Robin of Sherwood

As with his Arthur, High King of Britain, Michael Morpurgo uses a neat time-slip to get back to his fresh retelling of the stories about Robin Hood. Here, the young Robin Hood is brought up by his father committed to the cause of feeding the poor after his mother dies of starvation. Full of political passion against the cruelty of the Sheriff of Nottingham, the corruption of the clergy and, at a distance, the evil of the usurping King, Robin of Sherwood bases the legendary stories in a convincing past. The interpretation of the outlaws as a band of the rejects of a cruel society fighting for a decent way of life gives a moving lesson in tolerance. Michael Morpurgo's own reading of the stories is fittingly theatrical bringing to life the wide range of characters.