‘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.’—Ann Patchett
LIBRARYREADS APRIL PICK • NAMED A GOOD HOUSEKEEPING (UK) MOST ANTICIPATED DEBUT
‘Imagine, the letters one has sent out into the world, the letters received back in turn, are like the pieces of a magnificent puzzle, or, a better metaphor, if dated, the links of a long chain, and even if those links are never put back together, which they will certainly never be, even if they remain for the rest of time dispersed across the earth like the fragile blown seeds of a dying dandelion, isn’t there something wonderful in that, to think that a story of one’s life is preserved in some way, that this very letter may one day mean something, even if it is a very small thing, to someone?’
Sybil Van Antwerp has throughout her life used letters to make sense of the world and her place in it. Most mornings, around half past ten, Sybil sits down to write letters—to her brother, to her best friend, to the president of the university who will not allow her to audit a class she desperately wants to take, to Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry to tell them what she thinks of their latest books, and to one person to whom she writes often yet never sends the letter.
Sybil expects her world to go on as it always has—a mother, grandmother, wife, divorcee, distinguished lawyer, she has lived a very full life. But when letters from someone in her past force her to examine one of the most painful periods of her life, she realizes that the letter she has been writing over the years needs to be read and that she cannot move forward until she finds it in her heart to offer forgiveness.
Filled with knowledge that only comes from a life fully lived, The Correspondent is a gem of a novel about the power of finding solace in literature and connection with people we might never meet in person. It is about the hubris of youth and the wisdom of old age, and the mistakes and acts of kindness that occur during a lifetime. Sybil Van Antwerp’s life of letters might be ‘a very small thing,’ but she also might be one of the most memorable characters you will ever read.
Genre: General Fiction
LIBRARYREADS APRIL PICK • NAMED A GOOD HOUSEKEEPING (UK) MOST ANTICIPATED DEBUT
‘Imagine, the letters one has sent out into the world, the letters received back in turn, are like the pieces of a magnificent puzzle, or, a better metaphor, if dated, the links of a long chain, and even if those links are never put back together, which they will certainly never be, even if they remain for the rest of time dispersed across the earth like the fragile blown seeds of a dying dandelion, isn’t there something wonderful in that, to think that a story of one’s life is preserved in some way, that this very letter may one day mean something, even if it is a very small thing, to someone?’
Sybil Van Antwerp has throughout her life used letters to make sense of the world and her place in it. Most mornings, around half past ten, Sybil sits down to write letters—to her brother, to her best friend, to the president of the university who will not allow her to audit a class she desperately wants to take, to Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry to tell them what she thinks of their latest books, and to one person to whom she writes often yet never sends the letter.
Sybil expects her world to go on as it always has—a mother, grandmother, wife, divorcee, distinguished lawyer, she has lived a very full life. But when letters from someone in her past force her to examine one of the most painful periods of her life, she realizes that the letter she has been writing over the years needs to be read and that she cannot move forward until she finds it in her heart to offer forgiveness.
Filled with knowledge that only comes from a life fully lived, The Correspondent is a gem of a novel about the power of finding solace in literature and connection with people we might never meet in person. It is about the hubris of youth and the wisdom of old age, and the mistakes and acts of kindness that occur during a lifetime. Sybil Van Antwerp’s life of letters might be ‘a very small thing,’ but she also might be one of the most memorable characters you will ever read.
Genre: General Fiction
Praise for this book
"An absolute delight from start to finish, this novel is subtle, moving, wise and intelligent. I devoured it and will be reading everything Virginia Evans writes from now on. In the meantime, I'll be recommending The Correspondent to anyone who'll listen." - Lucy Atkins
"A witty, tenderly rendered story of a life, in all its fragments and knots, and ultimately a beautiful meditation on the lost art of communication. I can't imagine anyone with a soul not loving it." - Lauren Bravo
"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." - Clare Chambers
"The Correspondent is the rarest of debuts with not a misplaced word, or a beat missed. Moving, funny and exquisite, it is a masterpiece in human frailty." - Anne Griffin
"Open-hearted with some, a hedgehog curled tight in a ball with others, I cried more than once as I witnessed this brilliant woman come to understand herself more deeply and risk lowering her defences. Both serious and uplifting, in The Correspondent, Virginia Evans shows us what a glorious thing growing older can be." - Florence Knapp
"I was wowed by this deliciously brilliant book! Thank you, Virginia Evans, for a life beautifully told in letters, for creating a character whose mind struggles with her heart in a most intriguing, sympathetic, witty, and binge-worthy way. Author friends - please forgive me for proclaiming The Correspondent my new favorite book." - Elinor Lipman
"I finished this wonderful, wonderful book in tears, and had to take a moment to pull myself together.It will make you laugh, it will make you cry, it will make you reflect, as all the best novels do. Read it, read it, read it! Then buy it for your family, your friends, your people." - Fran Littlewood
"What a lovely novel . . . I fell in love with the eloquent, stubborn Sybil, such a wonderful character." - Margot Livesey
"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." - Ann Patchett
"The superbly talented Virginia Evans has written a novel of connection and daring . . . The circus of beautifully drawn characters, who receive and respond to Sybil's letters are vibrant and rich . . . The letters are so deliciously crafted, Sybil's life itself becomes a work of art." - Adriana Trigiani
"A witty, tenderly rendered story of a life, in all its fragments and knots, and ultimately a beautiful meditation on the lost art of communication. I can't imagine anyone with a soul not loving it." - Lauren Bravo
"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." - Clare Chambers
"The Correspondent is the rarest of debuts with not a misplaced word, or a beat missed. Moving, funny and exquisite, it is a masterpiece in human frailty." - Anne Griffin
"Open-hearted with some, a hedgehog curled tight in a ball with others, I cried more than once as I witnessed this brilliant woman come to understand herself more deeply and risk lowering her defences. Both serious and uplifting, in The Correspondent, Virginia Evans shows us what a glorious thing growing older can be." - Florence Knapp
"I was wowed by this deliciously brilliant book! Thank you, Virginia Evans, for a life beautifully told in letters, for creating a character whose mind struggles with her heart in a most intriguing, sympathetic, witty, and binge-worthy way. Author friends - please forgive me for proclaiming The Correspondent my new favorite book." - Elinor Lipman
"I finished this wonderful, wonderful book in tears, and had to take a moment to pull myself together.It will make you laugh, it will make you cry, it will make you reflect, as all the best novels do. Read it, read it, read it! Then buy it for your family, your friends, your people." - Fran Littlewood
"What a lovely novel . . . I fell in love with the eloquent, stubborn Sybil, such a wonderful character." - Margot Livesey
"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." - Ann Patchett
"The superbly talented Virginia Evans has written a novel of connection and daring . . . The circus of beautifully drawn characters, who receive and respond to Sybil's letters are vibrant and rich . . . The letters are so deliciously crafted, Sybil's life itself becomes a work of art." - Adriana Trigiani
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