Elizabeth sent me an email asking about epistolary romances – romances told in the format of letters:
I was wondering if there have ever been any successful epistolatory romance novels, or really any romances that play with form beyond telling the story in the first person. I have read first person narrative romances, but they didn't seem to work as well as standard third person storytelling. Perhaps the third person narrative is a core generic convention? Does anyone care about this besides me?
I had to think about it after I read her email. I know of two that are told via email exchanges nearly entirely, but epitolary romances were harder to think of. There are some with strong romantic elements – or mild romantic elements – including some of my favorite books, but I wouldn't call them “romances” per se.
Several pieces of classic literature are epistolary, though in terms of defining romances that use this structure, I am sticking with the more modern (contemporary? recent?) concept of the romance novel. That said, according to the Wikipedia article, “It is thought that her lost novel “First Impressions”, which was redrafted to become Pride and Prejudice, 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.”
For example, here are some epistolary novels that are romances, or that may appeal to the romance reader:
PO Box Love by Paola Calvetti ( A | BN | K | S )
This book, according to the promotional materials I received, was a big ol' hit in Europe, but when I tried to read it, I was unable to really become absorbed in the story. It's told via some exchanges of letters, and some narration, and is about a bookshop owner in Milan named Emma, who specialises in romance novels. My kind of lady!
The people I know who have read this book and loved it were enchanted with the language and pace of the novel. Because so much of the novel focuses on bygone habits, like writing long letters – on paper, with a pen! – they loved the feeling of timelessness about it. I wasn't, alas, able to get into it, but when Elizabeth asked about novels told via letter writing, this one popped into my mind first.
The Boy Next Door by Meg Cabot ( A | BN | K | S )
This book is told entirely via email. The whole thing – and it's very funny. I liked this book a lot, including, as I wrote in my review of “Goodnight Tweetheart,” (which is partially told in tweets) “the weird part where the villain is running down the stairs and the heroine is on her laptop in the stairwell typing that the villain is running down the stairs. OMG… pick your laptop up and run, girl!”
Via Goodreads: “Gossip columnist and single New York City girl Mel lives lives in the most exciting place in the world, yet she's bored with her lovelife. But things get interesting fast when the old lady next door is nearly murdered. Mel starts paying closer attention to her neighbors—what exactly is going on with the cute boy next door? Has Mel found the love of her life—or a killer?“
It's not solely a romance, but it's a fun book to read. This is one of those stories that's very easy to drop into without meaning to. If I pick up my copy, I read a page, then suddenly it's an hour later and I'm still reading. Oops.
Rocki St. Claire's Hit Reply ( A | BN | K | S ) is also told through email and IM, and features a several characters reconnecting through a Classmates.com-style website.
There are also books like Bridget Jones's Diary, which are told in diary entries – not quite letters. The benefit of an epistolary story for me is when there are multiple writers so I experience multiple points of view. For that reason, 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff ( A | BN | K | S) and Love Letters by AR Gurney are two of my favorite works. The first is a novel, and the second is a play. I was stage manager for a production of Love Letters in college. Even though I had to see the play about 15 to 20 times start to finish, it never got old for me, and I cried at the end every time. And I can't forget The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society ( A | BN | K | S ) by Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Shaffer, another book with a romantic theme, also told in letters.
What have I forgotten? I'm sure it's a considerable list. What epistolary romances or romantic stories would you recommend as must-reads, and why?
I would like to third or ?fourth Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, I loved, loved, LOVED that book. The way the letters reveal enough of the characters for the reader to be able to see what was happening before the characters themselves realised it was beautifully done.
Have not read it yet, but IN THE BAG by Kate Klise is told entirely thru e-mails—reviewers on Amazon have suggested it as a great beach read and a fast fun read. It portrays a romance between an older couple and a teenage couple.
I have read some of Klise’s children’s books (ages 8 and up) and most of them are told using e-mails, letters, newspaper articles, memos, faxes, notes, etc. My favorite is REGARDING THE FOUNTAIN. Her books have received great reviews from Kirkus and School Library Journal.
This was the first book I thought of – it’s excellent! Not truly epistolary as it includes Post-It notes, emails, journal entries, and faxes, but I suppose it’s the modern equivalent.
There’s an excellent series by Nan McCarthy, published in the late 90s—Chat is the first book. Followed by Connect and then the last book is Crash.
There’s also the Griffin and Sabine Trilogy by Nick Bantock—which can be considered a love story told in very beautiful, very artsy letters and postcards.
I also wanted to recommend Freedom and Necessity. I adore this book – and I never would have thought I’ll adore a book with Engels in it! Heh.
(no, Engels is not a romantic protagonist, just a friend)
The book has four narrators, all with distinctive voices – and two fantastic romances, but the faux-19 century style is a bit a hurdle.
Evelina by Fanny Burney. And Love Virtually by Daniel Glattauer. (I didn’t like it, but many of my friends just loved it.)
Someone already mentioned Griffin and Sabine – I was racking my brain trying to remember the title. It’s an odd, odd book (trilogy actually) – it’s more about the illustrations (there are removable postcards and letters) than the story, but it is a romance told through letters and I think it’s worth looking at, if only for the pretty pictures.
