,

Fictional tales told through letters, emails, diary entries, etc.

Please don't add non-fiction!
Following are non-fiction and will be deleted (that says nothing about their quality, only that they don't belong on this list):
84, Charing Cross Road
The Diary of a Young Girl
My Dearest Friend: Letters of Abigail and John Adams
1

by
4.19 avg rating — 820,078 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
2

by
4.02 avg rating — 1,504,555 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
3

by
4.24 avg rating — 2,029,772 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
4

by
3.91 avg rating — 1,942,955 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
5

by
3.81 avg rating — 1,028,952 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
6

by
4.24 avg rating — 814,944 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
7

by
3.89 avg rating — 1,612,430 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
8

by
4.28 avg rating — 761,447 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
9

by
4.27 avg rating — 534,730 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
10

by
4.03 avg rating — 77,048 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
11

by
3.94 avg rating — 60,002 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
12

by
4.15 avg rating — 2,481,896 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
13

by
3.87 avg rating — 603,880 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
14

by
4.05 avg rating — 59,829 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
15

by
3.90 avg rating — 2,215,071 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
16

by
4.13 avg rating — 76,639 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
17

by
4.02 avg rating — 168,205 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
18

by
4.42 avg rating — 1,324,455 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
19

by
3.98 avg rating — 116,823 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
20

by
3.70 avg rating — 158,789 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
21

by
3.86 avg rating — 210,665 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
22

by
4.07 avg rating — 371,244 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
23

by
3.63 avg rating — 116,768 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
24

by
4.28 avg rating — 329,866 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
25

by
4.02 avg rating — 21,816 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
26

by
3.88 avg rating — 52,299 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
27

by
4.26 avg rating — 358,800 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
28

by
3.67 avg rating — 54,370 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
29

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 129,448 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
30

by
3.91 avg rating — 99,902 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
31

by
4.08 avg rating — 217,976 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
32

by
3.81 avg rating — 263,371 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
33

by
3.73 avg rating — 293,974 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
34

by
3.94 avg rating — 2,689 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
35

by
4.24 avg rating — 162,544 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
36

by
3.93 avg rating — 140,690 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
37

by
3.80 avg rating — 278,525 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
38

by
4.19 avg rating — 11,321 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
39

by
4.39 avg rating — 2,922,001 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
40

by
4.05 avg rating — 286,705 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
41

by
4.16 avg rating — 2,362,018 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
42

by
3.90 avg rating — 85,230 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
43

by
4.05 avg rating — 636,678 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
44

by
4.04 avg rating — 134,360 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
45

by
4.02 avg rating — 572,814 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
46

by
3.85 avg rating — 127,043 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
47

by
3.83 avg rating — 30,158 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
48

by
3.82 avg rating — 69,415 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
49

by
4.14 avg rating — 223 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
50

by
4.01 avg rating — 271,227 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
51

by
4.16 avg rating — 10,033 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
52

by
3.76 avg rating — 24,868 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
53

by
4.33 avg rating — 1,382,509 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
54

by
4.03 avg rating — 1,450,825 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
55

by
3.91 avg rating — 17,401 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
56

by
2.75 avg rating — 13,823 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
57

by
3.76 avg rating — 135,330 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
58

by
3.97 avg rating — 56,735 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
59

by
4.30 avg rating — 29,709 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
60

by
3.77 avg rating — 22,160 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
61

by
4.06 avg rating — 137,456 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
62

by
3.81 avg rating — 10,764 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
63

by
3.83 avg rating — 678,614 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
64

by
3.92 avg rating — 13,357 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
65

by
3.52 avg rating — 9,960 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
66

by
4.20 avg rating — 1,895,401 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
67

by
3.89 avg rating — 5,797 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
68

by
3.81 avg rating — 202,699 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
69

by
3.74 avg rating — 43,474 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
70

by
3.83 avg rating — 354,127 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
71

by
3.79 avg rating — 42,150 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
71

