Epistolary-Themed Delights
Epistolary-Themed Movies, TV Series, Anime, Songs, Podcasts, Poems, Works of Art, Etc.
Letter or journal writing (or modern-day equivalents) are an important element of the following movies, TV series, songs, podcasts, poems, works of art, etc.
Recently, I have been re-reading my favorite epistolary novels and trying out new-to-me epistolary books in preparation for the next Bookishly Delightful post (which will focus on recommending epistolary books). Reading those great books got me thinking about my other favorite epistolary-themed works. I thought I would share those recommendations with you here in this post as a sort of amuse-bouche for the upcoming epistolary book recommendation post. I also found some other, new-to-me, interesting epistolary-themed content that I will share with you here as well.
What does “epistolary” mean?
An epistolary story is most traditionally thought of as a story told through letters. Modern interpretations of the term also tend to encompass works told through other written forms like diaries or documents, as well as stories told through modern technologies that provide an epistolary-like feel; including emails, text messages, social media posts, audio and visual messages, etc.
The term epistolary (according to the Mirriam-Webster dictionary) also means “relating to, or suitable to a letter” or “contained in or carried on letters.”
My favorite fictional letter
Although Jane Austen’s classic romance Pride and Prejudice isn’t told entirely through letters, letters play an extremely important role in its plot. And I can’t think of any better-used fictional letter (plot-wise) in a not fully epistolary book, than the one Mr. Darcy wrote to Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice after she first rejected him. The way that letter affected Elizabeth and the rest of the story is captivating. If you have a favorite fictional letter that you prefer to this one, you can share your favorite in the comment section below.
Epistolary-themed movies
Some of the works that will be mentioned in the next Bookishly Delightful post about epistolary books were made into movies or TV series as well. The following movies, however, I tend to think of first as movies, even though some of them were based on (or are retellings of) books/plays.
The Lunchbox
This is an absolutely captivating Indian movie about two lonely, sad people who develop a friendship that becomes important to both of them through letters and food delivered via a lunch delivery service. It is available for rent or purchase.
Mary and Max
A large chunk of this movie is told through the words written in letters sent between two extremely unique and complicated pen pals. The movie is an Australian, stop-motion, dramatic comedy. It has a great cast of voice actors; including Philip Seymour Hoffman, Toni Collette, and Eric Bana. Mental health is a significant topic in this movie. It is currently streaming in the US on AMC+ and IFC Films Unlimited. You can also rent or purchase it.
The Shop Around the Corner
This wonderful, classic romantic comedy (starring Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullivan) is about rivals at work who unknowingly fall in love with each other through their anonymous epistolary exchanges. It is based on a 1937 Hungarian play, Parfumerie by Miklós László. It is available for rent or purchase.
You’ve Got Mail
A retelling of The Shop Around the Corner and Parfumerie, this romantic comedy stars Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan as bookstore-running rivals who fall in love through their anonymous online written exchanges. It is available for rent or purchase.
84 Charing Cross Road
Anne Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins star in this charmingly bookish movie that is so well-cast that it even has Judi Dench in a supporting role! It is based on the nonfiction epistolary book 84, Charing Cross Road. The book (which is adored by many book lovers) contains copies of the real post-war correspondence between American writer Helene Hanff and employees at an English bookstore who helped her find the books she was seeking. This is one of the rare instances in which I prefer a movie version over the original book. When I read the book, I kept yearning for more insightful conversations about the contents of the books they were discussing in their letters. And I yearned for fewer conversations about the physical properties of paper books. Considering that the letters were real letters between a buyer and sellers of physical books, their discussions about the physical characteristics of the books that were being purchased are completely understandable. The movie focuses on the charming parts of the book and didn’t leave me yearning for more. I also, of course, appreciate its amazing cast. It is currently streaming in the US on Tubi and also can be rented or purchased elsewhere.
Roxanne
A retelling of the classic French play Cyrano de Bergerac, this romantic comedy (starring Steve Martin and Daryl Hannah) features love letters written by someone who isn’t the the man the recipient of the letters thinks is sending them. It is available for rent or purchase.
