The Complete Mapp and Lucia, Vol. 2: Mapp and Lucia, Lucia’s Progress, and Trouble for Lucia

Written by E. F. Benson

Narrated by Georgina Sutton

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? Delightfully witty and shamelessly entertaining, this is a fitting finale to the series – E.F. Benson’s ‘au reservoir’!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Naxos Audiobooks
• Release date: Feb 22, 2017
• ISBN: 9781781983607

E. F. Benson

Edward Frederic Benson (1867–1940) was an English novelist, biographer, memoirist, archaeologist, and short story writer. Benson was the son of the Archbishop of Canterbury and member of a distinguished and eccentric family. After attending Marlborough and King’s College, Cambridge, where he studied classics and archaeology, he worked at the British School of Archaeology in Athens. A great humorist, he achieved success at an early age with his first novel, Dodo(1893). Benson was a prolific author, writing over one hundred books including serious novels, ghost stories, plays, and biographies. But he is best remembered for his Lucia and Mapp comedies written between 1920 and 1939 and other comic novels such as Paying Guests and Mrs Ames. Benson served as mayor of Rye, the Sussex town that provided the model for his fictional Tilling, from 1934 to 1937.  

Reviews for The Complete Mapp and Lucia, Vol. 2

[Davina Ramirez · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

All three books in one megadose … and, if there was any disordering of chapters, it’s all fixed now. The narration is pitch-perfect and the village adventures of these ladies you love to hate are evergreen.

[Jenny Cooke · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An absolutely charming series of stories set in 30s England. The rivalry between Mapp and Lucia is hilarious and the shenanigans throughout every book are highly entertaining. Very well narrated too.

[Bogdan · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The chapters are out of order and the books are mixed up. The story itself is awesome. Pity it’s been rendered quasi-incomprehensible by chaotic editing.