#2 in Contemporary fiction
The Correspondent
- 400
- Pages
- about 7 h
- Reading time
- NYT bestseller · 40 weeks on the list, peaked at #1
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About the book
The Correspondent is an epistolary novel by American author Virginia Evans. It was published on April 29, 2025, by Crown Publishing Group. The novel follows the letters and emails of a retired lawyer and chief clerk sent between 2012 and 2022. It is Evans' first published novel, after having completed seven unpublished novels. The novel was a slow-burn success, reaching the top of the New York Times Fiction Best Seller List on February 1, 2026. It won a PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel, and received widespread acclaim from critics, also winning the 2026 Women's Prize for Fiction. A film adaptation starring Jane Fonda was announced on March 18, 2026.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.6 across 329 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 69% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Contemporary fiction average of 7.6. That is how 8.3 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardcover | 8.6 | 329 | 100% |
Reader voices
The most-liked reviews on Hardcover (credited to their authors).
“I am an absolute emotional wreck. 😭 5 MILLION STARS! Wow. Just… wow. I literally finished The Correspondent by Virginia Evans five minutes ago and I’m still sitting here trying to process my feelings. This book completely wrecked me in the absolute best way possible.It…”
“Written entirely through a series of letters with a late-seventies woman as the central protagonist. Much like myself, she prides herself on communicating best via her writing. Her letters (and replies to them) over seven years are written to her friends, children, neighbors, and the…”
Frequently asked
How long is The Correspondent?
It has 400 pages — longer than 63% of the ranked books in Contemporary fiction.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Contemporary fiction — with scores between 7.6 and 8.2, closest to this book.
