Letters from Father Christmas audiobook vs book: which should you choose?
Tolkien wrote these letters to his children as Father Christmas over twenty-four years, and drew and decorated each one by hand. The recording gives every letter-writer their own voice.
Short answer: for the Letters from Father Christmas audiobook vs book choice, we say listen on Audible (64% confidence, close call). HarperCollins’s recording gives each letter-writer a reader: Derek Jacobi as Father Christmas, John Moffatt as the Polar Bear and Christian Rodska as the elf Ilbereth, with specially composed music, in 2 hours 7 minutes. The cast and the praise narrowly outweigh the handwriting, drawings and goblin alphabet that only the printed book shows.
Listen on Audible
A recording with three narrators, music and a named review points to audio, but the handwriting, drawings and a goblin alphabet are only in print.
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Confidence 64%, which puts it in the close call band. Bands run from close call at 50 to 64, through leaning at 65 to 79 and clear at 80 to 94, up to clear cut at 95 and above.
The audiobook at a glance
| Recording | UK edition (HarperCollins) | US edition (HarperCollins) |
|---|---|---|
| Readers | Derek Jacobi (Father Christmas), John Moffatt (Polar Bear), Christian Rodska (Ilbereth the elf) | Same three readers |
| Length | 2 hours 7 minutes (2h 7m) | 2 hours 7 minutes (2h 7m) |
| At 1.5x | about 1h 25m | about 1h 25m |
| At 2x | about 1h 4m | about 1h 4m |
| Abridged or unabridged | Unabridged, per a library catalogue | Unabridged, per a library catalogue |
| Production | Specially composed music | Specially composed music |
| Audio publisher and year | HarperCollins, on Audible from 4 October 2005 | HarperCollins, on Audible from 4 October 2005 |
| Print length | 208 pages (Centenary Edition hardback, 2020) | 208 pages (Centenary Edition, 2020) |
| Price (snapshot) | £8.61 on Audible UK | $12.11 on Audible US |
| Listener ratings | 4.6 from 214 ratings | 4.6 from 2,072 ratings |
This is the only English audio edition found, so it is scored. The UK and US listings share readers, length, publisher and release date, which suggests one recording, but no source confirms it. The publisher describes it as the complete series of letters from 1920 to 1943; which print text it follows (the 1976 selection or the expanded 1999 edition) is not confirmed.
Lengths checked 21 October 2026. Speed times are calculated from the listed length. Prices and ratings are a snapshot from the same day.
Letters from Father Christmas
J.R.R. Tolkien
- Genre
- Illustrated letters for children
- Written
- 1920 to 1943, to Tolkien’s own children
- First published
- 1976, as The Father Christmas Letters, edited by Baillie Tolkien
- Length
- 208 pages (Centenary Edition, 2020)
- On audio
- 2 hrs 7 mins, Derek Jacobi, John Moffatt, Christian Rodska
On this page
Why we reached this verdict
Every book on this site is checked against the same thirteen questions. They are based on research into what most people find easier to follow in each format, not on whether the book is any good.
Listening: full cast or produced audio (10), award-winning or praised narration (6), 16 points. Reading: story depends on images or layout (9), 9 points. 64% of the confirmed points favour listening, so the verdict is listen on Audible at 64% confidence (close call).
The recording in detail
- Scored
- HarperCollins, Derek Jacobi, John Moffatt and Christian Rodska, with specially composed music, 2h 7m, on Audible UK and US from 4 October 2005
- Casting
- One reader per letter-writer: Jacobi as Father Christmas, Moffatt as the North Polar Bear, Rodska as Ilbereth the elf
- Earlier release
- A 2000 Harper Audio cassette edition with the same readers and bells between letters, likely the same recording (not confirmed)
- Listener ratings
- 4.6 from 214 on Audible UK and 4.6 from 2,072 on Audible US, as of October 2026. One Goodreads reviewer found the musical interludes repetitive
- What you miss
- The handwriting, the drawings, the stamps and envelopes, and the goblin alphabet
What this book actually is
Every Christmas from 1920 to 1943, J.R.R. Tolkien answered his children’s letters as Father Christmas. The letters were first published on 2 September 1976 as The Father Christmas Letters, edited by Baillie Tolkien. The first edition left out several letters and drawings; a 1999 edition, retitled Letters from Father Christmas, added them, and the Centenary Edition (HarperCollins, 27 November 2020, 208 pages) reproduces the originals in high quality, some for the first time.
Father Christmas is not the only writer. His helper the North Polar Bear (later revealed as Karhu) adds his own notes, and so does the elf secretary Ilbereth. The letters tell of reindeer mishaps, a broken Moon, the Polar Bear falling through a roof and wars with the goblins, and the 1939 letter refers to the Second World War. In 2023 Jim Broadbent read an extract at Westminster Abbey’s televised “Together at Christmas” service.
