A Twist Of Lennon

by Cynthia Lennon

Cynthia married John while he was still in art college, and shared the frenzy and stardom the Beatles created. It's all here, form the early days in German clubs, through the Ed Sullivan Show. A Hard Day;s Night, Sergeant Pepper's, The Maharishi - Cynthia Lennon lived the Beatle experience.

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction, Memoir, Autobiography, British Literature

190 pages, Paperback

First published June 29, 1978

About the author

Cynthia Lennon (née Powell) was the first wife of musician John Lennon. She grew up in the middle-class section of Hoylake, on the Wirral UK, and gained a place at the Liverpool College of Art.

Reviews

[Brandy Potter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was 9 years old when I heard the 1st song that touched me. It wasn’t bubble gum pop, it wasn’t the new boy band.

It was Valotte by Julian Lennon.

I felt a sadness and the heart behind that song and I put it on a mix tape, it was the 80’s after all, and I played it over and over. Then I was allowed to buy the tape and I loved that too.

My father was a musician and had talked about this band from England that had changed music and ruined his career (they played surfer rock) and this concert in DC and blah blah blah,

But I didn’t know who they were I couldn’t remember their name. But one day in the car I won the music war with my brother and I had dad rewind the tape and turn up the car radio to hear Valotte again loud enough that I could sing to it.

Dad said, “Do you know who this is”
“Yes, Julian Lennon,” I relied, “I love this song.”
“Do you know who his father was?”
“No, should I?”
“His father was John Lennon.”
“Who?”

Even my mother, who never liked The Beatles turned and said, “You don’t know who The Beatles are?”

Because of Julian I had learned the name of the greatest band the world ever knew. I watched A Hard Day’s Night and then because little to no reading material was available about Julian, I got reading materials about John. I turned my best friend into a Beatles fan and she was as hungry as I was to learn. Me for Julian, her for John.

I wanted to know more about the person who shaped Julian into the person he is.. not John or The Beatles, but Cynthia. Kelly did too because.. well because she was jealous with her John crush.

There was little about her in the few books that we had, but I knew her name. We went to the library (our internet then) and looked up Cynthia Lennon and low and behold there was a book not just about her, but that she had written

I have owned A Twist of Lennon for many years now. It was the most expensive book I ever bought because I bought it out of print in 1995, but it was well worth it to me. It is one of my treasures and is kept in a place of honor in my book collection.

I was always amazed at the grace with which Cynthia did not write with hatred or anger towards John or Yoko. To me she was always the most gracious, spiritual and stoic person in the entire Lennon clan and it was that book that made me a HUGE Cynthia fan, more so than Julian or John.

[Deirdre Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poor Cynthia! She has been terribly put upon for having married John Lennon. He treated her poorly, cheating on her, abusing her trust and essentail goodness. She was terribly naive, that's the worse part of the book, along with how bad a father John was to their son, Julian. John Lennon was always my favourite Beatle, but a book like this shows how flawed a genius he was. I now cringe when I hear his Give Peace a Chance because he was incapable of sowing any kind of peace in that part of the world where he actually lived.

[Eliza · Rating 4 out of 5]

I consider myself an amateur Beatles expert, so it's kind of surprising that I hadn't read this book yet. I picked it up at a used bookstore and reluctantly began reading it, expecting it to be mediocre. I mean, it's written by John's first wife... I thought it would be bitter, especially on the topic of Yoko. Actually, it's a very loving story of their relationship that goes way back to their days at the Liverpool art school and continues up until their divorce. There are even a few photos that I'd never seen before. I think it provides a very interesting perspective on John's life and personality from the only person qualified to show it to us.

