Epistolary fiction and non-fiction

[whatausername]

Can anyone recommend either a collection of letters (e.g. Jane Austen Selected Letters) or an epistolary novel (e.g. Letters of a Portuguese Nun, Olinda)? I rather enjoy the format of such books and would like to read more. Bonus points if the novels are of a different style to the two mentioned above. Whilst enjoyable and interesting, they aren't my favourites. Extremely heavy on romance, virtue and proclamations of love.

36 Charing Cross by Helene Hanff

Sorry it's 84 Charing Cross.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Not all great writers write good letters. Ted Hughes is a wonderful and fascinating poet, but I found his letters surprisingly dull. Apparently, Keats' letters are superb, and so are Van Goghs. I've never read them though.

Aldous Huxley and Oscar Wilde both wrote hundreds of letters, many of them superb (as you'd expect). I've got Patrick Fermor's letters on my shelf, though I've yet to read them.

A few others I'd imagine wrote good letters – Virginia Woolf (probably quite waspy), Sylvia Plath, Peter Ustinov, Kingsley Amis, Noel Coward.

Yours from the Tower by Sally Nichols .Its a YA story set around WW1 and is letters between three girls who have just left their boarding school

84 Charing Cross Road is a good shout, it’s a lovely read 😊

Dangerous liaisons is the first one that springs to mind.

Evelyn Waugh and all the Mitford sisters wrote very entertaining letters.

And on non fiction, 'Letters between six sisters', about the Mitfords, by Charlotte Mosley is wonderful.

The Colour Purple, Alice Walker

Dear Committee Members, Julie Schumacher
(very amusing!)

We Need To Talk About Kevin is a more contemporary epistolary novel.

Yes, even Debo Devonshire was unexpectedly hilarious in epistolary form. The Mitford letters are great. Woolf’s are fabulous (though surpassed by her mesmerising journals if you’ll contemplate a shift of mode). Patrick Leigh Fermor’s letters have been collected in about three volumes — also good. Sylvia Plath’s letters are great if read together with her journals.

But my favourite ever collected letters are Juliet Barker’s collected Bronte letters.

There's a great book of letters between Patrick Leigh Fermor and Debo Devonshire, truly another world. But the ones with all the sisters are fantastic.

Alan Bennett’s volumes of diaries are superb.

Dear Lupin by Roger and Charlie Mortimer followed by Dear Lumpy

I would always recommend Meet me at the Museum by Anne Youngson.

Also, Several People are Typing by Calvin Kasulke which I found last year and loved.

Love and Saffron by Kim Fay focusses on friendship, love and food. It's relatively short but a really lovely read.

Letters to Alice, by Fay Weldon.
An exploration of Jane Austen by an aunt writing to a niece who has said she couldn't read her.
Worth it for the opening chapter alone.

The Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis is a brilliant book

I agree with @murasaki that Letters between Six Sisters is a good read

I echo the recommendation of the Mitford sisters' letters. They are fascinating. I also really enjoyed the letters of John Le Carre but I'm a huge fan of his work.
Fiction wise, I remember loving the novel Daddy Long Legs when I was young which features the letters of a young orphan girl to her wealthy but anonymous benefactor. However, if it ends as I remember I'm not sure it will have aged well...
Edited for typos.

Daddy-Long-Legs has most definitely NOT aged well. It's grooming, pure and simple. Well, obviously not pure.

The Screwtape Letters, C S Lewis.

So I do remember the end correctly- I wasn't 100% sure. I agree, it seems very dodgy now though I loved it at the time. No wonder you don't hear of it anymore.

Came on here to say, Dear Lupin. It’s very good.

Galileo’s Daughter by Dava Sobel is a fascinating read. The letters are from his elder daughter, who was forced to enter a convent aged only 13, because her illegitimate birth precluded her being able to marry. Despite this, she retained great affection for her father. I found it very interesting.