long a Letter) 1980 Considered a classical statement of the female condition in Africa
Bantock, Nick Griffin and Sabine: An Extraordinary Correspondence 1991 A series of letters and postcards
Baratier, David In It What's in It
Barth, John LETTERS 1979 Letters from seven writers, some addressed to the "author", plus one will codicil
Beaumont, Matt e 2000 E-mail
Bull, Emma and Steven Brust Freedom and Necessity 1997 Letters and diary entries
Cary, Cate Bloodline 2005 Letters, diary entries, newspaper articles, etc A sequel to Dracula and thus mimicks the writing format of Bram Stoker's classic novel.
Chbosky, Stephen The Perks of Being a Wallflower 1999 Letters to a friend who is never mentioned.
Cleary, Beverly Dear Mr. Henshaw Letters and diary entries
Crumey, Andrew Mr Mee 2001
Dunn, Mark Ella Minnow Pea 2001
Ibid: A Life 2004
For Ilford Dyson, I Hope You Find This [1] 2006-? Blog Shows how the blog format has now created a sub-genre of epistolary novel. This blog is an on-going work of fiction, where the main character addresses his blog to a friend of his late father.
Frayn, Michael The Trick of It 1989
Johnson, Kij The Fox Woman Extracts from diaries
Bel Kaufman Up the Down Staircase 1965 memos, notes dropped in the trash can, student papers, lesson plans, notes from students, and letters to a friend from college, A classic mid-60's 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? 2005 Email Novelisation of the author's Financial Times column featuring Martin Lukes. Most emails are from Lukes himself, so the reader deduces the content of mails he is replying to.
Keyes, Daniel Flowers for Algernon 1966 Journal An expanded version of Keyes' 1959 short story of the same name. This book is the journal of mentally-retarded 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.
King, Stephen Carrie 1976 Traditional narrative fused with journal articles, interviews, AP ticker reports, and court transcripts.
The Plant 2000 The story is told through various letters, memos and etceteras.
Kluger, Steve Last Days of Summer 1998 Letters, 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 2004 The 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.
Lucas, Tim The Book of Renfield 2005 Diary entries, dialogue transcriptions A book about the character of Renfield from Dracula and thus mimics the format of the novel. Excerpts from Stoker's novel are integrated into the plot.
Martel, Yann "Manners of Dying" (short story) Letter The 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.
Monteilhet, Hubert Les Mantes Religieuses (The Praying Mantises) 1960 Made into a BBC television film in 1982
Le Retour des Cendres (Return From the Ashes) 1962 Made into a film starring Maximilian Schell in 1965
Nabokov, Vladimir Ada
Nieves, Luis López Voltaire's Heart (Spanish) 2005 E-mail
Oz, Amos Black Box 1986
Parks, Tim Home Thoughts 1999
Payne, C.D. Youth In Revolt Journal entries
Priest, Christopher The Prestige 1995 Letters and diary entries
Randall, Bob The Fan 1977 Letters and telegrams
Rushton, Rosie and Nina Schindler P.S. He's Mine! 2001 E-mail
Salinger, J.D. Short stories about the Glass family Letters
Shriver, Lionel "We Need to Talk About Kevin 2003 Letters This book is comprised of letters from Eva, the mother of the boy in the title, to her husband.
Sayers, Dorothy L. and Robert Eustace The Documents in the Case 1930 Letters from a variety of characters and a few police statements Some of the letters contradict each other, requiring the reader to decide which characters are more trustworthy.
Snicket, Lemony The Beatrice Letters 2006 Letters and Notes The 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.
Smith, Lee Fair and Tender Ladies Letters
Steadman, Carl "Two Solitudes" 1995 E-mail
Stevermer, Caroline and Patricia Wrede Sorcery and Cecelia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot 1988 Letters
The Grand Tour 2004 Diary extracts and testimony
The Mislaid Magician or Ten Years After 2006 Letters
Tanizaki, Jun'ichirō Kagi 1956 Diary entries Made into the film 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 series Diary entries
Walker, Alice The Color Purple 1983 Letters and diary entries
Wittig, Rob Blue Company 2001 E-mail