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

What this book did, above all, was let me 'see' Cynthia Lennon and what a lovely person she was! The book is written very informally, a breezy chat of a book. Part of me, that pesky part that wants to correct the grammar in Facebook posts, persisted in commenting on sentence fragments, run-on sentences, run-on sentence fragments. There were also words, like salubrious, that she clearly didn't know the meaning of, saying things like 'we had a lovely time despite the salubrious environment', as if it meant the opposite of what it meant. But I sternly silenced that pesky part because viewed as a conversation these things didn't matter. Now was it the in depth truth about the Beatles, about those years of Beatlemania, about John? I don't think so because Cynthia is so tactful! She breezed over people's darker sides and the dark side of that era but that is fine. It's fine. These are friends and loved ones of hers and she said nothing negative about anybody except Magic Alex, who she clearly disliked and saw as a parasitic hanger-on and bad influence. Cynthia reminds me of my grandmother - if you don't have anything nice to say about someone don't say anything at all. She was a very kind woman, and a very great lady, and I came away with a new respect for her. Enjoyed this book thoroughly.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

An autobiography of Cynthia Lennon's life with John, told without melodrama or bitterness. It is not a finely crafted work of literature, but it's a unique perspective on the Beatles experience. I recommend it highly to anyone interested in Beatles artifacts.

[Nessa Borealis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read staggering numbers of Beatle bios, but this remembrance by John's first wife had a refreshing tone of honesty and care that made it a true page-turner for me.

[Lorraine · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this book as a teen, before I knew John did not want it released. It is pretty much Cynthia making some money off John in a gossipy way. He passed away shortly thereafter, and then Cynthia was full of only-good-to-say. It would have been nice if she cared about John's wishes when he was alive.

[Lorma · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I was a teen I would read anything related to the Beatles and The Rolling Stones, so this little book caught my eye. A remembrance by John's first wife Cynthia which I found to be insightful.

[Jimmie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Always interesting to get the ex-wife's viewpoints. Love the drawings. Really dislike Y.O.

[pauline high]

For anyone interested in the Beatles this is a must read. Cynthia Lennon describes her life in the early days with John where she met him at Art College. She had an amazing time living the dream of the band and the frenzy and stardom that went with it. John was not the easiest person to live with and by all accounts he sometimes did not treat Cynthia well and was also not the best father to Julian. He was a rock genius there is no doubt about it but you wonder to what cost. The book was written before John's death in 1980 and the last chapter is called Yoko Ono, all a bit sad. One of the nicest things in this book are Cynthia's poems and her sketches

[Louise Culmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting account of Cynthia lennon's relationship with john lennon, beginning with their meeting at art school and chronicling all their ups and downs. Cynthia's book is full of interesting and sometimes funny stories of their life together, and as well as photos, the book is illustrated with her own charming drawings of life with the Beatles. there is no bitterness in her story, and their eventual breakup is recounted with sadness but without rancour. Anyone who is interested in the Beatles should enjoy this.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a long time Beatles fan, I found the book fascinating and well told. I enjoyed reading of their start as told by Cynthia, and her part in their rise to fame. The book was written with the perspective of the time. I do feel, if you are not or were not a Beatles fan, the book may not be as interesting. Cynthia also included drawings and poetry, and I found some of her poetry to be quite beautiful

[Denise Bradshaw · Rating 2 out of 5]

a book written by a very bitter woman - deservedly so.

[Harry Burnside · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best 'Beatles ' books I have read. Cynthia described with great clarity what it was kij=ke to be married to the 'leader' Beatles and how their rise to fame brought great wealth, popularity and influence. This also brought great problems and sacrifice of their private lives.
Being on the sidelines of it all she was able to look on and apprciate the good and bad times being married to John brought into her life. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Jojo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought this on Thriftbooks for like $5 (along with several other Beatles books)! I enjoyed this though I wouldn't say I learned anything particularly revolutionary. It was interesting though to read a more personal look at the Beatles. I am curious now to read her second book.
I will give this one a B+.

[Barb · Rating 4 out of 5]

A look into the beginnings of the Beatles and John Lennon. Written with love and not one bit of anger or bitterness one might expect knowing what was coming.

[Johnny · Rating 5 out of 5]

John's first wife Cynthia. Great information!!

[Sheri Hanrahan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting view of John Lennon from the perspective of his first wife.

