A type of novel that spread in Europe in the eighteenth century, alluded to by our Tunisian professors in their famous dictionary (Dictionary of Narratology); they indicated that the backbone of the text is fictional letters, wholly or partially, that undertake the function of narration, dialogue, or at least play an important role in the context of the story's events. It has various forms: the monophonic epistolary novel, in which correspondence occurs between two characters, one writing to the other without any response from the recipient; the duophonic type, where two correspondents regularly exchange letters; and the type that resembles a symphony in its organization and pairing. Scholars attribute to the latter type the novel's distinctive features: multiplicity of voices, diversity of perspectives, intermingling of styles, and variation in narrating the phases of a single event.

The epistolary novel is a new type of Western novel that rivals the prevalent subgenres of fiction known in Europe since the seventeenth century and beyond. Among these subgenres are, for example, the detective novel, historical novel, educational novel, bildungsroman, pastoral novel, biographical novel, philosophical novel, serial novel, adventure novel, documentary novel, and other similar subgenres. The seventeenth and eighteenth centuries are considered the age of development of the epistolary novel in Europe. It can be said that the period in which the epistolary novel flourished coincided with the emergence and early beginnings of the novel there; indeed, it was one of its developmental factors, especially as Europeans paid great attention to correspondence, an interest that contributed to the development of their epistolary literature—a development that, in my view, parallels the epistolary development witnessed by Arabs in the fourth century AH and beyond.

While the emergence of the Western novel in its modern sense is linked to the appearance of Don Quixote by the Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616), the epistolary novel emerged with the English writer Samuel Richardson (1689–1761), who created his two famous novels: Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded and Clarissa, or the History of a Young Lady. Both novels are entirely based on a pattern of letters, thus acquiring a striking form and a beautiful literary feature. Many Western writers were influenced by them; some attempted to imitate their style and follow their path. Some consider them the origin of the English novel and one of its pillars.

Among the Arabic novels that have been directly or indirectly influenced by the Western epistolary novel are: Ibrism by Muhammad Abd al-Halim Abdullah, Part of a Dream by Abdullah al-Jafri, Alzheimer by Ghazi al-Qusaibi, One Millimeter Away by Abdul Wahid Stitu, and others. The Arabic epistolary novels are distinguished by their novelty, uniqueness, and variety, ranging from traditional, paper-based to digital features.