The Correspondent is a book of letters. Sybil Van Antwerp, a 70-something woman who lives alone, spends regular hours at her desk taking care of her correspondence, just as she has done her whole life. She writes to her brother and her best friend. She writes to former colleagues and acquaintances she met through her career as a lawyer and judicial clerk. She writes to a teenage boy who has shared his secret troubles and fears with her and with whom she has shared some of her own secrets. She writes to authors whose books she has enjoyed, including Ann Patchett and Larry McMurtry. She has a regular correspondence with Joan Didion. And she writes, regularly and continuously, to someone who is unnamed and unknown until the very end. Though all these letters, we get a complete view of her life's struggles and triumphs, from her early years as an adopted child who felt so unlike her peers at school; to the loss of one of her children and her subsequent divorce; to the struggles in her later life to maintain a relationship with her daughter and her diagnosis of a degenerative eye condition that will eventually take her sight. Though the letters she writes and the letters she receives, we learn about her regrets and the things she blames herself for, and we are able to see how even a woman in her 70s who has had a long, satisfying life can still learn new things, can find ways to right the wrongs, and can find new ways to experience joy. It's a beautiful, quiet novel -- one that will likely make you want to write a letter!

Thank you to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for providing me with a digital ARC of this book in return for an honest review. It will be published April 29, 2025.

4.5/5 ⭐️ My heart! This book is written in letter style, which I don’t usually enjoy but it added such a sweet, well rounded element to it. It makes you connect to Sybil that much more. Her letters tugged on my heartstrings multiple times and I loved the dynamic and depth to it. I’m so happy to have read this book.

This took me four hours to read, I couldn’t put it down! I know the joy of letter writing so this resonated with me. I loved that Sybil was full of opinions, feelings and practicalities. She could open her heart and kindness to strangers but struggled to connect with her children. You knew there was a deep seated trauma there and Evans teased it out in such a natural way. Sybil was sharp tongued, witty and always had the best intentions. I want a Sybil in my life looking out for me! I would enjoy watching this on screen.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A brilliant novel about a woman who has an amazing relationship with the written word but has a terrible time expressing words that need to be spoken.

“The Correspondent” is lovely in so many ways. It is the best epistolary novel I’ve ever read. Main character Sybil Van Antwerp is an avid reader, but she not only enjoys books, she also contacts the authors with her well-constructed yet personal letters. Her friends and family share their thoughts on books as well as passing along the latest news.

Sybil Van Antwerp is in her mid-70s. She’s divorced, she’s going blind, and one of her children is obviously at odds with her. Sybil’s letters are central to her life.


Sybil has also carried a heavy burden for much of her life. She has told no one. One might think that with all the letters she has written that she would have at least hinted to one of her correspondents about her profound pain. But no, her pain is private.

I enjoyed “The Correspondent” so much. The author, Virginia Evans, has included just the right amount of happiness and tragedy.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance reader’s copy. This is my honest review.

This is one of those books that you need to put aside and reread in the future to appreciate the little landmines the author has buried here and there.

I requested this ARC because Sybil was a lawyer - but she was more of a "think tank" as opposed to an active litigator. At one point she declares that she loved the law because it was so black and white. Ah.... no, it isn't - and never was, or will be. For every air tight piece of legislation, there is case law that proves the exception to that rule. Hard cases make bad law, and in the British Commonwealth our own revered Lord Denning (a High Court of Appeal judge, and holder of many other prestigious legal offices) often contradicted his own previous decisions. It's all about interpretation in the end - and whether you can convince the presiding judge to see it your way on any given day in court! But I digress....

Sybil Van Antwerp (nee Stone) worked in the background, acting as her senior partner's research arm. When Guy Donnelly became a judge, she followed him to court and served as his clerk. Many clerks go on to open their own successful practices and eventually seek appointment to the bench themselves, but Sybil never sought out the judicial limelight, and she retired when Guy Donnelly did. They were a team and the practice of law held no appeal for her without him. Spoiler alert: (view spoiler)

I did enjoy the various letters she wrote to authors (Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry), as well as to a film director (George Lucas), and several other famous persons. That Sybil got feedback from all of these celebrities (in this story) was a huge bonus! (Loved reading those responses!) When Sybil is romanced by not one but TWO eligible swains, this long, rambling epistolary story got really interesting for me.

And who were all those "Unsent" letters addressed to? I suspected for a while that it was to her ex-husband, Daan, or her former legal partner, Guy, but, toward the end, spoiler alert: (view spoiler)

Sybil was a force to be reckoned with, even though she was battling blindness. She eventually learned to conquer her fears and in the final chapter of her life, she traveled and had more than one second chance at love. And the evolution of her friendship with young, deeply troubled Harry Landy, and his numerous trials and tribulations.... those were the highlights of this story for me. (The closing comment in one of his letters almost brought me to tears.)

I'm rating this rambling story told through a series of often engaging letters a 4.5 out of 5 stars, rounded down to a 4 because NetGalley and Goodreads do not permit half points. My thanks to the author, Virginia Evans, her publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

The Correspondent follows septuagenarian Sybil, as she writes letters to and from various connections ranging from her dear friend Joan Didion to a person threatening her due to actions from her past.

Sybil is far from a perfect human, and she bumbles through many of her interactions that gave me second hand embarrassment for her (her first interaction with a customer service rep had me dying), but somehow you root for her now matter how hard she bungles engagements. She's also not a perfect mother, and we get to watch her wrestle with knowing that but not knowing how to fix it, and develop deep empathy for where that stymied feeling came from for her.

