John Lennon was a writer as well as a musician. It was entirely natural for him to put pen to paper whenever he had an idea, a thought, a reaction, or a desire to communicate. He lived - and died - in an age before emails and texts. Pen and ink was what he turned to. John wrote letters and postcards all of his life, to his friends, family, strangers, newspapers, organisations, lawyers, and the laundry - most of which were funny, informative, campaigning, wise, mad, poetic, anguished, and sometimes heart-breaking. For the first time, John's widow, Yoko Ono, has given permission to publish a collection of his letters. The editor of this book is the Beatles' official biographer, Hunter Davies, who knew John well.

John's letters are, in a way, something of a mystery - where are they all? Over the years, many have come up at auction and were then sold to dealers and collectors. Or they have been kept by the recipients, locked up safely. It has been a wonderful piece of detective work tracing many of these 250 letters, postcards, and notes, which are arranged in chronological order, so that a narrative builds up, reflecting John's life.

The John Lennon Letters is fundamentally a book to study, as it provides a unique insight into the mind of one of the great figures of our times. John's letters are read here by Christopher Eccleston, an English actor who has had a hugely successful career in film, TV, and on the stage. His regular appearance on the TV series Cracker in 1993 brought him recognition; he went on to star alongside such actresses as Nicole Kidman and Cate Blanchett. He won the 2011 International Emmy Award for his performance in Jimmy McGovern's Accused. He played John Lennon in a 2010 TV movie and has twice been nominated in the Best Actor categories of the BAFTA TV Awards.

Hunter's editorial materials are read by Allan Corduner, who trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and has appeared on stage in Passion at the Donmar Warehouse, Serious Money in the West End, Titanic on Broadway, and on screen in Yentl and Topsy-Turvy, amongst many other roles. He is a highly experienced voice actor and memorably narrated the voice of Death when reading The Book Thief. He has read Elspeth Coopers' Wild Hunt novels for Orion. This book also includes a foreword read by Yoko Ono.