Subtly brilliant comedy of social rivalry between the wars. Emmeline Lucas (known universally to her friends as Lucia) is an arch-snob of the highest order. In Miss Elizabeth Mapp of Mallards Lucia meets her match. Ostensibly the most civil and genteel of society ladies, there is no plan too devious, no plot too cunning, no depths to which they would not sink, in order to win the battle for social supremacy. Using as their deadly weapons garden parties, bridge evenings and charming teas, the two combatants strive to outcharm each other - and the whole of Tilling society - as they vie for the position of doyenne of the town.
Mapp And Lucia (Black Swan)
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"No matter how appalling, malicious and pretentious the behaviour of Lucia, the reader is always lured into a sense of affectionate complicity with this comic monster" (Daily Telegraph )
"Bitchily observant novel of small-town life" (Independent )
"Sparkles with wicked wit...provides some pointed digs at social one- upmanship and the genteelly disguised venality of the upper classes. But, on another level, it can be hugely enjoyed as class-war subversion" (Sunday Times )
"The pleasure of Mapp and Lucia is summed up, surely, in Alice Roosevelt's bon mot. "If you have nothing good to say about anybody, come and sit right by me."" (Philip Hensher )
"Oh the joy of seeing Lucia again! These magic books are as fresh as paint. The characters are real and therefore timeless" (Nancy Mitford The Times ) --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
"Bitchily observant novel of small-town life" (Independent )
"Sparkles with wicked wit...provides some pointed digs at social one- upmanship and the genteelly disguised venality of the upper classes. But, on another level, it can be hugely enjoyed as class-war subversion" (Sunday Times )
"The pleasure of Mapp and Lucia is summed up, surely, in Alice Roosevelt's bon mot. "If you have nothing good to say about anybody, come and sit right by me."" (Philip Hensher )
"Oh the joy of seeing Lucia again! These magic books are as fresh as paint. The characters are real and therefore timeless" (Nancy Mitford The Times ) --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
Book Description
'Here she is again, the splendid creature, the great, the wonderful Lucia' Nancy Mitford, The Times
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
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First Sentence
Though it was nearly a year since her husband's death, Emmeline Lucas (universally known to her friends as Lucia) still wore the deepest and most uncompromising mourning. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Though it was nearly a year since her husband's death, Emmeline Lucas (universally known to her friends as Lucia) still wore the deepest and most uncompromising mourning. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful
By Tyke
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
At first I found the Mapp and Lucia books disappointing, if not tarsome. They seemed like pale watercolours when compared to the vivid and breezy strokes of Wodehouse's Wooster, so I confess that the popularity of Benson's two gently warring ladies was a mystery.
Perseverance however paid off and addiction followed. The rivalry between Elizabeth Mapp and Emmeline Lucas (Lucia) is very subtle and the eccentricities of the characters who encircle them seem at first trite, but then become delicious, even outrageous, given the time in which the books were published.
In this book, Mapp and Lucia, each being central to the social lives of their respective villages (Tilling and Riseholme) are thrust together when Lucia rents Mapp's house for a few weeks in summer, while Mapp herself rents a neighbour's smaller house so that she can make a little money, as do several other residents who form a chain of rental possession for a few weeks each year.
Lucia's swift popularity with the locals chafes Mapp considerably and she attempts to undermine her at every opportunity. Lucia rises to the challenge and thus begins a genteel savagery between them which galvanises the locals and moves the tide of approval from one to the other, depending on the nature of the skirmish. Each lady gets her come-uppance at various points along the way, yet both always emerge eager for their next polite duel.
But this and the others books in the series are not simply tales of two ladies out-snobbing each other - there is much warmth and vulnerability woven into their characters, despite their desire for social prominence in their small world. Moreover, the books give a glimpse back in time to a pre-WWII era, when shopping for fresh produce was a daily necessity, small villages had their own railway stations and domestic staff were still commonplace for those who could afford them.
Many of the other main characters are comically surreal; the Birmingham vicar with a medieval cod-Scots accent; the wealthy Susan who is never seen without her sable and Rolls Royce; plump Diva and her forthright gossip; `Quaint Irene' and her lesbianism; and Lucia's closest companion, the devoted, toupee-wearing Georgie Pillson, whose devotion is not beyond slipping when Lucia gets too high-handed.
It's a pity that Benson didn't write more Mapp and Lucia books, but the ones we have are fully deserving of their long-standing affection in English comic literature.
Perseverance however paid off and addiction followed. The rivalry between Elizabeth Mapp and Emmeline Lucas (Lucia) is very subtle and the eccentricities of the characters who encircle them seem at first trite, but then become delicious, even outrageous, given the time in which the books were published.
In this book, Mapp and Lucia, each being central to the social lives of their respective villages (Tilling and Riseholme) are thrust together when Lucia rents Mapp's house for a few weeks in summer, while Mapp herself rents a neighbour's smaller house so that she can make a little money, as do several other residents who form a chain of rental possession for a few weeks each year.
