epistolary
/ɪˈpɪst(ə)ˌləri
/adjective
1Relating to the writing of letters.One method used by writers of young adult literature to express these themes has been the epistolary, or letter writing form....
- And the epistolary appearance of Lord Peter's mother - the apparently fluttery but always acute duchess, is certainly a Sayers highlight.
- There is a long tradition of epistolary relationships and the only difference between us and, say, Victorian letter writers is that our letters get there faster.
1.1(Of a literary work) in the form of letters: an epistolary novel...
- In one sense it is an epistolary novel, replete with plot and characters, scenes and backdrops.
- Shklovsky's second literary book - Zoo, or Letters Not about Love - takes the form of an epistolary novel.
- Also in 2004, her infamous epistolary vampire novel, The Letters of Mina Harker, was reprinted by the University of Wisconsin Press.
Origin
Mid 17th century: from French épistolaire or Latin epistolaris, from epistola (see epistle).