The Correspondent

Virginia Evans

Literary Fiction · Contemporary Fiction · 2025

About this book

Character · supporting

Felix is Sybil’s brother; she sends him a letter addressed to Gordes, France.The Correspondent publisher sample · Printed page 3, first letter address and greeting · Women’s Prize / Michael Joseph · License unspecifiedSign in to report this detail

Character · protagonist

A retired lawyer, divorced mother and grandmother, Sybil organizes her days around writing letters.The Correspondent publisher sample · Printed page 1, A Preface · Women’s Prize / Michael Joseph · License unspecifiedSign in to report this detail
After leaving the legal profession, Sybil lives by herself in Annapolis and continues exchanging letters.The Correspondent (novel) - Wikipedia · Synopsis section ('The novel follows Sybil Van Antwerp, a retired lawyer living alone in Annapolis... She has a lifelong practice of writing letters') · Wikimedia Foundation · CC BY-SA 4.0Sign in to report this detail

Sybil has just turned seventy-three.The Correspondent publisher sample · Printed page 3, first letter to Felix · Women’s Prize / Michael Joseph · License unspecifiedSign in to report this detail

Sybil tells Felix she has decided to stop coloring her hair.The Correspondent publisher sample · Printed page 3, first letter to Felix · Women’s Prize / Michael Joseph · License unspecifiedSign in to report this detail
Sybil experiences progressive vision loss across the decade of writing her letters and emails.The Correspondent (novel) - Wikipedia · Synopsis section · Wikimedia Foundation · CC BY-SA 4.0Sign in to report this detail

Sybil was adopted in childhood and deliberates whether to uncover the identity of her birth parents.The Correspondent (novel) - Wikipedia · Synopsis section · Wikimedia Foundation · CC BY-SA 4.0Sign in to report this detail
Sybil’s marriage ended in divorce. Two of her children reached adulthood; another died when eight years old.The Correspondent (novel) - Wikipedia · Synopsis section · Wikimedia Foundation · CC BY-SA 4.0Sign in to report this detail

Character · supporting

An unknown recipient of a series of unsent letters written by Sybil.The Correspondent (novel) - Wikipedia · Synopsis section ('there are a series of unsent letters written to an unknown recipient') · Wikimedia Foundation · CC BY-SA 4.0Sign in to report this detail

Place · primary

Annapolis is a city in Maryland where Sybil resides alone in her retirement.The Correspondent (novel) - Wikipedia · Synopsis section ('living alone in Annapolis') · Wikimedia Foundation · CC BY-SA 4.0Sign in to report this detail

Place · primary

Her desk faces a garden and river; distant sails and large houses are visible across the water.The Correspondent publisher sample · Printed page 1, A Preface · Women’s Prize / Michael Joseph · License unspecifiedSign in to report this detail

Chapter 1 takes place here.The Correspondent publisher sample · Printed page 1, A Preface · Women’s Prize / Michael Joseph · License unspecifiedSign in to report this detail

Sybil writes at a carefully arranged desk with books, pens, stamps and unanswered letters nearby.The Correspondent publisher sample · Printed page 1, A Preface · Women’s Prize / Michael Joseph · License unspecifiedSign in to report this detail
The epistolary narrative unfolds from Sybil's home in Annapolis, Maryland, as she writes letters to correspondents.The Correspondent (novel) - Wikipedia · Synopsis section · Wikimedia Foundation · CC BY-SA 4.0Sign in to report this detail

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