8 Comments
User's avatar
NickS (WA)'s avatar

I'll recommend _84, Charing Cross Road_. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/84,_Charing_Cross_Road

I vaguely remembered it from when I was younger but found a copy a couple years ago and thought it was just great. Touching and vivid.

Expand full comment
Bookishly Delightful's avatar

I am so glad that you recommended 84, Charing Cross Road here! I know that it is beloved by many book lovers. I enjoyed it myself but I liked the movie version even more (which rarely happens for me), so I mentioned it in the previous Bookishly Delightful post in a section about epistolary movies instead.

Expand full comment
Ann Kennedy Smith's avatar

Agreed! A brilliant book and absolute classic.

Expand full comment
Patrick C. McKeown's avatar

What a great post. Thank you so much for taking the time to compile and share your list. Did Letters: A Novel (John Barth) and An Instance of the Fingerpost (Iain Pears) make it onto your longlist while you were researching?

Expand full comment
Bookishly Delightful's avatar

I am so glad that you enjoyed the post. I love epistolary books so much that it was a pleasure doing the reading that went into it.

I can’t recall having come across either of the titles you mentioned before. Thank you for the recommendations!

Expand full comment
Sherman Alexie's avatar

This is so great. Some books I didn't know of.

Expand full comment
Amelia Schmidt's avatar

I loved Balzac’s Memoirs of Two Young Wives: https://www.nyrb.com/products/the-memoirs-of-two-young-wives. Also, for Austen fans, definitely read “Love and Friendship”! The film adaptation with Kate Beckinsale was a delight, too.

Expand full comment
Margaret merkow's avatar

Thorough and thoughtful post

Expand full comment