The Love Letter
This is a romantic comedy about a love letter that a variety of different people mistakenly think was meant for them, leading to lots of shenanigans. Its excellent cast includes Ellen DeGeneres, Tom Selleck, Kate Capshaw, Blythe Danner, and Tom Everett Scott. It is based on a book by Cathleen Schine. It is currently streaming in the US on Paramount+ and Showtime, and it also can be rented or purchased elsewhere.
TV series with epistolary frameworks
There are a number of TV series that are told with an epistolary framework, like the Captain’s log on Star Trek. You can find a list of some of these kinds of TV shows on IndieWire here.
An epistolary-themed anime
Violet Evergarden
The Violet Evergarden animated series and movie are about a young, former soldier who learns about what love means by helping people write letters to their loved ones. The series’ episodes and the movie are all beautifully animated tear-jerkers. They are currently streaming on Netflix.
An epistolary-themed musical
She Loves Me
She Loves Me was written by Joe Masteroff, with music by Jerry Bock and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick. Like The Shop Around the Corner and You’ve Got Mail, the underlying plot of this musical is based on the 1937 Hungarian play Parfumerie. Like those other retellings, this musical also is about rivals at work who unknowingly fall in love with each other through their anonymous correspondence. A performance of the play is currently streaming in the US on BroadwayHD.
Epistolary songs
While there are lots of songs that mention letters, mail, or postmen; the following songs stand out as being particularly epistolary.
“Stan” by Eminem
In this music video, an obsessed fan and Eminem are shown to be singing the letters they write to each other.
“The Typewriter” by Leroy Anderson
In this song (which was written in 1950), the typewriter charmingly is played as an instrument while a letter is being typed. A snippet of this song is well-used in the movie Mary and Max, which is mentioned above.
And if you like this Anderson song; you may also like the 1957 song “La Machine à Ecrire,” in which Gilbert Bécaud similarly plays a typewriter as an instrument; but in his song he also sings (in French) about typing.
An epistolary Substack
Letters of Note
If you are interested in reading very interesting and entertaining real letters, check out the
Substack by . Here are two wonderful letters he shared to get you started:Jourdon Anderson’s letter in response to his former enslaver’s request he return to work for him is both brilliant and entertaining.
“A PERSONAL LETTER FROM STEVE MARTIN”
Steve Martin’s form letter response to fan mail is cleverly funny.
Epistolary podcasts
There are a number of fictional epistolary podcasts spanning a range of genres. I particularly appreciated the early episodes of both The Love and Luck Podcast (a fantasy queer romance told entirely through voice messages) and The Bright Sessions podcast (a fantasy told through the voice/case file recordings a therapist keeps of her sessions with supernatural patients). While both podcasts eventually lost steam for me (I haven’t listened to all of their episodes), I enjoyed listening to the early episodes of both shows.
Epistolary poems
There are lots of poems that have been written as if they were letters. The Poetry Foundation has a helpful post about “Learning the Epistolary Poem” that includes links to a number of famous epistolary poems. And there is a helpful post on poets.org that discusses epistolary poetry and includes a link to a page that allows you to search for poetry in “epistle” form.
“Sir, more than kisses, letters mingle souls,
For thus, friends absent speak.” – John Donne
Epistolary fan fiction
There are over 10,000 fan fiction works tagged as being epistolary on Archive of Our Own. If the idea of reading fan fiction romances between your favorite fictional characters who don’t get together in their original works appeals to you, why not try those kinds of stories written via epistles? While the one epistolary work I tried on that site was a miss for me, many of them seem to be quite beloved.
Books with epistolary themes or important epistolary elements
The following works almost made it onto the next Bookishly Delightful post about epistolary books because they have important epistolary parts to them, or they have epistolary themes. However, the experience of reading them does not fundamentally feel like reading a story that was significantly written by the characters within them, so I am recommending them here instead of in the next post. Click on the titles of the books to be linked to the Goodreads’ pages for them (where you can see cover images, read official summaries, and find lots of readers’ reviews).
