Literary Fiction · WarmSybil Van Antwerp, a retired lawyer in Annapolis, writes letters to relatives, old colleagues and favorite authors
The Correspondent
A retired lawyer who lives alone tells her life through the letters and emails she writes
Sybil Van Antwerp is a retired lawyer who lives alone in Annapolis. She is a divorced mother of two living adult children, lost a son who died at age eight, was adopted and is losing her eyesight. She has a lifelong habit of writing letters to relatives, former colleagues and authors such as Joan Didion, Larry McMurtry and Ann Patchett. The novel is told through letters and emails. Crown published it on April 29, 2025, and it is Evans's first published novel.
More about this book
Who
Sybil Van Antwerp, a retired lawyer, and the people she writes to.
World
Annapolis, told through letters and emails.
What makes it different
It is told entirely in letters and emails. It is Evans's first published novel, after seven that went unpublished.
Feel
Warm and reflective. It also won the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel.
Page count and cover shown for: Selected edition
Further reading
- The CorrespondentWikipedia