The Epistolary Novel

Abstract

In an epistolary novel, the narrative is conveyed mostly or entirely in one or more sequences of letters. The term epistolary derives from the Latin epistula , meaning “letter.” Fiction in letters was practiced by Egyptian, Greek (e.g., Alciphron), and Roman (e.g., Ovid) writers, but the stories were brief, and we do not know of a novel produced in this manner. The epistolary novel proper originated in the late seventeenth century and peaked in the later half of the eighteenth century, before falling into disfavor. The last quarter of the twentieth century witnessed a revival of the form, with new innovations such as the email novel.

Coffeehouse Curiosities: Materiality and Musealization Strategies in The Athenian Mercury

“…This metamorphosis reinforces, consolidates, and solidifies, yet it also simultaneously questions, destabilizes, and re-imagines, suspending meaning in perpetual motion, mirroring the letter itself 'as a form which combine[s] the power of the real with the attractiveness of the imaginary'. 25 Although, in this particular case, there is hard evidence that the letter in question was 'authentic', at least as authentic as a hoax can be, in many other cases, scholars are left in the dark. Theoretically, the Athenians might have authored a multitude of similar letters themselves and deposited them at public places to substantiate their accounts.…”

The Bishop of Exeter Versus Benjamin Hoadly: Pamphlets, Controversy, and the Uses of Epistolarity in Restoration England

“…As Thomas Beebee has argued, 'The letter allies itself with a form of fiction which does not depend upon traditional notions of storytelling, but instead takes the path of gossip, information, and news.' 30 The mixed-form genealogy of epistolary writing allows for the multifarious employment of the form during the late seventeenth century.…”