[shona · Rating 4 out of 5]

she deserved so much better then Lennon

[Corey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll read just about anything about the lads (except for hatchet jobs). Cynthia was there at the beginning, even before the beginning of The Beatles as the greatest musical group in history. So I had high hopes regarding her observations about what made them click. But, if you're looking for insight into how some of their greatest songs and albums were created there is zero information in this memoir. She barely mentions song titles and albums and never says a word about Lennon's writing. Instead you get to know about her nose job and why she changed her hair color. You also get, let's be truthful here, her terrible poetry. Also a good editor could have helped her. It's Jimi Hendrix, not Jimmy. And one does not "literally jump out of one's skin." There are other gaffes. Still, the story was not without interest and, perhaps the best section of the book is her description of the time they all studied under the Maharishi. And her drawings are quiet good. Just to be kind, let's say 3.5 stars.

[Chris C · Rating 3 out of 5]

I find it a bit amusing that she released this memoir while John was alive and it must have irritated him. I wonder if he read it while sitting in his bedroom in the Dakota and if Yoko saw him reading it. I have no idea if it was a good earner for Cynthia, really John gave her very little in the divorce so she deserved to make some dough out of her story. I think when I read it I thought her book could've had moire juicy tales in it but it wasn't too bad. I remember her admitting she used to hide in the bathroom when going to various soirees in the 60s and I imagine it would've been difficult for her to keep up with the cool crowd, let's face it, if she hadn't gotten pregnant there's no way they would've ended up married. So I guess she was a fish out of water in that scene. If you're a Lennon fan and would like a unique perspective then you should give this a go, but it's certainly not a must-read.

[Savannah Gerena · Rating 3 out of 5]

The negative side to me would probably use words like, saccharine, cloying and naive to describe this book but by the end my heart went out to her. She tried so hard to keep her grasp on John no matter how sad or lonely it made her. This book is completely sentimental and kind and devoid of any bitterness. Nothing nasty or sensational about it. Really shows a level of class and quiet strength. I love John Lennon but I really hope Cynthia earned some good money on this book and I hope John read it and I hope it bothered him lol

[lucia · Rating 4 out of 5]

:(

[Linda Cardott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting story. I love the stories behind the music, especially the beginnings of a great group like the Beatles.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

#7 of 120 books during 2024

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a big John lennon fan I knew I had to read this and wow what a POS!! very good read, my first in the long list of beatles books.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cynthia Powell (Lennon) was the one person who experienced the Beatles in their entirety, from the purity of the band's early days to the explosion of Beatlemania as John's wife and new mother to son Julian. She was the only one who was there for all of it, and for that she deserves a lot of credit. It's hard to imagine what it was like to have fans camping out on your doorstep, or going so far as terrifying your young child just to get a glimpse of him, or having to stay home while your husband is on tour with a never-ending onslaught of female companionship at his feet every waking moment. While the writing is a bit disjointed at times, the author does a good job of getting the emotions and story across, even toward the end of the book when she writes about Yoko Ono entering their lives. I'm unimpressed with some of the editing, however, as Pattie Boyd's name is spelled Patti and The Monkees are referred to as The Monkeys - both ridiculous errors in my opinion. I did enjoy the book, which was a very quick read, and I wholeheartedly appreciate Cynthia's place in Beatles history.

Some of my favorite passages from the book:

"They were on the crest of a wave. Their unity and loyalty to each other went without saying. Their clowning irreverent behavior was so refreshing."

"Totally devoid of their original excitement, they were bored by the monotony of concerts that reduced them to performing puppets in the face of thousands of hysterical fans."

"I just knew in my heart, as I watched all the people that I loved fading into the hazy distance, that that was to be my future."

"Yoko did not take John away from me, because he had never been mine."

[Gill · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting episodes, but it didn't really grab me and there was so little about the music and composition that I had to remind myself that Lennon's chief claim to fame was as a musician. Still it only purported to be about her life with John, and that was covered fairly well. Not a book I'll reread or keep though.

[Carmen June · Rating 2 out of 5]

ONLY BECAUSE OF JOHN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!