The Complete Mapp and Lucia, Volume 1

By: E. F. Benson

Narrated by: Georgina Sutton

Length: 26 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

©1927 E.F. Benson (P)2021 Naxos Audiobooks

Terrific rendition!

Finding this excellent rendition of these enjoyable stories was a happy surprise! These books are old favorites, and there are some readers of them I don’t enjoy, but this reader is superb! On to Volume 2!

Encourage me to hope, Audible!

Thank you so much for these two volumes.

Now I need recordings of the excellent fanfic written by so many “in the style of the originals by EF Benson.”

Totally excellent!

What a bargain...hours and hours of entertainment. A wry and humourous account of times gone by, recalling the delightful PBS series. Brilliant narration.

Lucia is fascinating and the reader gets to read her mind

It’s the original Real Housewives. Jealousy, gossip, scandals, ruthless social climbing and ever shifting from friendship alliances.

Unparalleled

E.F. Benson’s books are satire in a way not matched by any author. Georgina Sutton’s narration is perfection.

PLEASE release the next volume!

PLEASE release the next volume! The reader is wonderful and the series is too. Just a little bit too acid to be twee, perfect lockdown listening. We've got to get to the next book, when Mapp and Lucia meet!

so wonderful

Excellent narrator, and it's about time the series was available unabridged! The stories are pure escapism, set between the world wars in an idyllic English country village. They portray a world that never really existed for more than a few rather wealthy elites who lived a bit below the upper, upper crust, and only if they were somehow oblivious to real events and issues. Minor social dilemmas and schemes are treated like global intrigues, and real problems --real people-- don't exist at all. I have listened and read over and over. My favorite fantastical brain candy. Do not look for meaningful social commentary or thought-provoking plot twists. But do look for sly humor and exciting tempests at teacup scale.

At last!

I have been waiting for unabridged recordings of the Lucia novels for years. Every so often I would search “EF Benson” for them, and at last they are here. The narration is absolutely perfect, with just enough (but not too much) acid. Perfect lockdown listening, equally enjoyable now, as we renew acquaintanceship with the outside world and all its follies.

Yes, as one observer notes, both Mapp and Lucia are no better than they should be, but the discomfort arises bc we too aren’t much better, inside, even if we would need truth serum to admit it. While social norms have changed (!) since the 1920s, human nature has not, and the only sure remedy is to laugh. Bravo to Edward Frederic Benson and Georgina Sutton (Now if audible will only release EF’s Dodo books…)

Note: the chapters have no headings so for your reference, the three books start at the following chapters respectively
1: Book 1: Queen Lucia
42: Book 2: Miss Mapp. Preface
85: Book 3: Lucia in London

A pdf with complete contents can be downloaded at Naxos Audiobooks

Ok, Let’s Be Honest…

…lest we relegate these books to period pieces, detailing the social foibles of the last century’s rather empty-headed comfortable class. Lest we imagine we’re above all the petty rivalries, inane jealousies and pointless social competition that make these books so mischievously funny. These days, Facebook and Twitter just make it all worse.

Georgianna Sutton makes Benson’s faultless prose sound even more perfect.

She is attempting the imp

I feel bad for Georgina Sutton. This series must be read aloud by someone who is _in love_ with it. And if the listener has Prunella Scales, Geraldine McEwan, Nigel Hawthorne, etc etc etc, inside one’s head, they will never be content with another performance in their lifetime. [The 2014 version was pretty ki@$ a$&, though! Well done!]