Mapp & Lucia Novels

England between the wars was a paradise of calm and leisure for the very, very rich. Into this enclave is born Mrs. Emmeline Lucas-La Lucia, as she is known-a woman determined to lead a life quite different from the subdued formality of her class. With her cohort, Georgie Pillson, and her husband, Peppino, Lucia upends the greats of high society: the imperious Lady Ambermere and her equally imperious dog, Pug; the odious Piggy and Goosie Antrobus; the Christian Scientist Daisy Quantrock, with her penchant for the foreign; and all the rest of the small English town that the British rich call their country home. Beset on all sides by pretenders to her social throne, Lucia brings culture, fine art, excitement, and intrigue into this cloistered realm. Told with his usual dry British wit, E. F. Benson gives us the first tale in his classic Mapp and Lucia series.

Sharply observant and wickedly funny, E.F. Benson's six 'Mapp and Lucia' novels satirize the upper-middle-class social climbers in 1920s and '30s rural England. Games of bridge and cups of tea fuel hilarious gossip and vindictive plots a-plenty. It is a masterfully sustained spotlight on the minutiae of village life — a clever and ultimately heart-warming series that seems tailor-made for audio. Volume 1 contains the first three books. Book One: Queen Lucia: Imposing herself as social arbiter of Riseholme, a small village in the Cotswolds, Mrs. Lucas insists on the Italianate title of 'Queen Lucia' even though her Italian is non-existent. As queen bee — flawlessly snobbish and overbearing — she rules over her unfortunate neighbours. Could her position be threatened by the arrival of Olga the opera singer? Book Two: Miss Mapp: With a face 'corrugated by chronic rage and curiosity', Miss Mapp rules the village of Tilling as Lucia rules Riseholme. At the centre of the social jostling, she is kept alert and alive by anger and suspicion of every other resident, among whom are Diva Plaistow, Captain Puffin and Mrs. Poppet. Book Three: Lucia in London: Can Lucia be queen of town and country? When Emmeline and Philip (Lucia and Peppino) inherit a house in London, Lucia moves into a new gear as she climbs the city's social ladder. It's time for Riseholme residents, feeling slighted by her desertion, to prove they can manage without her.

Miss Elizabeth Mapp, magnificent grande dame and heiress, is always on the lookout lest her neighbors fall outside the bounds of perfect, exemplary manners. Opera glasses and notebook in hand, she gazes out her window, ever the vigilant sentinel. But her tightly controlled world is soon beset on all sides by interlopers, first in the disturbingly masculine form of two very different retired army officers-both of whom are anything but retiring in their conflicting aims upon her heart. Second, there appears the elegant, insidiously evil shape of a ravishing Contessa possessed of dazzling charm and diabolical designs. Can Mapp, super-strategist of the drawing room and experienced provocateur of amorous intrigue, overcome all obstacles and be united with the object of her matrimonial desires? Whom could she possibly choose: the solid, traditional Major Flint or the mysteriously attractive Captain Puffin? This wonderfully humorous satire of British high society introduces one of E. F. Benson's most beloved characters.

Sharply observant and wickedly funny, E.F. Benson's six 'Mapp and Lucia' novels satirise the upper-middle-class social climbers in 1920s and '30s rural England. Games of bridge and cups of tea fuel hilarious gossip and vindictive plots a-plenty. It is a masterfully sustained spotlight on the minutiae of village life — a clever and ultimately heart-warming series that seems tailor-made for audio. Volume 2 contains the second three books. Mapp and Lucia: When Lucia goes to stay in Tilling, Miss Mapp's social pedestal starts to wobble. Far from falling into line as Miss Mapp expects, Lucia soon manoeuvres herself — via dinners, luncheons and games of bridge — into a position of control. Behind a façade of exaggerated manners, the gloves are off! Lucia's Progress: Lucia's 50th birthday is approaching and she is determined to give her life more meaning. From rumours of pregnancy and Roman remains to Tilling's Town Council elections, renewed rivalry between Lucia and Elizabeth Mapp-Flint (who has married Major Benjy) ripples irresistibly through the novel with many a laugh-out-loud moment. Trouble for Lucia: Lucia is now rich, happily married, and Mayor of Tilling — but the village gossip is in full swing and Lucia's arch-rival Elizabeth is out for revenge. Will Lucia fall at the final hurdle.