Novel written as if it is a collection of letters, exchanged by characters in the story. It may be used as a literary
device to persuade the reader that the events described are real.
The English writer Samuel
Richardson popularized the epistolary novel with his books
Pamela (174041) and
Clarissa (174748). The epistolary device, as well as diary entries, were often used in the
gothic novel to give credibility to the often fantastical story.
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