Hi everyone, this week’s post is a book list with a collection of adult epistolary novels. To be honest, I had a hard time trying to cut down on my selections for this post as every search brought up many titles! In the end, I whittled it down to six titles. To see which ones I’ve picked, push the button below…
Let’s begin shall we…
For those who have been following my blog for a while, you will probably know that I have a thing for historical reads. So it was an easy decision to include the most well-known epistolary novel. Yes, I mean The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows. I must have read this at least seven to ten times over the years. Along with half the females out there, I first fell in love with Dawsey and Juliet’s letters from the book, and then for the second time as I watched the movie!! Stories set during those Second War years in the forties seem to be ones I find myself selecting. It could be the quiet strength and courage those who endured and survived those years seemed to have in abundance. Another such read is Letters from Skye by Jessica Brockmole. This read took me from a small settlement on the Isle of Skye, to war-torn Edinburgh and London, and the war front in France. A gorgeous love story between an unlikely couple told entirely through their letters, but the thing is we have more than one World War described in this read!! Sorry, I won’t be giving you any more details!! Just one thing: the customer I recommended this to liked it too!!
For a true story, I suppose you can’t go past 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff, the true story of correspondence between American writer Helene Hanff and bookshop manager Frank Doel over two decades. It was only after working in the libraries for a few years that I realised a movie had been made of this iconic memoir. I can honestly say that I liked the movie just as much as I liked the book!!
When it came to contemporary reads the choices were endless!! Epistolary novels told entirely in letters were a bit harder to find in this era. I looked at a few but my eyes kept going back to Keep me posted by Lisa Beazley. A story of two sisters who are separated by oceans but who decide on writing each other hand-written letters. Told in the voice of the younger sister with their letters filling in the thoughts of the sisters, this is a quirky read with humour, intermingled with family drama, motherhood, and loyalty.
Non-fiction titles on letter writing was another genre that had many titles to choose from. I had to make a few decisions on which ones would make the cut for this post. In the end I went with a parenting memoir and one specific letter-writing memoir!! Letters on motherhood by Giovanna Fletcher was a gorgeous book compiled of letters the author had written to her three boys and her family. At times poignant and sad, along with funny and quirky!! The family photos she includes gave this read an extra element too!! I couldn’t help but laugh and cry as I read this!!
Signed, sealed, delivered by Nina Sankovitch was a book that I had read some time ago. It has always resonated with me as she talks about the history of letter writing along with her own family’s experiences with letters. Written with Nina’s unique witty voice this read took me on a journey through the ages until the present day and into the lives of famous letter writers. If I had time, I would have copied out scores of quotes from this book, but alas, I’ll let you find the book and copy out your own choices!!
Well, there you have my selection of titles all laid out. If you have read anything similar I would love to hear about them!
Stay safe and keep reading
Miss Mahee
Miss Mahee's Library of Reads 