With all I've said you might assume that this is a novel that really exists as a character study, and of course it does that brilliantly, However it's also got its own compelling plot that kept me up, reading letter after letter, trying to piece together what would happen next.

All of these characters were so flawed and so human and so deeply, deeply loveable; and through their letters, Sybil is able to expand her world, even as she feels it shrinking near the end of her life, with her vision fading.

Sybil is a dedicated reader as well, and it's so fun to watch her parse her feelings about various books in her letters to her brother and dear friend.

I recommend this book wholeheartedly for fans of epistolary novels, anyone with a boomer generation parent who struggles to connect sometimes, and those who understand that the connections we forge are the legacies we leave. I loved this book, and am grateful to Netgalley and Crown Publishing for the advance copy of this lovely book.

This was just lovely! It's been quite a while since I read an epistolary novel, and for that reason it took me some pages to settle in, but once I started to get to know Sybil and learn about her rich and complex life, I was hooked.

I will be recommending it widely!

Thanks very much to the publisher and to NetGalley for the chance to read a digital ARC in advance of publication.

Sybil Van Antwerp has throughout her life used letters to make sense of the world and her place in it. Most mornings, she writes to her family and friends. She has a wonderful life but when one letter needs to be read in order to find forgiveness, she struggles with that. Beautifully written and breathtaking!

What a debut - this was so incredibly delightful. Many thanks to NetGalley and Crown Publishers for the ARC.

Don't be fooled by it's slow start. This book is an absolutely heartwarming delight that you will revisit time and time again!

Just a beautifully written book that is full of heart and emotion. I just loved it. It was slow to get into at times my mind would wander. However, it makes the reader think about their own life and the perspectives that one should consider about their choices.

I don't normally read stories written this way but I did love this one. Sybil Van Antwerp is a complex character. Through her letters we learned about her life. It sounded as though she'd found her perfect job as a judge's assistant even though she was capable of being a judge herself. I liked that she enjoyed her job enough she was willing to stay at that level instead of pursuing more.

There were moments when I didn't like her but she then did something that made me change my mind. She understood the power of the written word. She felt like a real person who struggled to always be fair and do what was right. I felt sorry for her because of her relationship with her daughter and with the loss of a child. I loved Sybil's independence. She had a freedom and it was refreshing to read about a strong woman.

I loved the setting. It is someplace I would love to actually see and the author made me feel as if I was there. From the description of her home, I wouldn't have wanted to leave it either.

I also enjoyed the fact that she sometimes came off as fussy but she stood up to help whenever she could. I think she is someone the reader could connect with. I am not in the medical field but I guessed that maybe she was on the spectrum for autism.
I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy women's fiction and are looking for a story that will inspire.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this title!

As a debut novel, this one was better than most that I've read.

Sybil Van Antwerp is a senior citizen, set in her ways, and sort of rude - until you begin to understand her. Underneath she's soft and caring. She's interested in life outside herself. She takes care of the people she loves. But she's gruff. She has history. There is trauma back there in her past and as you read her letters to her people - her correspondence - you begin to get the sense that she is hiding a tragedy, and some of her relationships suffer because SHE is suffering.

Written as a book of letters, you really only see glimpses of her life, but gradually you begin to understand, and even to love, her. And when you find out the depth of her sorrow, you want to weep for her. She has spent her life grieving, not able to get unstuck and move on from the sadness that happened years in her past.

Books like this make me feel a little voyeuristic, although I can't really say that I enjoyed reading about her pain. But I do wish she lived next door. I liked her.

I admit that I have fallen in love with Sybil Van Antwerp, the honest-to-a-fault correspondent at the heart of Virginia Evans' epistolary novel.

While I haven't always been a fan of novels where the story is told solely through letters/emails, I eventually got into the rhythm and found Sybil's back story as well as where life was taking this 70-something woman heartbreaking, profound, and a mix of so many other emotions. Like all of us, Sybil has her faults, but underneath her sometimes "tough as nails" and irascible nature lies the heart of a beautiful and fragile woman who has had her share of grief.

The Correspondent is one of those books that stays with you long after you've finished that last page. Beautifully written -- bravo to author Virginia Evans for such a lovely and heartwarming read.

With thanks to #NetGalley and #CrownPublishing for this ARC of #TheCorrespondent.

Told as a series of letters between Sybil and her various friends, family and neighbors, this book is a delight. Contained within the letters are tragedies, love affairs, author appreciations, family discord and discovery.

I love epistolary book is just plain wonderful! It’s a story of Sybil’s life told by her letters to her loved ones and friends.
Don’t miss this great book!

This beautifully crafted book delves into the theme of aging, examining the reflections that arise from the choices we make and a life well lived. Deeply insightful and moving.

This is an epistolary novel narrated primarily through the letters of Sybil Van Antwerp, a retired clerk for a judge who recently passed away. She is divorced, and her ex-husband and father of her children, is dying. Through the letters, we learn about Sybil's relationships with her children, friends, and neighbor, her former employment, grief, and regrets. The letters also reveal challenges Sybil is facing, how she manages them, and the way she finally finds peace.

A cleverly done novel that definitely appeals to the older generation and an excellent way to spin a story using the past and the present in correspondence---a lost art. Loved this novel