• Miss Mapp

  • By: E. F. Benson
  • Narrated by: Nadia May
  • Length: 8 hrs and 50 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (269 ratings)

Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.
Miss Mapp  By  cover art

Miss Mapp

By: E. F. Benson
Narrated by: Nadia May
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $15.56

Buy for $15.56

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

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. Second, there appears the elegant, insidiously evil Contessa possessed of dazzling charm and diabolical designs.
Public Domain (P)2001 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"Nadia May does a hilarious Miss Mapp, the small-minded small-town heiress of a certain age who leads an absolutely full life spying on and attempting to best her neighbors." (AudioFile)

What listeners say about Miss Mapp

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    170
  • 4 Stars
    48
  • 3 Stars
    29
  • 2 Stars
    11
  • 1 Stars
    11
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    156
  • 4 Stars
    32
  • 3 Stars
    14
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    4
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    138
  • 4 Stars
    37
  • 3 Stars
    17
  • 2 Stars
    11
  • 1 Stars
    9

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Classic British Turn of the Century Comedy

The Lucia series by Benson is as fresh as it was 100 years ago. This is broad comedy, with a lot of absurdity. This is one of a six book series (as originally written) and introduces Miss Mapp, who is a wholly riduculous and mostly unlikeable character. But very, very funny; as we can all still some of oursevelves (and others) in this comdedy. The series was very daring for its time with a major gay character (not in this book, but all of the others), and a lesbian--but never any sex.

Nadia May is one of the better British readers, although her women (not surprisingly) are quite a bit better than her men. But in this series of books, only the women really matter. The men are just foiils for the plotting, backstabbing, and--when it all comes home to roost--the hilarious, slow-train-wreck-of-an-exposure.

This is not a romance though.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

19 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Benson at his satirical best

Benson's inimitable gift for satire shines in this classic. Yes, obviously it is very much a story of its time: that is the whole point. As others have said, this is certainly not a romance: it is satire in the finest British tradition. Sometimes darkly comic, sometimes farcical, it plays up the manners, customs, and social-climbing of a small society of seaside Edwardians. If you're not interested in reading that sort of thing, look elsewhere. But I daresay if you enjoy Wilde and Saki, you will adore Benson and long for more!

The narration is superb. From the brusque (and sometimes inebriated) exchanges of the military men to the catty competition of Elizabeth Mapp and "Diva Darling" Plaistow, the false brogue of the Reverend, and the flirtatious Contessa, Nadia May brings each character to life. Somehow you feel you reallly know them.


Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

More unabridged Lucia! More! More!

This title and Queen Lucia are a great start, both just about perfectly performed by Nadia May. But we need the rest of the Make Way For Lucia series in unabridged form. I have read and re-read all of the titles, and listened over and over to Miss Mapp and QL. These two are not enough.
For newcomers to the series, you have a treat coming in this title. Be aware, nothing "important" ever happens in this village. Angst and scheming over social nothings is pretty much the whole point. "Will the stash of post war groceries fall out of the cabinet and disgrace the hoarder-shaming Miss Mapp?" "Will Diva show up to the party in That Dress??" Even a death matters so much less than the resulting distaste for soup with dinner. Sly and subtle, and sometimes so obviously cutting--it never gets old. I can see Tilling so vividly as I listen. If you've read the series, don't worry, this performance renders Benson's characters so well it's difficult to imagine them in any other voice. Love it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Boring...

The subject should be all I write on this book...boring. If you are looking for a turn-of-the-century romance, filled with sharp witty dialogue this is not it. If you are looking for a painfully slow story about the shallow cares of high society this is your book. The main character, Miss Mapp, was so annoying I found myself encouraging others in the book to scorn her and found no satisfaction in her happiness. The additional characters were no more loveable and I feel the overall listen was a waste of time.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Miss Mapp Makes Me Miss Lucia

Yes, I enjoyed this second installment of the Mapp and Lucia series very much. But compared to the illusions with which Lucia bemuses Riseholme—a command of Italian, a profound understanding of all things musical and cultural—those of Miss Mapp pale. Hers are but the pedestrian triumphs of dress, gossip, and conversational one-ups. Because Lucia reaches so ridiculously high, her downfalls are so much more entertainingly spectacular.

Nevertheless, this is an essential piece of E. F. Benson’s delightful mosaic. And one of the delights of Nadia May’s performance is her ability to sound like Prunella Scales playing Miss Mapp in the BBC series. Whether intentional or not, it makes the book that much more enjoyable.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Fun and joyful

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, itis a funny, endearing story, a reminder of another time when life was so simple!

What did you like best about this story?

Mapp's character is funny and sooo hypocritical!

Have you listened to any of Nadia May’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable

I had a little trouble getting into this book, but after about 45 minutes I was hooked. While I thought that Miss Mapp could be petty and gossipy, her little rants, plottings, and schemes seemed familiar and realistic. I even found myself laughing out loud at some of the conversations that Miss Mapp had with Diva. For me, the competitions between Miss Mapp and Diva were the best part of the book and I thought the book lost momentum when it followed other characters.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

loved the book

I have enjoyed this story and the narration of it so much that I have listened to it about 15 times and it never gets old . this is my favourite story by E.F.B. so far.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Delightful

Having read the Lucia books, I was revisiting an old friend in Miss Mapp. The reading was everything I had hoped it would be. I will listen to it again when my spirits need a lift.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Fun and joyful

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, itis a funny, endearing story, a reminder of another time when life was so simple!

What did you like best about this story?

Mapp's character is funny and sooo hypocritical!

Have you listened to any of Nadia May???s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful