Democracy Dies in Darkness

The story behind the feel-good novel of the year

“The Correspondent” by Virginia Evans surprised everyone with its success. The author talks about how the book came to be.

9 min
Virginia Evans. (Austin Joffe)
By

This year’s breakout bestseller was written in a bedroom closet.

The success of “The Correspondent,” a debut novel by Virginia Evans that tells the story of Sybil Van Antwerp, a 70-something Maryland woman with a penchant for letter-writing, has surprised everyone — including its author.

What readers are saying

The success of "The Correspondent" as a breakout bestseller seems to be attributed to its unique format of storytelling through letters and emails, which initially might seem unconventional but becomes engaging. The character development of Sybil, who transforms from a... Show more
This summary is AI-generated. AI can make mistakes and this summary is not a replacement for reading the comments.
A note to our readersWe are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
By
Nora Krug is an editor and writer in Book World. Before joining The Washington Post, she was an editor at the New York Times, Architectural Digest and Harper's Magazine. She also worked as an editor at the book publisher Little, Brown.@nbkrug
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