The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary
A small, but important, fraction of this well-written contemporary romance is epistolary. Leon and Tiffy are roommates who don’t even meet during the first half of the book as their schedules are completely different. They mostly communicate (and start falling for each other) through post-it notes. They also text. Most of the rest of the book is told in alternating first person accounts between the two main characters. Leon’s accounts have a diary-like feel to them but are not described as journal entries. The story is angsty. Both Leon and Tiffy are going through some tough challenges.
500 Miles from You by Jenny Colgan
This contemporary romance is partially epistolary via messages and texts. A female nurse living in London temporarily swaps homes and jobs with a Scottish man living in the Scottish Highlands. As they message and text to help each other acclimate to their new situations, they slowly fall in love. They don’t meet in person until near the end of the story. Only a very small part of the story is told through their messages.
Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld
This well-written, literary romance is about a comedy writer and a singer. There is an epistolary section in it that starts around halfway through and lasts for over 10% of the book. That section of the book is told through email exchanges that reconnect the main couple during the peak of the Covid pandemic. Romantic Comedy was among the books recommended in “Bookishly Delightful’s Best Books of 2023.”
The Overdue Life of Amy Byler by Kelly Harms
A librarian who has been treading water since her husband deserted her and their kids, has a little adventure of her own in NYC where she develops a healthier mindset for herself and meets a great guy. Most of the chapters in this book start with a letter-like journal entry written to the main character by her daughter. And one chapter starts with a letter from her to her daughter. Also, the book ends with some letters and tweets. Most of the rest of the book is told via first person narration. It is a very well-written, enjoyably, contemporary, bookish read.
After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid
In this story about a separated couple, the narrator finds out what her estranged husband is thinking by secretly logging into his email account and reading the unsent emails that he writes to her. In turn, she writes emails to him that she saves as drafts and doesn’t send. While their communication with each other via unsent emails only makes up a small part of the book—it is a delightfully dysfunctional epistolary variation. Unfortunately, much of the plot of this book depends on the main characters simply not communicating well with each other at all. And they also frustratingly don’t get the therapy that they clearly need. However, they do eventually grow in satisfying ways. And the writing is so good that the book is a very captivating, hard-to-put-down read.
The Thursday Murder Club series by Richard Osman
While most of this delightful, British, cozy mystery series (with senior citizen sleuths) is not epistolary; the frequent chapters that are told from the character Joyce’s perspective are written as diary entries. The latest book in this series was among the books recommended in “Bookishly Delightful’s Best Books of 2023.”
Dear Mr. Dickens by Nancy Churin, illustrated by Bethany Stancliffe
This well-illustrated, interesting, nonfiction picture book more often summarizes real letters than directly quotes them. Eliza Davis was a real Jewish woman who wrote real letters in the 1860s to famed author Charles Dickens, calling him out for his harmfully negative portrayal of Jews in his writing. Her letters to him appear to have contributed to Dickens’ decision to make some edits to the book Oliver Twist and to be more thoughtful in his portrayal of Jewish characters from the get-go when he wrote Our Mutual Friend. This book about books could help young readers learn about the potentially positive power of speaking out (or writing) when they witness prejudice.
Epistolary art
Édouard Manet, Woman Writing (via Wikimedia Commons)
There are, of course, lots of great works of art that depict people writing letters or engaging in other epistolary activities, but finding easily accessible and informative analysis of epistolary-themed art that is easy to share is another matter.
I found these two Utrecht University blog posts about Dutch epistolary paintings to be particularly interesting:
“Epistolary Imagery in Early Modern Paintings – Part I: Portraits,” and
“Epistolary Imagery in Early Modern Paintings – Part II: Genre and History Paintings.”
And you can find some wonderful, historic letter-related photos online via the National Postal Museum. I particularly enjoyed these epistolary images:
“Photograph of Columbia Mark mail trucks” (1906),
“Photograph of military mail censors at work” (1918), and
“Photograph of US Navy mail call” (1944).
What’s next?
If you enjoyed the recommendations in this post, be sure to come back for the next Bookishly Delightful post, which will focus on epistolary books. If you haven’t already subscribed to Bookishly Delightful, you can do so now.
What are your favorite epistolary-themed movies, TV series, podcasts, etc.? You are welcome to share your recommendations in the comment section below.
Ahhh loved this! May I suggest Love Rosie? Both book & movie!