An epistolary novel is a novel written as a series of letters between the fictional characters of a narrative. This type of fiction is also sometimes known by the German term Briefroman or more generally as epistolary fiction.
The epistolary form can be seen as adding greater realism to a story, due to the text existing diegetically within the lives of the characters. It is in particular able to demonstrate differing points of view without recourse to the device of an omniscient narrator. An important strategic device in the epistolary novel for creating the impression of authenticity of the letters is the fictional editor.
There are two theories on the genesis of the epistolary novel: The first claims that the genre originated from novels with inserted letters, in which the portion containing the third-person narrative in between the letters was gradually reduced. Other well-known examples of early epistolary novels are closely related to the tradition of letter-books and miscellanies of letters.
The immensely famous Letters of a Portuguese Nun Lettres portugaises generally attributed to Gabriel-Joseph de La Vergne, comte de Guilleragues , though a small minority still regard Marianna Alcoforado as the author, is claimed to be intended to be part of a miscellany of Guilleragues prose and poetry.
Perhaps first work to fully utilize the potential of an epistolary novel was Love-Letters Between a Nobleman and His Sister. This work was published anonymously in three volumes , , and , and has been attributed to Aphra Behn though its authorship remains disputed in the 21st century. The author furthermore explored a realm of intrigue with complex scenarios such as letters that fall into the wrong hands, faked letters, or letters withheld by protagonists. The epistolary novel as a genre became popular in the 18th century in the works of such authors as Samuel Richardson , with his immensely successful novels Pamela and Clarissa John Cleland 's early erotic novel Fanny Hill is written as a series of letters from the titular character to an unnamed recipient.
