E. F. Benson (1867–1940)

"Scrumptious" is a word I've probably never used in my life, but it seems rather apt for this series. E.F. Benson's delectable light comedy is a cross between Austen and Wodehouse, somehow more savage than either and yet more fond of the characters at the same time.

Queen Lucia introduces us to the immortal Emmeline Lucas, renowned for her dinner parties in which she will play the First Movement of the Moonlight Sonata, but will then beg off playing the second and third movements on the grounds that they are more "morning and afternoon" (*cough* she can't quite play them yet *cough). Lucia dominates life, along with her effete best friend Georgie, in their idyllic town of Riseholme, while Lucia in London takes the characters on the road for some urban satire. Miss Mapp, originally a separate novel entirely, shows us the life of the doughty, determined Elizabeth Mapp in the quirky, rather insular town of Tilling. Finally, in Mapp and Lucia, the two women are brought together, two generals in the field, each determined to have complete control of their terrain. Benson would eventually carry on this story in Trouble for Lucia and Lucia's Progress.

This joyous series is light and sparkling, but remains a fantastic break from reality 100 years after the first book was published. The last three novels were famously adapted in the 1980s with Prunella Scales, Nigel Hawthorne, and a career-best Geraldine McEwan in the lead roles. This led to McEwan and Scales releasing the books on tape, which are a real gem if you can find them. (Like Wodehouse, Benson's novels lend themselves to being read aloud.) The books were adapted again for a far shorter miniseries in the 2010s which was well cast but a little over-zealous in my opinion.

Since the 1980s adaptation brought the books back into the culture, several novelists have tried their hand at sequels. Tom Holt's two volumes are well worth reading, but the more recent trilogy by Guy Fraser-Sampson were, to my mind, a complete failure, utterly at odds with Benson's approach.

I was so glad to find this six-volume Folio Society edition from the 1990s, with the original six novels in beautiful cloth-bound hardcover, and elegant illustrations.

A lifelong treat for lovers of this sort of humour.… (more)

Dare I say to new readers not to commence with this, the eponymous and most famous novel of the series? Mapp and Lucia is still an amusing frolic, but I think it isn't quite as funny as the previous three, and additionally it rather assumes the reader's knowledge of the worlds of both Mapp and Lucia, who meet in this novel but have had full lives of their own in the previous ones. (Mostly in terms of character touches; the Padre, Daisy Quantock, and all of the minor characters are hilarious here if you know them already.)

Not to say you won't enjoy this, but commence with Queen Lucia or Miss Mapp and move through the series; it will be a much more satisfying experience.… (more)

Cliche though it may be, it is always a joy to revisit the pretentious, social-climbing, class-obsessed, bitingly funny world of the towns of Riseholme and Tilling. Queen Lucia, the first book in Benson's series, introduces us to part of this world - although the full glory of the series would not become apparent until the fourth novel, when Emmeline "Lucia" Lucas, demented heroine of this one, finally comes face to face with Elizabeth Mapp, determined heroine of the next.

For lovers of classic British comedies of manners, especially if you're seeking someone as laughter-inducing as Wodehouse yet more savage to the characters than he, and as carefully studied as Austen yet far less serious.

The 2014 TV adaptation, with Miranda Richardson, was pleasant enough although - to my mind - overdone. The 1980s adaptation with Geraldine McEwan and Prunella Scales is languid at times, but well worth seeking out for its picture-perfect portrayal of the novels.… (more)