And I have to mention Up the Down Staircase by Bel Kaufman – not at all a romance (iirc) but it’s a fun story about an idealistic young teacher’s first year in an inner city public high school and it’s told mostly through notes, letters, school newsletters etc – all the ways people wrote to each other in the 1960s.
What a great blog post. I’ve read very few romances involving letter writing, but one that really worked for me was Love in the Afternoon by Lisa Kleypas. I was bowled over by Kleypas’s skill in crafting the letters that dominate the first half of the book.
Melissa
Gurnsey literary and potato peel pie society! maybe not a true romance but a love story.
Like Nicolette, I also thought of _Possession: A Romance_ by AS Byatt, my favorite author (even though it’s not entirely epistolary). As a long-time popular romance reader, I was thrilled to read that Byatt is a Georgette Heyer fan! Byatt wrote: “I had read every word of Georgette Heyer. I was a secret, illegal member of two circulating libraries to get more of her books.” (“Georgette Heyer Is a Better Novelist Than You Think,” _Nova_, August 1969.)
How about Dangerous Liaisons? A true historical romance written in letters (1782). Translated from French, I found it very readable. I also loved Sorcery and Cecelia but could not think of the name. Thanks to so many I now know it and the 2 sequels. Cool.
Totally, utterly Les Liaisons Dangeureues/Dangerous Liaisons. I wrote a paper in college about its epistolary structure and how it grants what would normally be the two “victim” characters (Madame Tourvel and Cecile) a status closer to “protagonist” by letting the reader see what they’re thinking and feeling, rather than just viewing them through the admittedly skewed perspectives of Valmont and the Marquise.
Here’s some STA: Richardson’s Pamela. That is some horrible, horrible crap. I recommend fleeing if anyone ever tries to get you to read it—unless you like storylines with repeated rape attempts and a heroine who is “rewarded” for her virtue by being married to her would-be rapist.
Yes, yes, yes – one of my favorites and while not a true romance it does have the flavour of one
I’ve never tooted my own horn but my writing partner CL McCullough and I wrote a novel called The Bodice Rippers which is told all in emails. It’s also full of purple prose, ridiculous theories and one case of malicious vomiting. It was the most fun I ever had writing because we refused to be serious and tried to trip each other up throughout the writing.
Sorcery and Cecilia was wonderful. My favorite book of letters is A Friendship by Dan Rowan and John D McDonald. It isn’t a love story but two men creating a friendship and the difficulties in remaining friends when a marriage ends. It’s on my forever shelf.
I completely agree. I loved the e-mail exchanges in 50 Shades, and I’ve Got Your Number was so charming. It hooked me on Kinsella.
The first true popular romance, of course, was Samuel Richardson’s Pamela which was also, interestingly enough, an epistolary tale. The narrative was a collection of mails mostly to or from Pamela with her diary entries. Of course, epistolary novels understandably change as mail changes: emails, texts, etc. Such fun!
“A Candle for D’Artagnan” by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro. Mostly epistolary. No HEA. I couldn’t finish it. But that said, Yarbro’s Saint-Germain series has to be included among the best historical novels written (with some of the most erotic discreet sex ever written). Her primary interest is in the historical lives of women and she does her homework. The romantic element is always strong and perhaps especially so in “D’Artagnan” (who is based on the historical man rather than on any of the many characters based on him). Saint-Germain (who is not a primary character in this novel) is the ur-vampire-hero, and Olivia Clemens (the heroine here) is his more than worthy protege. In the midst of the insanity of Louis XIII’s court and the machinations of Cardinal Richelieu Olivia finds the love of her long life in D’Artagnan.
From the reviews I gather that those who liked this book at all really loved it, and (from one) that the editing was not as good as it should have been—though taking its 1989 publication date into account I doubt it compares that badly to the current failures in this regard.
P.S. I Love You by Frances Davies (an old Harlequin Temptation, with a non-leprechaun Irish setting)
@cleo I had totally forgotten about Up the Down Staircase! That and A Woman of Independent Means were some of the first epistolary novels I ever read, and I can’t even remember if I enjoyed them. Looks like it’s reread time.
@dreadpiraterachel The only redeeming thing about Pamela is the Fielding satires, and that doesn’t even matter, I still wish I could unread that book. It makes me angry just thinking about it.
Another recommend here for “Freedom & Necessity” by Steven Brust & Emma Bull. One of the best books I have ever read.
“Which brings me to you” by Steve Almond is a non-traditional love story in letters. In Karen Ranney’s “Till Next We Meet”, the letters set the stage for an amazing romance.
Wow, thanks everyone! I can’t wait to check these out. There are so many, when I wasn’t sure if there were any at all! I knew The Bitchery would come through.
I think there’s great difficulty for a romance novel to pull off the epistolary form, because the genre relies so much on overtness and action. And, for the people to get it on, haha. But, basically, correspondence is too cerebral, and more importantly, it’s all too “tell.” [I find my own thoughts odd, given that, say, regencies could thrive on an epistolary experiment. But, shrug.]
