Mapp and Lucia
Encyclopedia
Mapp and Lucia is a collective name for a series of novel
s by E. F. Benson
, and is also the name of a television series based on those novels.
, closely based on Rye, East Sussex
, where Benson lived for a number of years and (like Lucia) served as mayor. Lucia previously lived at Riseholme
, based on Broadway, Worcestershire
, from where she brought to Tilling her celebrated recipe for Lobster à la Riseholme
.
"Mallards," the home of Miss Mapp - and subsequently Lucia - was based on Lamb House
in Rye. The house had previously been lived in by Henry James
and had a garden room overlooking the street. (Unfortunately a German bomb destroyed the Garden Room in World War II. The rest of the house is now a National Trust property.)
The novels, in chronological order, are:
The first three books concern only the protagonist named in the title; the last three feature both Mapp and Lucia.
In 1977 Thomas Y. Cromwell Company reprinted all six novels in a compendium called Make Way for Lucia. The order of Miss Mapp and Lucia in London was switched in the compendium, and a Miss Mapp short story called "The Male Impersonator" was included between Miss Mapp and Mapp and Lucia.
Tom Holt
wrote two sequels, published by Macmillan and Black Swan, which are written in a style and esprit of the originals. They are:
Guy Fraser-Sampson wrote an additional novel published by Troubador:
In the chronology of the novels set in Tilling this sits between Miss Mapp and Mapp and Lucia. The writing is in a more contemporary style than Benson and Holt's while retaining the typical plot devices of the earlier books. The book contains a number of minor character errors and the events in connection with Quaint Irene's maid Lucy do not tally with Lucy's story as it appears in Miss Mapp. However there is a delicious episode in connection with a cake baking contest which is entirely true to the spirit of the original novels.
The TV series based on the three 1930s books, produced by London Weekend Television
, was filmed in Rye and neighbouring Winchelsea
in the 1980s, and starred Prunella Scales
as Mapp, Geraldine McEwan
as Lucia, Denis Lill
as Major Benji Flint, and Nigel Hawthorne
as Georgie. There were ten episodes, (which aired in two series of five) broadcast on Channel 4
in 1985 and 1986.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s by E. F. Benson
Edward Frederic Benson
Edward Frederic Benson was an English novelist, biographer, memoirist and short story writer, known professionally as E.F. Benson. His friends called him Fred.-Life:E.F...
, and is also the name of a television series based on those novels.
The novels
The novels feature humorous incidents in the lives of (mainly) upper-middle-class British people in the 1920s and 1930s, vying for social prestige and "one-upmanship" in an atmosphere of extreme cultural snobbery. Several of them are set in the small seaside town of TillingTilling (Sussex)
Tilling is a fictional coastal town, based on Rye, East Sussex, in the Mapp and Lucia novels of Edward Frederic Benson .- Town in the novels of E F Benson :...
, closely based on Rye, East Sussex
Rye, East Sussex
Rye is a small town in East Sussex, England, which stands approximately two miles from the open sea and is at the confluence of three rivers: the Rother, the Tillingham and the Brede...
, where Benson lived for a number of years and (like Lucia) served as mayor. Lucia previously lived at Riseholme
Riseholme
Riseholme is a fictional Elizabethan village in the Cotswolds in the “Lucia” novels of Edward Frederic Benson . It is thought to have been based on Broadway, Worcestershire.- Lucia and Riseholme :...
, based on Broadway, Worcestershire
Broadway, Worcestershire
Broadway is a village and civil parish in the Worcestershire part of the Cotswolds in England.Often referred to as the "Jewel of the Cotswolds", Broadway village lies beneath Fish Hill on the western Cotswold escarpment...
, from where she brought to Tilling her celebrated recipe for Lobster à la Riseholme
Lobster à la Riseholme
Lobster à la Riseholme was a famed gastronomic dish served by Lucia in two of the Mapp and Lucia novels of E F Benson ....
.
