Lucia Revived

by Richard Ellis

From amazon.com:

"Lucia is back! Revived after a period of uncharacteristic slough. Emmeline Pilson, previously, Lucas, but known to all as Lucia sets out once again to raise the cultural horizons of her beloved Tilling.

Her two key adjutants, her husband Georgie and friend Quaint Irene, are absent from her side leaving her exposed to the scheming and meddling of her old rival, Elizabeth Mapp-Flint. Whilst age has taken its toll on Georgie and Major Benjy, the womenfolk of Tilling are as active and acidic as ever.

There is much for her to meddle in as Lucia sets out to establish an artistic Salon in Tilling. Muddles ensue as the two rivals clash. Irene returns with startling news and Georgie flits between Tilling and a rest home run by his loyal maid Foljambe. Meanwhile Elizabeth struggles with an ailing Major.

Lucia Revived is a sequel to the wonderful and funny Mapp & Lucia series by E F Benson. The series was originally set in the 1930's firstly in Riseholme and then in Tilling. Tom Holt published two sequels in the 1980's titled Lucia in Wartime and Lucia Triumphant."

214 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 2013

About the author

Librarian note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Reviews

[Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ellis is the third author I've read in the Mapp and Lucia series. This version was poorly edited. Some of the mistakes could be explained as typos—Startling for Starling, gable for gavel, in for on. But in one place Lucia escapes a rainstorm by entering the porch at Grebe, and the door opens. I flip to the next screen and she is on her way to Tilling. In several other places I was left scratching my head with the breakdown of continuity or logic. It was as if the entire book was rushed to publication. In spite of this criticism, I still enjoyed the book. Tilling is still Tilling, though in 1948-1950 in my estimation. Evie and Kenneth Bartlett are fleshed out more than in any other of the 9 books I've read. Lucia is still Lucia and Elizabeth is still Elizabeth. And the story is still based upon Lucia's constant drive to improve the culture and sophistication of the world in which she lives, always balanced with the competition between her and Elizabeth. It's a formula that works. Aside from the sloppy editing, I didn't like the fact that the characters have finally aged. Benson allowed the characters to age at half the rate dictated by the calendar. Holt allowed them to age in real time, and Ellis makes up the difference. Lucia is 80! That makes Georgie 85, and Benjy 90. This does not sound like fun! Though some new characters have been introduced that may have some permanence in Tilling, I can't see this series going on any further. I think Ellis has written himself into a corner. Still have to read the Fraser-Sampson trilogy though, so I'm not done with the saga yet.

[Cece]

I had high hopes for this book, as a new Lucia and Mapp is a welcome idea. However, this book is, as mentioned in other reviews, riddled with typos. There are also glaring errors of characterization and of plot in reference to the original Benson books and the Holt books, which must be considered as part of the canon. The voice is close, but the errors are disruptive and really inexcusable. The first rule of continuing someone else's series is to make no changes to plot points, settings or character names and situations established in previous books. This author does all three. It is dangerous to meddle with a well-loved series-there is usually a backlash from fans.

[Terri D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved having Lucia and the gang back but was annoyed by the lack of proofreading. There were errors on every page almost. My favourite though...in church one day "Elizabeth squirmed round in her pee."
A wonderful picture is conjured!!!