Description
By (author) Evans Virginia
:
Discover the word-of-mouth bestselling phenomenon that thousands of readers are calling their favourite book of the year!
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN”S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2026
SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
THE #1
NEW YORK TIMES
BESTSELLER
OVER ONE MILLION COPIES SOLD WORDLWIDE
A
TIMES
BOOK OF THE YEAR 2025
IRISH TIMES BESTSELLER
A BBC RADIO 2 BOOK CLUB PICK
”A warm, funny gem of a novel”
LAURA HACKETT, THE TIMES
”Masterful . . . I was delighted and moved”
NEW YORK TIMES
”I can”t praise it enough. It”s an absolute triumph”
CLARE CHAMBERS
”What a novel! Tender, dry, sharp…devastating, but still feel good.”
PANDORA SYKES
”Tremendous”
FREDRIK BACKMAN
”Shows us what a glorious thing growing older can be”
FLORENCE KNAPP
”The year”s breakout novel no one saw coming”
WALL STREET JOURNAL
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Every morning, Sybil Van Antwerp sits down to write letters – to her brother, to her best friend, to the president of the university who will not allow her to attend a class she desperately wants to take, to her favourite authors to tell them what she thinks of their latest books, and to one person to whom she writes often yet never sends the letter.
Because at seventy-three, Sybil has used her correspondence – witty and wise – to make sense of the world. But beyond the page, she has spent the last thirty years keeping the people who love her at arms’ length… Until letters from someone in her past force her to examine one of the most painful periods of her life.
Now, Sybil must send the letter she has been writing for all these years – and find forgiveness within herself in order to move on.
Sybil Van Antwerp’s life of letters might not be an extraordinary one, but she also might be one of the most memorable characters you will ever read.
Review quote:
I was delighted and moved . . . Evans does an expert job at making you root for [Sybil] even as you want to give her a timeout . . .
Masterful
Review quote:
This is the novel I”m giving to everyone for Christmas…
The Correspondent is
a delight:
melancholy without being sentimental, warm without being cosy, witty without being silly… The
comparisons to Strout are accurate but this novel also
reminded me of Anne Tyler”s ability to make the domestic dramatic… An ode to a dying art form, and
proof that your life is never too decided to make a change.
Review quote:
A warm, funny gem of a novel . . . It’s a clever conceit, which Virginia Evans uses to great effect in a novel that is melancholic without being sentimental.
One for fans of Elizabeth Strout.
Review quote:
Subtly told and finely made, The Correspondent is a portrait of a small life expanding. Virginia Evans shows how one woman changes at a point when change had seemed impossible. That change, like this novel, turns out to be
a cause for celebration
Review quote:
‘
A masterclass in how to put words on human frailty. This debut
does not put a foot wrong. Smart and clever . . . Evans is
a confident, competent author in whom we can trust’
Review quote:
I can”t praise it enough. Sybil is such a wonderful character, and the supporting cast so vivid and real. For a book about grief and regret it is also
properly funny. It”s an
absolute triumph
Review quote:
Open-hearted with some, a hedgehog curled tight in a b
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