E. F. Benson
Many years ago I went as a back-packing tourist to the small, English town of Rye. It was a pretty little town and I decided to spend a few days there.
I stayed in a B&B where I met an American girl at breakfast. We talked books and reading, and she was shocked to know I hadn’t read (or even heard of) EF Benson and the “Lucia” books — she assumed that’s why I’d come to Rye.
She marched me up to the local bookshop, where I bought the first two “Lucia” books, and took me around to look at the various sites mentioned in the books, including the house where EF Benson lived. That’s it, in the photo below.
Months later I was in Corfu (Greece), and to my amazement I found the rest of the series —in English! — in a used bookshop there. Of course I bought them, gobbled them up, and still have them.
I don’t even remember that girl’s name, but I’m very grateful to her for alerting me to the wonderful EF Benson books
I’ve read, enjoyed and reread those books, several times, and also watched the two TV adaptations of them. I’ve also read and enjoyed Tom Holt’s two “Lucia” books, which he wrote to entertain his mother and her friends. He made a really good fist of it, too, in my opinion. Lucia in Wartime is my favourite of his, where hoarding becomes an issue and Georgie achieves fame inventing delicious dishes based on . . . parsnips. Here are my copies. I’ve also bought them as e-books.
For fans of the books, my favorite TV version is the one with Geraldine McEwan (later to become famous as Miss Marple) Prunella Scales (Basil Fawlty’s Wife in Fawlty Towers) as Mapp, and Nigel Hawthorne (Humphrey in Yes Minister) who is brilliant as Georgie.
Have you read the “Lucia” books, or watched either of the TV series? Do you have a favorite?
I love the Mapp & Lucia books, they’re such fun, and have also visited Rye to see Lamb House. And both the TV adaptations are utterly enchanting. Did not know about Tom Holt’s books though, so that’s a winning discovery!
Malvina, you’re in for a treat — if you can find them. I think they’re only available as e-books, now, though I bought physical copies years ago. I particularly loved Lucia in Wartime — it’s a hoot.
Thank you for this recommendation! I had never heard of EF Benson, and as a fan of both DE Stevenson and PG Wodehouse, I suspect I will enjoy his books. They are available on Audible!
Felicia, I think you’ll really enjoy them. It took me a while to really get into the swing of them — and I think the author did, too. He really hit his stride with Mapp and Lucia, which is the book that was made into a TV series — twice. But you do need to read the books in order, I think.
If you do read them, I’d love you to let me know how you went.