Black Maria cover art

Black Maria

Preview
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free
Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Black Maria

By: Diana Wynne Jones
Narrated by: Ursula Jones
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £7.99

Buy Now for £7.99

LIMITED TIME OFFER | £0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Premium Plus auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Terms apply.

About this listen

On the surface, Aunt Maria seems like a cuddly old lady, all chit-chat and lace doilies and unadulterated NICEness!

When Mig and her family go for a short visit, they soon learn that Aunt Maria rules the place with a rod of sweetness that’s tougher than iron and deadlier than poison. Life revolves around tea parties, while the men are all grey-suited zombies who fade into the background, and the other children seem like clones.

The short visit becomes a long stay, and when all talk of going home ceases, Mig despairs! Things go from bad to worse when Mig’s brother Chris tries to rebel, but is changed into a wolf .

Mig is convinced that Aunt Maria must be a witch – but who will believe her? It’s up to Mig to figure out what’s going on. Maybe the ghost who haunts the downstairs bedroom holds the key?

Fiction Ghosts Growing Up & Facts of Life Literature & Fiction Mysteries Mystery & Suspense Scary Stories Science Fiction & Fantasy Fantasy Haunted Magic Users

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Magician's House: The Steps up the Chimney cover art
The Magic World cover art
The Colour of Magic cover art
Granny Magic cover art
Street Cat Blues cover art
The Stargazers cover art
A Stitch in Time cover art
Verdigris Deep cover art
Midnight for Charlie Bone cover art
Charlotte Sometimes cover art
The Psammead Trilogy cover art
White Silence cover art
Sorry Isn't Good Enough cover art

Critic reviews

“Truly magical – guaranteed to leave you gasping – even hotter than Potter”
The Bookseller

All stars
Most relevant
Perhaps I am too old for this sort of book, but it's not stopped me enjoying it.

I discovered Diana Wynne Jones after watching the animated film of Howl's Moving Castle. Ever since I have dipped into her books now and again.

This is quite different to the Moving Castle series, the plot moves at a faster pace and the feel of the book is more claustrophobic. Aunt Maria is much like Dolores Umbridge from Harry Potter, pleasant on the outside, evil on the inside. Which makes her a far more formidable sort of character.

I enjoyed the way that Ursula Jones read the book, her selection of voices were impressive and suited each character well.

I would give it a good 4 out of 5

Enjoyable with a good villain

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.