An epistolary novel is a type of story written as a series of letters between characters in the story. Sometimes, these novels also include other types of written materials, such as diary entries, newspaper clippings, or even documents like emails or blog posts. The word "epistolary" comes from the Greek word "epistolē," which means "letter." This style of writing is also called "Briefroman" in German or "epistolary fiction" in general.

This type of story can make the tale feel more real because the letters are part of the characters' lives. It also helps show different characters' thoughts and feelings without needing a narrator who knows everything. A key part of making the letters seem real is the use of a fictional editor, who helps organize and present the letters in the story.

Classical antiquity

Ancient Greek and Roman writing provided a model for storytelling through letters. These early works were not novels as we know them today, but they introduced important techniques that became the basis for later stories told through letters. Greek and Roman writers showed how fictional letters could help tell a story, share different viewpoints, and include details about how letters were written and sent.

Greek authors included letters in their stories, such as historical accounts, tragedies, and romantic tales. They also created collections of letters that stood alone as complete stories. Scholars today note that Greek writing had many early examples that influenced later stories told through letters, including letters found within Greek novels and entire stories written only as letters.

Letters played an important role in shaping the plots of surviving Greek stories. Events like letters being intercepted, delivered to the wrong person, or copied helped change the course of stories and revealed characters' hidden thoughts. This use of letters was organized enough to be considered a key part of the storytelling style. In addition to letters within stories, writers from the Roman Empire created collections of fictional letters that showed small, detailed scenes of life. The most famous of these were written by Alciphron, Aelian, and Philostratus, and are preserved in a standard collection of ancient texts. These letters use the voices of people like fishermen, farmers, and lovers, showing how letters could express emotions, lies, and social behavior.

One important example is the anonymous "Letters of Chion of Heraclea," a story told entirely through seventeen letters. This work describes a philosopher's education and a plot against a tyrant. Scholars now call it a "historical epistolary novel" and note that it tells a continuous story through letters written from the perspective of the person telling it. However, the exact time it was written is debated, with some believing it was created in the 2nd century CE and others thinking it was written later.

Latin writing also provided strong examples of stories told through letters. Ovid's "Heroides" is a collection of letters written in verse by mythic heroines who speak to their absent lovers. Ancient readers saw these as real letters, and Ovid himself mentioned this in his work "Ars Amatoria." Modern scholars study the "Heroides" as a complete story that explores themes like voice, desire, and communication. Later Latin stories from the late Roman Empire also used letters to move the plot forward. The widely shared "Historia Apollonii regis Tyri" shows how letters could help develop a story in both Latin and Greek.

Early works

There are two main ideas about how the epistolary novel began. One idea says the genre started with novels that included letters, and over time, the parts with third-person storytelling between the letters became shorter. The other idea says the epistolary novel came from collections of letters and poetry, where some letters were connected to form a story, often about love. Evidence supports both ideas. The first true epistolary novel, Prison of Love (Cárcel de amor) by Diego de San Pedro (about 1485), was part of a tradition where letters played a major role in the story. Other early examples of epistolary novels were closely linked to traditions of letter-books and collections of letters. In later editions of Edmé Boursault’s Letters of Respect, Gratitude and Love (1669), a group of letters written to a girl named Babet grew more distinct and formed a small epistolary novel called Letters to Babet (Lettres à Babet). The famous Letters of a Portuguese Nun (Lettres portugaises) (1669), usually credited to Gabriel-Joseph de La Vergne, comte de Guilleragues, though some believe Marianna Alcoforado wrote it, was meant to be part of a collection of prose and poetry. In English, James Howell (1594–1666) is often credited as the founder of the epistolary novel, with his work Familiar Letters (1645–50), which includes stories about prison, foreign adventures, and love.

Some argue that the first work to fully use the epistolary form was Love-Letters Between a Nobleman and His Sister, published anonymously in three volumes (1684, 1685, and 1687). This work is often linked to Aphra Behn, though its authorship is still debated. The novel showed how the genre changed by letting characters express their own perspectives, with the author’s voice and moral lessons fading (at least in the first volume; later volumes added a narrator). The author also explored complex situations, such as letters falling into the wrong hands or being faked.

The epistolary novel became popular in the 18th century, with authors like Samuel Richardson, whose novels Pamela (1740) and Clarissa (1749) were very successful. John Cleland’s Fanny Hill (1748) was written as a series of letters from the main character to an unnamed person. In France, Montesquieu’s Lettres persanes (1721), Rousseau’s Julie, ou la nouvelle Héloïse (1761), and Choderlos de Laclos’s Les Liaisons dangereuses (1782) used the epistolary form to create dramatic effects, as events were not always described directly. In Germany, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s The Sorrows of Young Werther (Die Leiden des jungen Werther) (1774) and Friedrich Hölderlin’s Hyperion used the same form. The first Canadian novel, The History of Emily Montague (1769) by Frances Brooke, and the first American novel, The Power of Sympathy (1789) by William Hill Brown, were also written in epistolary style.

Starting in the 18th century, the epistolary form was often mocked, leading to satirical works. One example is Henry Fielding’s Shamela (1741), a parody of Pamela. In this work, the female narrator writes dramatic diary entries in unlikely situations. Oliver Goldsmith used the form for satire in The Citizen of the World (1760–61), and Fanny Burney used it in her comic novel Evelina (1788).

The epistolary novel became less popular after the 18th century. Jane Austen tried it in early works, such as her novella Lady Susan (1794), but later abandoned it. It is believed her novel First Impressions, which became Pride and Prejudice, may have been written in epistolary form, as Pride and Prejudice includes many letters that play key roles in the story.

The epistolary form continued to appear in some 19th-century novels. In Honoré de Balzac’s Letters of Two Brides, two women exchange letters over 17 years, describing their lives. Mary Shelley used the form in Frankenstein (1818), where the story is framed through letters from a sea captain. Anne Brontë’s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848) is written as a letter from one character, including a diary. Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897), one of the most famous epistolary novels, is made up entirely of letters, diary entries, and other documents.

The storytelling style of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories has inspired fans to treat Dr. Watson’s writings as real accounts, leading to a tradition called the “Sherlockian game,” where fans analyze Watson’s letters as if they were genuine records of a real detective.

Types

Epistolary novels are divided into three types based on how many people write letters. Monophonic novels include letters from only one person, such as Letters of a Portuguese Nun and The Sorrows of Young Werther. Dialogic novels include letters from two people, like Letters of Fanni Butler by Mme Marie Jeanne Riccoboni (1757). Polyphonic novels include letters from three or more people, such as Dracula by Bram Stoker.

In polyphonic epistolary novels like Clarissa and Dangerous Liaisons, a key feature is "discrepant awareness." This means that characters write letters at the same time but do not know what others have written, creating tension in the story. These novels can also be grouped by how many and what kind of non-letter documents they use, such as newspaper clippings. For example, monophonic novels rarely include such documents, while polyphonic novels often do.