The first book of 2026 has been completed, because it was a book that not only made me read past my bedtime, but I also kept telling myself that I had to read just one more chapter.
I saw a lot of love for ‘The Correspondent’ as 2025 drew to a close, so I knew I had to read it, so may have treated myself to this beautiful book. I mean, for the cover alone I would have read this book, as it is absolutely beautiful and would look stunning on any bookshelf.
‘The Correspondent’ is the story of Sybil. A woman who seems to have skill for penmanship, and always seems to communicate better through letters – with everyone in her life. We learn all about Sybil and her life through a range of letters and emails – including secrets she has held for many years of her life and the impact that these have had on her. Will she have time to resolve these as she feels she is ageing?
As I do not like to reveal any spoilers in books, it does sometimes make them hard to review. But this book is such a great read, as it is told in letters and emails, which makes for an easy and page-turning read. It is brilliant how Virginia Evans manages to create the first-person voice of so many characters as they write letters or emails. This is a quite a talent for a writer, as she has to be in the minds of so many different characters and keep the authenticity, but she has done it and it makes for a really wonderful book. You will feel all the emotions when you read this book too – by the end I may have shed a tear, which surely is also testament to the excellent writing from the pen of Virginia Evans.
This book reminded me of a radio series called ‘Ladies of Letters’, which used to star the wonderful Patricia Routledge and Prunella Scales (it was also on TV in 2009, with Anne Reid and Maureen Lipman, which was also great). If you have never encountered this, please do seek it out because it is a joy, as is this book.
Back to the matter in hand: this book means my 2026 reading has started strong. Any book after this one has a lot to live up to, although I am, of course, still excited to see what the rest of the year has to hold. But back to this book, I will be recommending it to anyone who will listen, and hope that it will mean that it will find lots more new readers, because it really deserves it.
(If you would like to find out even more about this book, it was BBC Radio 2 Book Club pick on the 29th April 2025 – so you may like to look up the episode.)