Romantic novels, however, have better chances of succeeding, although there’s a danger of falling into kitsch for some reason. That said, a novel I read a while back is structured as an email thread between two strangers, and I just rolled around feeling all giddy. It’s LOVE VIRTUALLY, by John Glattauer, translated from the German. The title is really hokey, yes, haha, but I liked it a lot. http://silverfysh.wordpress.co…
I’ve never thought about it before but I’ll definitely be picking up some of these books. Especially the one where the girl is typing instead of running. That one sounds like a hoot.
Okay, it’s definitely NOT romance (although there is a couple who I hope get a mostly HEA), but for an awesome recent epistolary book, I’ve got to recommend Code Name Verity. A captured female British spy writes about her best friend, a female pilot, to buy time before the Nazis kill her. It’s heartbreaking and totally amazing.
What about the Pink Carnation series by Lauren Willig? They don’t read like letters, but the narrative is based on letters, notes, journals, etc….
Connie Brockway has one called My Dearest Enemy that’s significantly told with letters. I remember enjoying it.
I almost recommended Code Name Verity because it was one of the most moving novels I read this year, but held back because it’s not a romance. Nonetheless, I agree with you that it’s heartbreaking, totally amazing, and should be read.
Chiming in to say that I personally prefer “Dear Enemy” to “Daddy Long Legs,” not least because it actually has the quite subversive notion that true love INVOLVES allowing your love to work (professionally), not just providing fabulous wealth. (Can’t say more without spoilers.) Also avoids the power-difference squick of Daddy Long Legs.
More of a mystery than a romance (though certainly with some very romantic elements), Dorothy Sayers’ “Busman’s Honeymoon” begins with a wonderful set of letters all from different people describing the same wedding. The different descriptions (e.g. of the groom “looked like he finally realized what a mistake he was making” vs. “looked like he did when he was twelve years old and had a new watch and was so terribly afraid of breaking it” vs. “looked like he was giving himself away as if no one and nothing else mattered”) end up giving a marvelous picture of both the event and the personalities of the characters writing. Be warned: this is the fourth of four books tracing the story of the same couple, so some stuff is missing, and only the first chapter is letters. Still a good mystery and a beautiful love story (with a bittersweet ending about how love can – and can not – comfort us in times of trouble).
I love Meg Cabot’s Boy Series, especially the first one, The Boy Next Door. I also enjoyed Holly Denham’s Holly’s Inbox and Holly’s Inbox: Scandal in the City.
One book that I have not seen commented on and is one of my favorite is Lisa Kleypas’ Love in the Afternoon. The first part of the book is full of letter correspondence between Beatrix and Christopher. Just those letters made me fall in love with them.
Just throwing my hat in the ring for the Meg Cabot books mentioned. I’m going to have to check out some of these others!
All of you who adored “Dear Enemy” really need to read Karen Ranney’s “Till Next We Meet”. It is much more sweeping and gothic, but also very wonderful.
Kaetrin, “Almost Like Being in Love” is a FABULOUS book. It’s funny, sweet, and just all around satisfying. I recommend reading it in paperback, though, as the Kindle formatting can make all those letters, e-mails, memos, and notes turn out oddly.
My Sweet Folly (Kinsale) starts with a courtship of letters – that set the stage for the rest of the book. I love this technique, and this book is one of my favorites because of it.
“Almost Like Being In Love” by Steve Kluger is not only an awesome (m/m) epistolary romance (told largely in letters, e-mails, memos, and notes), it’s just an awesome story. I have a paperback copy that, by rights, should be starting to fall apart after upwards of 10 years. I recommend you track a paperback copy down or check it out from the library, though, as the formatting can be quite odd in the ebook version. I seriously can’t recommend this book enough—and it was listed as a Reader Must-Have in the m/m romance article in the recent issue of RT Book Reviews.
I’ll second Lady Susan, particularly for Austen fans. I’m not sure if I’d call it a romance, but an Austen heroine who is nasty and successful? Wow. While Pride and Prejudice is my favorite (and a far more accomplished story), I wish she’d retained some of the fearlessness demonstrated in Lady Susan.
Does anyone know how that novella was received?
I loved, loved Love in the Afternoon. I’d decided not to mention it, since it’s not really epistolary, but I’m glad you brought it up, since it is a wonderful book. And the letters do play a crucial role in their romance.
Great topic! My all-time fav is A WOMAN OF INDEPENDENT MEANS by Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey, 1978, inspired by the life of her grandmother.
Also loved the Griffin and Sabine series—it’s more than great art work. It’s full of mythological allusions, symbolism, mystery—and in interactive form. An intriguing work of art on many levels.
Yes. Joseph Andrews is awesome, and I did appreciate it more for having waded through Pamela first.
Richardson makes my head rage-splode. Especially the last bit of the book, wherein he writes out his checklist for ideal femininity. When I read it, I was like, “Fuck you, Mr. B. You were trying to rape Pammy for pretty much the whole book! Why should I believe that you are suddenly some font of genderly wisdom?”
Also, I’m pretty sure Pamela was the original Mary Sue.