Mapp and Lucia

The Complete Mapp and Lucia Collection contains all of the novels in the Mapp & Lucia series from E.F. Benson. These beloved novels are classic comedies of manners set within an English village in the 1920s and 1930s.

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.

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 heartwarming series that seems tailor-made for audio. This second volume contains the second three books.

This collection features unabridged recordings of the first three novels in E.F. Benson’s beloved Mapp and Lucia series. Narrated by Geraldine McEwan and Prunella Scales, this collection brings to life E.F. Benson’s comic tales of marriage, mishaps and mayhem.

This collection features unabridged recordings of the final three novels in E.F. Benson’s beloved Mapp and Lucia series. Narrated by Prunella Scales and Lisa Daniely, this collection brings to life E.F. Benson’s comic tales of marriage, mishaps and mayhem.

Funny, outrageous, sometimes touching, and perhaps a little bit naughty - in Queen Lucia, E. F. Benson has created not only a wonderful character study in Mrs. Lucas, but a whole village of memorable characters.

England between the wars was a paradise of utter calm and leisure for the very, very rich. But 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 pomp and subdued nature of her class. With her cohort, Georgie Pillson, and her husband, Peppino, she upends the greats of high society.

The energetic, pretentious and sometimes malicious Lucia's reign over Riseholme's gentry is challenged by a dazzling diva, a fraudulent guru and the exposur eof her faulty Italian.

The queen bee of the fictional village of Riseholme, Mrs. Emmeline ‘Lucia’ Lucas is a snobbish yet oddly charming woman who prides herself on being the cultural and intellectual leader of her community. She dabbles in art, plants Shakespeare-themed flower arrangements in her garden and uses fake Italian phrases to maintain her social standing. Trouble brews when some new arrivals to town – including the glamorous opera singer Olga Bracely and the eccentric spiritualist Daisy Quantock – begin to challenge Lucia’s hold over Riseholme.

An arch-schemer, gossip, and insatiably curious social climber, Miss Elizabeth Mapp is a 40-something spinster living in the picturesque English seaside town of Tilling. Miss Mapp and her nemesis, Godiva Plaistow vie for sartorial and social status much to the amusement of the gentlemen of Tilling - particularly Major Flint and his friend Captain Puffin.

Set in the quaint seaside town of Tilling, inspired by the real-life village of Rye where Benson once lived, busybody Miss Mapp is known for her sharp eye and even sharper tongue. Usually found spying on the neighbourhood through her bay window, Elizabeth works hard to maintain her social standing through winning bridge games, making the most lavish dresses of the town and obtaining the best gossip.

Miss Elizabeth Mapp, magnificent grande dame and heiress, is always on the lookout lest her neighbors fall outside the bounds of perfect, exemplary manners. 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.

Emmeline Lucas, known to all as "Lucia", and her husband, Peppino, acquire a second home in fashionable Brompton Square in London from a deceased Aunt. When they move there for the season, Lucia's 'subjects' in Riseholme seethe with envy and outrage that she has deserted them for more illustrious circles, where her snobbism and blatant ambition reach new heights.

Overbearing Emmeline ‘Lucia’ Lucas is back yet again, leaving the small town of Riseholme to embrace the new and exciting social offerings of London. Having acquired a second home in the city with her husband, Peppino, Lucia immediately evaluates her avenues to climb the ranks to the highest social circles. All are not fooled by her shameless gambits, however, and we are introduced to a cast of astonished followers, including Stephen Merriall, who may not be as trustworthy as he appears.

Mapp and Lucia is the centrepiece of E.F. Benson's series of Lucia novels - bringing together for the first time the eponymous middle-aged doyennes of polite 1930s society Miss Elizabeth Mapp and Emmeline Luca (Lucia to her friends). Lucia, recently widowed, is the newcomer to the village of Tilling and eager to wrest the reins of social supremacy from the incumbant Miss Mapp and install herself as its benevolent dictator.

Arch enemies Mapp and Lucia return in the next instalment of E.F. Benson’s classic series of rural snobbery. Lucia is now a permanent resident of Tilling and continues her way up the social ladder with gusto, making attempts through the Town Council, finance, a platonic marriage and even the cricket club.

Taking the position of mayor in the town of Tilling brings much delight to Lucia. However, with her local rival Miss Mapp around, trouble is never far away.Lucia is elevated to her new position with Georgie Pilson as her sidekick, confidant, and escort. Lucia and Georgie renew their acquaintance with the opera diva Olga Braceley and the composer Cortese, but nobody in Tilling believes Lucia when she claims to have entertained a duchess.