History Main / EpistolaryNovel

* ''FannyHill'' by John Cleland, consisting of two long letters from the title character to a woman addressed simply as "Madam."

* Popularised for use in English literature by Samuel Richardson with ''{{Pamela}}'' in 1740 and with ''{{Clarissa}}'' in 1748.

** Its unofficial sequels, ''Bloodline'' and ''Bloodline: Reckoning'' by [[WarriorCats Kate Cary]], follow suit.

** Christian rapper KJ-52 then wrote "Dear Slim" parts 1 and 2, which were a respectful call to Eminem to be careful with the great influence he has over his fanbase, also letting him know he was praying for him (this was all inexplicably taken by much of the music industry as an [[CompletelyMissingThePoint insult]], but not by Eminem himself). Eminem later wrote "Careful What You Wish For," in which he talks about how someone told him he was praying for him, and says that he's thankful but he believes he's already got God on his side.
*** There's a good reason for that "inexplicable" reaction. "I'll pray for you" is often considered an insult by nonbelievers because, in addition to showing a lack of respect for the addressee's (non-)beliefs, it carries the additional implication of "...because you need someone to do it for you, heathen". Granted, since Eminem himself wasn't insulted by it, other music folks shouldn't have been, either.

*** There's a good reason for that "inexplicable" reaction, for the record. "I'll pray for you" is often considered an insult by nonbelievers because, in addition to showing a lack of respect for the addressee's (non-)beliefs, it carries the additional implication of "...because you need someone to do it for you, heathen".

Which form the novel takes can affect how information is revealed to us. If it is monologic then what we'll have is a single possibly biased view and we may have to read between the lines to get the subtext or to note the characterisation that comes through. When between just two characters, these novels are often love letters or the restriction to just two character will be used to compare the intimacy between these two compared to the rest of the world. When dealing with many characters, which could be many-to-one, one-to-many or many-to-loads, we can compare how one character treats two different characters, what they reveal in one case compared to another. We can also return to the practise of revealing information not revealed to some of the characters and introduce DramaticIrony.

*** "I'll pray for you" is often considered a minor insult by nonbelievers, with its implications of "...because you need someone to do it for you, heathen".

* Popularised for use in English literature by Samuel Richardson with ''{{Pamela}}'' in 1740 and with ''{{Clarissa}}'' in 1748 making this OlderThanRadio

<<|OlderThanRadio|>>

* ''LETTERS'', by John Barth, is an epistolary novel which consists of a series of letters in which Barth and characters from his other books interact.

* Popularised for use in English literature by Samuel Richardson with ''{{Pamela}}'' in 1740 making this OlderThanRadio

* ''The PerksOfBeingAWallflower'', by Stephen Chbosky, is ostensibly the letters of a teenage boy to a stranger.

The EpistolaryNovel is written as a series of letters from one or more of the characters. It could be all from just one character, an ongoing correspondence between two characters or letters from a variety of characters address to a number of different people.

** Perhaps notably, since it is not always noted, the Revelations of John of Patmos consist of letters to various Christian communities: one tries to imagine their reaction on receipt. ("He says he's seen ''what'' now? With how many heads?)
** Revelations? Plural?

** There's also the lesser known ''Letters to Malcolm; Chiefly on Prayer'', which was less a novel and more a discussion on various aspects of Christianity, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin especially prayer.]]

** Christian rapper KJ-52 then wrote "Dear Slim" parts 1 and 2, which were a respectful call to Eminem to be careful with the great influence he has over his fanbase, also letting him know he was praying for him (this was all inexplicably taken by much of the music industry as an [[CompletelyMissingThePoint insult]], but not Eminem himself). Eminem later wrote "Careful What You Wish For," in which he talks about how someone told him he was praying for him, and says that he's thankful but he believes he's already got God on his side.

* The frame of {{Frankenstein}} is a letter from an Antarctic explorer to his sister about his meeting with the titular doctor.