How did Betje Wolff and Aagje Deken use letters as a form of storytelling?

Betje Wolff and Aagje Deken utilized the epistolary novel format—a style of storytelling told through an exchange of letters—to revolutionize Dutch literature. Inspired by the works of Samuel Richardson, they adopted this technique to create realistic, subtly developed character studies that avoided the sentimentality and unnatural motivations common in other works of the era.12

By using letters, the authors were able to provide an intimate view of their characters' thoughts and feelings, granting the reader direct access to the narrative without the apparent interference of the author. This method allowed them to present events from multiple perspectives, which added dimension and verisimilitude to their stories.3

Their most notable collaboration, De historie van mejuffrouw Sara Burgerhart (1782), incorporated personal experiences from both women’s lives—such as Deken’s background in orphanage life and domestic service, and Wolff’s own youthful adventures—to ground their fictional letters in realistic detail. Following the success of this work, they produced several more epistolary novels, including De historie van den heer Willem Leevend and De historie van mejuffrouw Cornelia Wildschut.12