"Mallards," the home of Miss Mapp - and subsequently Lucia - was based on Lamb House
Lamb House
Lamb House is an 18th-century house situated in Rye, East Sussex, England, and in the ownership of the National Trust.The house has literary connections. It was the home of Henry James from 1898 to 1916, and later of E.F. Benson and Rumer Godden. Benson writes lovingly of both garden and house,...
in Rye. The house had previously been lived in by Henry James
Henry James
Henry James, OM was an American-born writer, regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism. He was the son of Henry James, Sr., a clergyman, and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James....
and had a garden room overlooking the street. (Unfortunately a German bomb destroyed the Garden Room in World War II. The rest of the house is now a National Trust property.)
The novels, in chronological order, are:
- Queen Lucia (1920)
- Miss Mapp (1922)
- Lucia in London (1927)
- Mapp and Lucia (1931)
- Lucia's Progress (1935) (published in the U.S. as The Worshipful Lucia)
- Trouble for Lucia (1939)
The first three books concern only the protagonist named in the title; the last three feature both Mapp and Lucia.
In 1977 Thomas Y. Cromwell Company reprinted all six novels in a compendium called Make Way for Lucia. The order of Miss Mapp and Lucia in London was switched in the compendium, and a Miss Mapp short story called "The Male Impersonator" was included between Miss Mapp and Mapp and Lucia.
Novels by other authors
There are also three other books based on the same characters written by other authors.Tom Holt
Tom Holt
Tom Holt is a British novelist.He was born in London, the son of novelist Hazel Holt, and was educated at Westminster School, Wadham College, Oxford, and The College of Law, London....
wrote two sequels, published by Macmillan and Black Swan, which are written in a style and esprit of the originals. They are:
- Lucia in Wartime (1985)
- Lucia Triumphant (1986)
Guy Fraser-Sampson wrote an additional novel published by Troubador:
- Major Benjy (2008)
In the chronology of the novels set in Tilling this sits between Miss Mapp and Mapp and Lucia. The writing is in a more contemporary style than Benson and Holt's while retaining the typical plot devices of the earlier books. The book contains a number of minor character errors and the events in connection with Quaint Irene's maid Lucy do not tally with Lucy's story as it appears in Miss Mapp. However there is a delicious episode in connection with a cake baking contest which is entirely true to the spirit of the original novels.
The TV series
London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television was the name of the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties including south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Warwickshire, east Dorset and...
, was filmed in Rye and neighbouring Winchelsea
Winchelsea
Winchelsea is a small village in East Sussex, England, located between the High Weald and the Romney Marsh, approximately two miles south west of Rye and seven miles north east of Hastings...
in the 1980s, and starred Prunella Scales
Prunella Scales
Prunella Scales CBE is an English actress, known for her role as Basil Fawlty's long-suffering wife in the British comedy Fawlty Towers and her award-nominated role as Queen Elizabeth II in the British film A Question of Attribution.-Career:Throughout her long career, Scales has usually been cast...
as Mapp, Geraldine McEwan
Geraldine McEwan
Geraldine McEwan is an English actor with a diverse history in theatre, film, and television. From 2004 to 2009 she appeared as Miss Marple, the Agatha Christie sleuth, for the series Marple.-Background:...
as Lucia, Denis Lill
Denis Lill
Denis Lill is a New Zealand-born British actor.Some of his many film and television roles include Fall of Eagles , Edward the Seventh , Survivors , The Scarlet Pimpernel , as William Knox d-Arcy, the Australian oil pioneer in Persia, in Reilly: Ace of Spies , Rumpole of the Bailey , Mapp &...
as Major Benji Flint, and Nigel Hawthorne
Nigel Hawthorne
Sir Nigel Barnard Hawthorne, CBE was an English actor, perhaps best remembered for his role as Sir Humphrey Appleby, the Permanent Secretary in the 1980s sitcom Yes Minister and the Cabinet Secretary in its sequel, Yes, Prime Minister. For this role he won four BAFTA Awards during the 1980s in the...
as Georgie. There were ten episodes, (which aired in two series of five) broadcast on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
in 1985 and 1986.