by
3.96 avg rating — 10,568 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
73

by
4.09 avg rating — 205,679 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
74

by
3.71 avg rating — 18,996 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
75

by
3.40 avg rating — 8,585 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
76

by
4.15 avg rating — 2,835 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
77

by
3.88 avg rating — 115,560 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
78

by
3.98 avg rating — 794,561 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
79

by
4.13 avg rating — 501,630 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
80

by
3.89 avg rating — 134,203 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
81

by
3.99 avg rating — 4,236 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
82

by
4.15 avg rating — 4,670 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
83

by
4.15 avg rating — 80,704 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
84

by
4.19 avg rating — 47 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
85

by
4.09 avg rating — 2,224 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
86

by
4.50 avg rating — 12,764 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
87

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 12,947 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
88

by
4.38 avg rating — 5,513 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
89

by
3.98 avg rating — 464,950 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
90

by
4.37 avg rating — 83,039 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
91

by
3.82 avg rating — 98,530 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
92

by
3.92 avg rating — 18,705 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
93

by
3.68 avg rating — 18,346 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
94

by
3.85 avg rating — 29,377 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
95

by
3.56 avg rating — 45,825 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
96

by
3.89 avg rating — 184,457 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
97

by
3.26 avg rating — 7,392 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
98

by
3.81 avg rating — 1,815 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
98

by
4.05 avg rating — 4,180 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
100

by
4.06 avg rating — 3,253 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
858 books · 856 voters · list created July 16th, 2008 by Jessica Haider (votes) .
235 likes · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.


Jessica 10930 books
1452 friends
Susanna - Censored by GoodReads 3388 books
851 friends
Ancient 1406 books
100 friends
Nicholas 761 books
129 friends
Falkor 1271 books
0 friends
Jami 2601 books
58 friends
Antoine 949 books
177 friends
Alexa 839 books
8 friends

More voters…


Comments Showing 1-31 of 31 (31 new)

dateUp arrow    newest »

message 1: by Amy (new)

Amy You know, 84 Charring Cross Road isn't exactly fiction. And yet I voted for it. D'OH!


message 2: by Hazel (last edited Feb 19, 2010 07:26AM) (new)

Hazel Good point, 84 Charing Cross Road is a lovely piece of non-fiction.


message 3: by Kaion (new)

Kaion Was Push epistolary? Gah, my brain is swiss cheese.


message 4: by Kelly (new)

Kelly I think there may be some suggestion that Push is the result of Precious' classwork, so it could be seen as a diary in a way. It's not really in a diary format, though, so it would be pushing the definition a tad.


message 5: by Amy (new)

Amy Hazel wrote: "Good point, 84 Charing Cross Road is a lovely piece of non-fiction."

Amy wrote: "You know, 84 Charring Cross Road isn't exactly fiction. And yet I voted for it. D'OH! "

I have since deleted my vote. :D


message 6: by Stacey (new)

Stacey As a GR librarian, I can delete the title if it's okay with everyone else. Don't want to upset anyone, but yes, 84 Charing Cross Road isn't fiction. :)


Susanna - Censored by GoodReads Go ahead and delete it, Stacey.


message 8: by Julia (new)

Julia Oh, I love epistolary fiction!


Debbie is on Storygraph Deleted 84 Charing Cross Road.


message 10: by Kirsten (new)

Kirsten I added a couple of books that are (fictional) diary entries or letters told verbally through a tape recording, such as the Handmaid's Tale. This medium isn't specified in the description, but I assume it counts. :)


message 11: by Elaine (new)

Elaine Wilhelm I loved Glass Castle, but I don't think it's epistolary fiction?


message 12: by ~♡annie♡~ (new)

~♡annie♡~ Anne Frank counts... even though it's not fiction...


Debbie is on Storygraph ~♡Sushi♡~ wrote: "Anne Frank counts... even though it's not fiction..."

Anne Frank should not be on this list, because the list title is "Epistolary Fiction".


