In Letters of Note: Mothers, Shaun Usher gathers together exceptional missives by and to mothers, celebrating the joy and grief, humour and frustration, wisdom and sacrifice the role brings to both parent and child.

A star-studded cast of readers brings the letters to life, with contributions from Louise Brealey, Simon Callow, Crystal Clarke, Benedict Cumberbatch, Adrian Edmondson, Neil Gaiman, Toby Jones, Ferdinand Kingsley, Jude Law, Helen McCrory, Natascha McElhone, Miriam Margolyes, Clarke Peters, Juliet Stevenson and Meera Syal.

The collection features letters by Caitlin Moran, Sylvia Plath, Martin Luther King Jr., Louisa May Alcott, Laura Dern, Bette Davis, Martha Gellhorn and many more.

Letters of Note: Mothers also includes audio exclusive bonus content drawn from recordings made at performances of Letters Live, the live events series produced by Canongate in partnership with SunnyMarch and Shaun Usher. Savour Carey Mulligan reading Chrissy Hart’s letter to J.K. Rowling at London’s Freemasons’ Hall and Anjelica Huston reading Bette Davis’ letter to B.D. Hyman at LA’s Ace Hotel.

Ten per cent of the proceeds* received from this audiobook will be made available by the publisher, Canongate Books, to The National Literacy Trust for their work with improving the reading, writing, speaking and listening skills in the UK's poorest communities, with a focus on children and young people.

The National Literacy Trust is a registered charity in the UK with charity numbers 1116260 and 5836486 (England/Wales), and SC042944 (Scotland).

*Proceeds means the cash-price or cash-equivalent price less sales taxes.

Full cast: Louise Brealey, Simon Callow, Benedict Cumberbatch, Adrian Edmondson, Neil Gaiman, Danny Huston, Toby Jones, Ferdinand Kingsley, Jude Law, Helen McCrory, Natascha McElhone, Miriam Margolyes, Clarke Peters, Juliet Stevenson, Meera Syal.