Lucia's swift popularity with the locals chafes Mapp considerably and she attempts to undermine her at every opportunity. Lucia rises to the challenge and thus begins a genteel savagery between them which galvanises the locals and moves the tide of approval from one to the other, depending on the nature of the skirmish. Each lady gets her come-uppance at various points along the way, yet both always emerge eager for their next polite duel.
But this and the others books in the series are not simply tales of two ladies out-snobbing each other - there is much warmth and vulnerability woven into their characters, despite their desire for social prominence in their small world. Moreover, the books give a glimpse back in time to a pre-WWII era, when shopping for fresh produce was a daily necessity, small villages had their own railway stations and domestic staff were still commonplace for those who could afford them.
Many of the other main characters are comically surreal; the Birmingham vicar with a medieval cod-Scots accent; the wealthy Susan who is never seen without her sable and Rolls Royce; plump Diva and her forthright gossip; `Quaint Irene' and her lesbianism; and Lucia's closest companion, the devoted, toupee-wearing Georgie Pillson, whose devotion is not beyond slipping when Lucia gets too high-handed.
It's a pity that Benson didn't write more Mapp and Lucia books, but the ones we have are fully deserving of their long-standing affection in English comic literature.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
By J. Hutchings
Format:Paperback
The great point regarding Mapp & Lucia is that they are thoroughly likeable, although not entirely so: the reader is treated to two characters who are not vying for your attention or aiming to please you. Instead, we are presented primarily with two wonderful characters, whose daily plots do entice the reader to want to turn the page ahead quicker to find out the result, often with a silent gasp of "oh no, but that means...". Thoroughly recommended to lovers of Mitford, and too some extent, Waugh - as in those who enjoy the first half of Vile Bodies etc.
A word of warning, though. Mapp and Lucia is the fourth of six stories by Benson. Purchasers are advised to go for the two other volumes from Penguin: Lucia Rising and Lucia Victrix. This present volume forms part of the Penguin Modern Classics series, which sets this book on its own: whilst Benson's writing means that you don't necessarily need to read the previous three, I was rather cross to find that there were three preceding books, to which there are no reference in this edition.
A word of warning, though. Mapp and Lucia is the fourth of six stories by Benson. Purchasers are advised to go for the two other volumes from Penguin: Lucia Rising and Lucia Victrix. This present volume forms part of the Penguin Modern Classics series, which sets this book on its own: whilst Benson's writing means that you don't necessarily need to read the previous three, I was rather cross to find that there were three preceding books, to which there are no reference in this edition.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
An absolute must read for all lovers of humourous writing. Benson's tale of social struggle is a true masterpiece and demonstrates what an insightful observer of human nature Benson was. English wit exemplified.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great book
This is an iconic story of human nature at its most closely observed. It is both sympathetic and humourous. A triumph of English literature.
Published 2 months ago by Susan Higgins
5.0 out of 5 stars
Competitive social life in small communities in the pre-war period
E F Benson's several books about Lucia and company are well known and still well loved; the TV series some years ago will still be remembered. Read more
Published 2 months ago by J. B. Swingler
5.0 out of 5 stars
Delightful adaptation of E.F. Benson's novels for audio
This review is for the Hachette Digital audio adaptation of Mapp and Lucia by E.F. Benson, which is read with great aplomb by Miriam Margolyes. Read more
Published 16 months ago by L Weale
4.0 out of 5 stars
Book review
Very funny, a book where you hope the worst woman wins!! It's not often you read a book, hoping and wondering and laughing at the next show of one up-woman-ship that will be... Read more
Published on 29 Mar 2011 by Chii Chii
4.0 out of 5 stars
How Delightful!
It is nice to come back to an old friend once in a while, and this one is always good for a giggle.
It has to be said that Mapp is no match for Lucia even though the... Read more
It has to be said that Mapp is no match for Lucia even though the... Read more
Published on 2 Aug 2010 by M. J. Saxton
4.0 out of 5 stars
This is England
I like all the EF Benson Tilling and Riseholme books. However, Mapp and Lucia is the best. I do have a preference for short stories over long and complex novels, for I find that... Read more
Published on 4 July 2010 by Jean F
1.0 out of 5 stars
Warning: This is an abridged reading
Had I known that this brilliant book was abridged for this audio edition, I would not have purchased it. Read more
Published on 4 April 2010 by Phideaux Xavier
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not exactly unavailable.
Please note the Prunella Scales reading is much easier to find in its original version. Read more
Published on 23 Mar 2010 by Mr Stephen M. Whitaker
5.0 out of 5 stars
Subtly brilliant interwar social comedy
'Mapp and Lucia' was written in 1931 and while E.F Benson had written 3 prior novels featuring either Elizabeth Mapp or Emmeline (Lucia) Lucas, this was the first to feature both... Read more
Published on 2 Jan 2010 by Dinah93
2.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing
As a lifelong fan of PG Wodehouse, and seeing the introduction to this book put the series in a class with Wodehouse, Dickens, Waugh and Diary of a Nobody, I was hoping for more... Read more
Published on 19 Oct 2009 by Jon
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