Debbie is on Storygraph Deleted 84 Charing Cross Road. Again.


message 15: by Anna (new)

Anna Kļaviņa Deleted Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl b/c it's nonfiction.


message 16: by Anna (new)

Anna Kļaviņa Would Lolita count? The book is supposed to be Humbert's manuscript.


Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) Anna wrote: "Would Lolita count? The book is supposed to be Humbert's manuscript."

Yes, but that's (to a certain extent) the case with every first person narration. IIRC, Lolita is a hindsight narration in one piece -- I don't recall it having the immediacy and "piecemeal" plot development of a diary or correspondence ...

Debbie and Anna, thanks for deleting a few nonfiction entries. (@Sushi: That BTW includes Anne Frank's diary, which is clearly NOT epistolary fiction.)


message 18: by BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) (last edited Jan 30, 2015 11:09AM) (new)

BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) It's being told alright, but I don't remember Wuthering Heights (#14) as being told "through letters, emails, diary entries"? I might be wrong though, as it is an awfully long time since I've read it...


message 19: by Susan (last edited May 01, 2017 07:38PM) (new)

Susan I deleted 84 Charing Cross Road, The Element of Lavishness, and The Letters of Abelard and Heloise because they're all nonfiction.


message 20: by Mike (new)

Mike I don't think The Stranger is epistolary. I'm pretty sure Speak isn't either, but it's been a long time since I read it, it could be wrong. Permission to delete those two?


message 21: by Rosa (new)

Rosa Doesn't epistolary refer only to letters?


message 22: by Lanelle (new)

Lanelle Rosa wrote: "Doesn't epistolary refer only to letters?"

No. According to Wikipedia: "An epistolary novel is a novel written as a series of documents. The usual form is letters, although diary entries, newspaper clippings and other documents are sometimes used. Recently, electronic 'documents' such as recordings and radio, blogs, and e-mails have also come into use."


message 23: by Jan (new)

Jan Priddy Letters to Alice: On First Reading Jane Austen by Fay Weldon


Susanna - Censored by GoodReads You add books at the top of the list, at the tab next to "all votes."


message 25: by Lobstergirl (new)

Lobstergirl Removed The Remains of the Day which is told in first person, but is not epistolary.


message 26: by Lobstergirl (new)

Lobstergirl Booklovinglady wrote: "It's being told alright, but I don't remember Wuthering Heights (#14) as being told "through letters, emails, diary entries"? I might be wrong though, as it is an awfully long time since I've read ..."

I don't recall it being epistolary either. Also I wouldn't call "The Woman in White" epistolary. It has multiple narrators, but I don't consider that the same as epistolary. Multiple narrators doesn't automatically correspond to "diary entries."


message 27: by The other Sandy (new)

The other Sandy Lanelle wrote: "Rosa wrote: "Doesn't epistolary refer only to letters?"

No. According to Wikipedia: "An epistolary novel is a novel written as a series of documents. The usual form is letters, although diary entries, newspaper clippings and other documents are sometimes used. Recently, electronic 'documents' such as recordings and radio, blogs, and e-mails have also come into use.""


According to the Library of Congress, epistolary fiction is: "Fiction written wholly or partially in the form of letters, telegrams, electronic mail messages, instant messages, etc. For fiction written in diary form see Diary fiction."


message 28: by Rosa (new)

Rosa Thank you.


message 29: by Agnieszka (last edited Nov 05, 2022 01:19AM) (new)

Agnieszka 1 duplicates found and removed

Deleted 84 Charing Cross Road again, added note to description, not to add non-fiction, specifically naming 84 Charing Cross Road & The Diary of a Young Girl


message 30: by Celia (new)

Celia Deleted My Dearest Friend and added title to note in description.


message 31: by Vicki (new)

Vicki #527 --84, Charing Cross Road has crept back on again.


back to top



Related News

Need another excuse to treat yourself to a new book this week? We’ve got you covered with the buzziest new releases of the day, according to early...

Anyone can add books to this list.