The Notebook was Nicholas Sparks' first published novel and written over a time period of six months in 1994.

[1][2] Literary agent Theresa Park discovered Sparks by picking the book out of her agency's slush pile and reading it.

[3] In interviews, Sparks said he was inspired to write the novel by the story of his wife's grandparents, who had been married for more than 60 years when he met them.

He tells her the following story: Noah, 24, returns from World War II to his town of New Bern, North Carolina.

She realizes that her mother hid the letters so that Allie could never receive them and would conclude that Noah had forgotten about her.

At the end of the night, Noah invites Allie to come back the next day and promises her a surprise.

The next day, Noah takes Allie on a canoe ride in a small lake where swans and geese swim.

Throughout the story he explains he is also ill, battling a third cancer, and suffering heart disease, kidney failure, and severe arthritis in his hands.

He resumes reading the story and describing their life together: her career as a noted painter, their children, growing old together, and finally the diagnosis of Alzheimer's.

In 2004, the novel was adapted into a popular film of the same name starring Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling.

[5][6] A musical adaptation of the novel opened on Broadway at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre on March 14, 2024.

The musical, co-directed by Michael Greif and Schele Williams, features a score by Ingrid Michaelson and a book by Bekah Brunstetter.