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An epistolary work is one composed entirely or largely of letters, diary entries, documents, or other written correspondence between characters. The form was hugely popular in the 18th century. Examples: Samuel Richardson’s Pamela (1740), Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, and more recently The Color Purple by Alice Walker and Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes. The epistolary form creates intimacy and raises questions about reliability.
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