First editions annotated by Le Carré and Mantel to be auctioned

Some of Hilary Mantel’s annotations. The Booker-winning author says ‘a special kind of memory comes into play’ when making the notes. Photograph: Christie's

An extraordinary insight into some of the literary masterpieces of recent decades has been provided by their authors in handwritten annotations in first editions of their works.

Among more than 80 writers who have reread and commented on their works are Margaret Atwood, Hilary Mantel, Salman Rushdie, Monica Ali, John le Carré, Sebastian Faulks, Ben Okri, Ian McEwan, JM Coetzee, Peter Carey and Bernardine Evaristo.