“The Correspondent” is an epistolary (a story told through letters) debut novel.
The book is about Syble Van Antwerp, a retired law clerk in her 70s. Syble tends to be cranky and a little bit difficult to get along with.
The novel begins in 2012 and spans nine years. Though the letters she writes and the letters she receives, the reader learns she and her brother are adopted, that she is divorced, is the mother of three children (two are living and a son that died during his childhood), she loves gardening and literature and that she is gradually going blind.
She is a lover of the written word. Her correspondence is either in letters or the occasional email. She writes about the drama at her garden club, her DNA testing experience, her love life and an autistic boy she has befriended. Syble also writes to her favorite authors to tell them what she thinks about their books. And if she is unhappy with someone, she definitely writes them. Perhaps the most poignant is when she discusses the difficulty with aging.
The epistolary provides only a glimpse into her life and her concerns at that moment. Evans does a great job of providing a fully developed character. Syble writes to 20 people during the course of the novel. The storylines often overlap. The author does a great job of revealing Syble’s personality and social situation. The letters address the topics obliquely rather than head on. The reader picks up clues throughout the novel that help piece the puzzle of Syble Van Antwerp together. The reader also learns more about Syble through the tone she uses with each recipient. The character is made so lifelike it is easy to believe Syble is a real person.
As I was reading the novel, I often laughed out loud and was sometimes moved to tears. I loved this book and did not want it to end. I highly recommend “The Correspondent.”
The novel is a sleeper hit. It was not on any celebrity’s book club lists or highly publicized. It became popular from word of mouth. One person read it and then told two others and so on. Oprah did have Virginia Evans to dinner with her favorite authors, such as Allen Levy and Katherine Stockett.
“The Correspondent” has emerged a literary phenomenon. It topped The New York Times Best Sellers list for fiction. It has won prestigious awards such as PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel, the Indies Choice Award for Adult Fiction, The James Patterson/Bookshop.org Prize, Women’s Prize for Fiction: featured as a finalist on the 2026 shortlist and Goodreads Choice Awards for 2025, Best Fiction, Debut Novel, and Audiobook.
Learn more at www.virginiaevansauthor.com.
