Miss Mapp

Mapp & Lucia #2

by E.F. Benson

Part of a series of novels that center around a pair of high-society matrons, Miss Mapp introduces one of the most gruff and deliciously malicious characters every to grace the literary canon. Readers who love to wallow in the spite, hatefulness, and backstabbing of the doyennes of the upper classes will delight in this book!

Genres: Fiction, Humor, Classics, British Literature, Audiobook, Comedy, Historical Fiction

ebook

First published January 1, 1922

About the author

Edward Frederic "E. F." Benson was an English novelist, biographer, memoirist, archaeologist and short story writer.

E. F. Benson was the younger brother of A.C. Benson, who wrote the words to "Land of Hope and Glory", Robert Hugh Benson, author of several novels and Roman Catholic apologetic works, and Margaret Benson, an author and amateur Egyptologist.

Benson died during 1940 of throat cancer at the University College Hospital, London. He is buried in the cemetery at Rye, East Sussex.

Last paragraph from Wikipedia

Reviews

[mark monday · Rating 4 out of 5]

Darlings, you simply must join us for...

A BATTLE ROYALE AT TILLING VILLAGE!

We have a scintillating lineup of local dignitaries pitted one against the other, prepared for fierce battle through tea time and perhaps up until a light supper, served buffet style on the sideboard. The stakes are high: losers risk a decided loss of self-esteem, diminished social cachet, quickly extinguished laughter from clusters of villagers idling in front of the market, and a range of droll expressions made at their expense from their former peers; their servants will no doubt report a surprising absence of invitations to various select garden parties. Blood shall be spilt to avoid such catastrophic consequences; teeth shall be gnashed and the chilliest of smiles shall be frozen on our combatants' faces. It shall be an entrancing affair!

Our Players:

The formidable Miss Mapp versus the intrepid Godiva "Diva" Plaistow. Whose dress shall be the most au courant? Who shall best reconfigure those charming flowers cut from old draperies into pleasing bits of flair? Who shall become the bestest of friends with that visiting Contessa? Who shall capture the juiciest, most current morsel of gossip - to be shared confidentially with only the closest of acquaintances?

The redoubtable Major Flint versus the cunning Captain Puffin. 'Tis Army versus Navy on the golf links! Who shall be entitled to that extra bit of whiskey, and more to the point, whose turn is it to pay?

The fearsome Miss Mapp versus the forever-bantering tag-team duo of Flint and Puffin. Shall the eagle-eyed Miss Mapp catch them out during their secret late-night tippling by each other's fireside? Of even more importance: shall Mapp best puffin-shaped Puffin to capture the heart of flinty Flint?

The eccentric Quaint Irene versus The Moral Standards of Tilling Village as represented by the censorious Miss Mapp. Should, shall we say, "rather queer" eccentrics - no matter how wealthy - be allowed to paint their beloved, amply proportioned maid - au naturel? Let alone the local fish merchant! Quaint Irene's sharp talent at mimicry makes her a terrifying opponent.

The parsimonious Miss Mapp versus the pecunious Isabel Poppit. Shall brash newcomer Mrs. Poppit best her opponent using her carefully honed talents of having more money, more servants, and certainly a much larger home?

The Rubenesque Miss Mapp versus The Entire Village of Tilling. Shall the quite natural moral superiority of Mapp triumph over small-minded and lamentably nosy villagers who have certain questions concerning the hoarding of tinned food and coal, and who have certain feelings about the appropriate way to oh-so-casually greet a member of the Royal Family who may or may not be making a brief stop in Tilling? The odds are stacked against the Tillingites. As the song goes, "only the good die young"... and Miss Mapp is far from young. Place your bets wisely. Our money is on Mapp!

[Evie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've sat around and had discussions with friends about the genius behind the show Seinfeld: how can "a show about nothing" have run for so many seasons, and still manage to maintain its freshness and hilarity to this day?

That's exactly what I asked myself after I finished reading Miss Mapp. This is the third book in a series of six books (Make Way for Lucia) written by E.F. Benson spanning the early 1920s and ending in the late 1930s. A few times when I was asked to describe what I was reading as of late, I would get flustered about how best to explain it because...it really is a book about "nothing in particular." Boring, you say? Far from it! I'm going to try to get my bearings in gear so that after reading this review hopefully you're not scratching your head, and wondering what the heck that was all about.

Benson effectually peels the cover off of the town of Tilling, an idyllic English village on the coast, and lets the reader peer directly onto the comings and goings of the townsfolk. At its core is a group of genteel society folks living quiet lives that revolve around delicate routine: "...the days would scurry by in a round of housekeeping, bridge, weekly visits to the workhouse, and intense curiosity as to anything of domestic interest which took place in the strenuous world of this little country town."

