Join us upstairs in the Sun Tavern for our September Book Club to discuss The Correspondent by Virginia Evans.
A quietly charming novel full of soul, The Correspondent introduces readers to an utterly unforgettable protagonist – Sybil Van Antwerp, who for decades has been living her life primarily through letters, until one day a message from someone in her past turns her orderly world upside down.
Every morning, Sybil Van Antwerp sits down to write letters – to her brother, to her best friend, to the president of the university who will not allow her to attend a class she desperately wants to take, to her favourite authors to tell them what she thinks of their latest books, and to one person to whom she writes often yet never sends the letter.
Because at seventy-three, Sybil has used her correspondence – witty and wise – to make sense of the world. But beyond the page, she has spent the last thirty years keeping the people who love her at arms’ length… until letters from someone in her past force her to examine one of the most painful periods of her life.
Now, Sybil must send the letter she has been writing for all these years – and find forgiveness within herself in order to move on.
Winner of the Women’s Prize 2026!
Virginia Evans is from the East Coast of the United States. She attended James Madison University for her bachelor’s in English literature. After starting a family, she went back to school for her master’s of philosophy in creative writing at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, where she studied under tutors including Claire Keegan and Kevin Power.
The SYP Book Club occurs monthly, so if you can’t make it this time, join us in October for more great bookish chats!
Bookings are closed for this event.