This was a hard category for me, as I don't listen to many audiobooks. In years gone by I was a regular consumer of them, as I had a long commute in the car and they kept me company and awake during the multiple hours I spent staring at someone's bumper stickers on the M25. However, now that I work from home and spend most of my days writing my own novels, it's quite distracting listening to another one at the same time. Consequently, the only time it really happens is in the school holidays when we are on the long drive up north to visit my family. However, whatever book I choose to listen to, it has to be appropriate for a four year old, be 'cool' enough or history orientated to keep the teenager happy and something that my husband won't complain about too much - not an easy task! We usually end up listening to history books like This Sceptered Isle or occasionally, an Agatha Christie if I think I can smuggle it in.

However, with Spiteful Puppet's successful relaunch of the Robin of Sherwood series, albeit in audio format, we have found a winner. Both boys like the TV series, my husband has recently become a convert to the fandom and I've loved it for years, so we happily listen to the new stories as we're driving along.

This one in particular though is a personal favourite. It tells the story of Robert of Huntingdon's mother. She is a strong female character and her influence on her son is clear, convincing and most importantly for me, ties in to Jason Connery's portrayal of the character in the original TV series. Matilda is a modern woman in a medieval world and I love that element of feminism that has been brought to her character, without taking anything away from the historical setting.

And of course, it doesn't hurt that it was written by a friend, whose other books I love reading!

https://jennykane.co.uk