The case for reading it
The printed book reproduces the letters as objects to look at. Tolkien wrote each character in a different hand, shaky for Father Christmas because of his age and the cold, thick and plain for the Polar Bear, spindly for Ilbereth, in coloured inks with decorated capitals, and illustrated nearly every letter. He designed the envelopes, North Pole stamps and postmarks too. One letter is in a new alphabet whose key arrived four years later, when the 1936 Goblin Alphabet was revealed. Goodreads readers call the calligraphy “a sight to behold”.
The Centenary Edition hardback (208 pages) is the fullest version. The ebook is a full-colour edition with transcribed text beside the images, but one reviewer found it hard to read on a Kindle and “infinitely better in print”, while another said an iPad keeps “the lovely colours”. If you read on screen, a colour tablet is the way to do it.
The case for listening to it
The recording is a proper production. Derek Jacobi reads Father Christmas, John Moffatt the Polar Bear and Christian Rodska the elf, so each letter-writer has their own voice, and there is music written for the recording. Listeners rate it 4.6 on both Audible UK and Audible US, and one Goodreads reviewer says the audio “increases the excitement”. At 2 hours 7 minutes it suits a few December bedtimes.
SFFaudio suggests the audio suits people who already own the book, and that may be the best way to have it: let Derek Jacobi read while a child follows the drawings. One reviewer found the musical interludes repetitive and too long.
The audiobook in detail
The HarperCollins recording is on Audible UK at £8.61 and Audible US at $12.11 as of October 2026, both 2 hours 7 minutes and both released on Audible on 4 October 2005. A library catalogue lists it as unabridged. An earlier Harper Audio cassette (2000) had the same three readers, with bells between letters, and is probably the same recording, though that is not confirmed. Who composed the music is not stated.
No other English audio edition was found on either store. At 1.5x it takes about 1 hour 25 minutes, at 2x about 1 hour 4 minutes.
Who should ignore this verdict
Anyone who wants the book as an object should choose print. Tolkien wrote each character in a different hand, illustrated nearly every letter and designed the envelopes and North Pole stamps, and SFFaudio says the images cannot be adapted to audio.
So should anyone who wants the goblin episodes, because the letters tell them partly through the pictures and the goblin alphabet.
If you do read, choose the hardback or a colour tablet. One reviewer found the ebook hard to read on a Kindle and ‘infinitely better in print’, while another said an iPad keeps ‘the lovely colours’.
Audiobook
- Read by Derek Jacobi, John Moffatt and Christian Rodska, with music
- 2h 7m, or about 1h 25m at 1.5x
- Best with the book open
Kindle
- 208 pages, Centenary Edition hardback, with the letters reproduced
- Full-colour ebook: use a colour tablet, not an E-ink Kindle
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Questions people ask
Who narrates the Letters from Father Christmas audiobook?
Three readers: Derek Jacobi as Father Christmas, John Moffatt as the North Polar Bear and Christian Rodska as Ilbereth the elf, with specially composed music (HarperCollins).
How long is the Letters from Father Christmas audiobook?
2 hours 7 minutes on Audible UK and Audible US; at 1.5x about 1 hour 25 minutes and at 2x about 1 hour 4 minutes (calculated).
Should I read or listen to Letters from Father Christmas?
Listen on our checks (64% confidence, close call). A three-reader recording with music and praise from SFF Audio narrowly outweighs the handwriting, drawings and goblin alphabet that only the printed book shows.
Is Letters from Father Christmas good on Kindle?
There is a full-colour ebook with transcribed text beside the images, but reviewers found it hard to read on an E-ink Kindle. A colour tablet or the print edition shows the letters properly.
Is the Letters from Father Christmas audiobook unabridged?
A library catalogue lists it as unabridged, and the publisher describes it as the complete series of letters from 1920 to 1943. Which print edition it follows is not confirmed.
When did Tolkien write the Father Christmas letters?
Every Christmas from 1920 to 1943, to his own children. They were first published in 1976, edited by Baillie Tolkien.
What is the goblin alphabet in Letters from Father Christmas?
A 1932 letter used a new alphabet whose key came four years later, when the 1936 letter revealed the Goblin Alphabet. One Polar Bear letter is written in it.
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How this verdict was reached
Every book on this site is checked against the same thirteen questions, set in advance and applied identically to every title. They are based on research into what readers and listeners generally find easier to follow in each format, not on personal preference, and they are published in full so you can check the reasoning yourself. Verdicts are never paid for, sponsored or influenced by affiliate partners.
- The criteria: read the thirteen questions in full.
- What we checked for this book: the Audible UK and Audible US search listings and product pages, Hoopla and OverDrive library records, SFFaudio’s review, the Tolkien Estate and h2g2 on the letter-writers’ handwriting, BabelStone on the goblin alphabet, Open Library and HarperCollins for the Centenary Edition, Apple Books, Goodreads, and Wikipedia as a secondary source on publication history.
- Verdict last reviewed: 23 October 2026. Editions and narrators change, so verdicts are rechecked annually.
- Prefer different criteria? The app, coming soon, will let you change which of the thirteen questions matter to you.
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