Miss Mapp runs this town like a true queen bee, and it's hilarious to watch her quash any attempts at revolt, and monopolize the town gossip and use it to her advantage...always. Mapp is a pretty ruthless character, and though not my favorite, I felt uncomfortable that a lot of her feelings and thoughts resonated with me. I always wonder how Benson knew so much about women. There are so many rules that are never said, just understood. When are these things ingrained into us?

I especially loved the secondary characters, and how they added so much to the flora of the town. Diva, Miss Mapp's arch nemesis, is one of my favorite characters. She is equally as cunning as Mapp, but she has more of a heart. Quaint Irene, the town bohemian who wears men's clothes, and Mrs. Poppit, the rich widow throws her money in everyone's faces with her fancy dinners, are just a couple of the folks that liven up the town. If you're ever in the mood for a good laugh, you will definitely be in for a treat with this book and series. I can't wait to crack into the next book.

[Lizz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t write reviews.

My dear Miss Mapp, you are the living end! As opposed to Lucia’s desire to be seen as the epitome of culture and the arts, Elizabeth Mapp just wants to be seen. She hasn’t much trouble in that, considering her scheming, and spying, her careful entrances and large, loud figure. She tries to appear uninterested and aloof, with enjoyable results.

Her world revolves around the happenings of the small town of Tilling and the few residents there considered important enough to care about. She has a nemesis in her best friend, the talented gossip, Diva. These two have a long-standing sartorial feud. The Kingfisher Blue and the Crimson Lake Incidents are the latest in their fashion troubles.

Then there are the goings-on of Captain Puffin and Major Benji, who are up all-hours, supposedly engaged in diaries and historical pursuits (Miss Mapp fervently hopes this is the case).... or are they drinking whisky? Such mysteries are delights to the residents of Tilling.

I know I said Queen Lucia reminded me of Keeping Up Appearances, but I must say Miss Mapp is the real Hyacinth Bucket.

[Nigeyb · Rating 4 out of 5]

My introduction to the world of E.F. Benson's Mapp & Lucia novels was via the BBC TV adaptation broadcast in the UK in late December 2014. E.F. Benson's Mapp & Lucia novels were also recommended to me on GoodReads.

This is the second book in the Mapp and Lucia series, and the second one I have read. The novels, in chronological order, are:

Queen Lucia (1920)
Miss Mapp (1922)
Lucia in London (1927)
Mapp and Lucia (1931)
Lucia's Progress (1935)
Trouble for Lucia (1939)

There are also five other books based on the same characters written by other authors.

Mrs Emmeline Lucas, known by all as Lucia (due to her penchant for using Italian phrases), doesn't appear in this book at all. Instead we meet the eponymous Miss Mapp and her fellow residents of Tilling (based on E.F. Benson's home town of Rye in Sussex). I enjoyed this even more than Queen Lucia, particularly the supporting cast and of those the bickering double act of Major Flint and Captain Puffin produced some memorable comedic moments.

So it's another undemanding, well written, amusing tale of snobbery and social oneupmanship that has kept my enthusiasm levels high for the the rest of E.F. Benson's Mapp & Lucia novels.

4/5

[Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the third of his six "Mapp and Lucia" novels, Benson shifts the scene from the village of Riseholme to that of Tilling. Here the social queen is not the redoubtable Lucia Lucas of the first two books but rather one Elizabeth Mapp, who rules with rather a heavier and more judgemental hand.

Mapp is one of the great unlikeable-but-fascinating characters in all of comic literature. She is nosey, pretentious, mean spirited, and small minded. Yet she's as fascinating as a cobra. Benson, of course, is setting readers up for the great battle of the titans that ensues in the fourth book, when Lucia moves to Tilling and goes head-to-head with Mapp. Before doing that, however, Benson gives free rein to Miss Mapp in this novel, coincidentally introducing the denizens of Tilling. We meet the whiskey-and-golf-loving Major Benjamin Flint, his cohort Captain Puffin (who drowns in a bowl of soup), the eccentric and dandified Mr Wyse, who marries pretentious Susan Poppitt MBE, the unabashedly butch artist "Quaint" Irene Coles, and hapless and bumbling Godiva Plaistow, along with the affected Scotch-speaking Padre and his "Wee Wifie." These memorably eccentric characters more or less comprise Tilling society.

Describing the plot of a Benson novel makes not a great deal of sense as the books are very episodic. However, the basic set scene invariably revolves around Miss Mapp (or someone else) trying to lord it over others, appear to be more than one truly is, or save face, with the requisite amounts of gossip, idle speculation, and unbridled envy thrown in for good measure. Despite the all-too-human failings of the Tilling-ites, Benson is never spiteful; instead he seems to positively relish his characters' imperfections and quirks. Keen observers of human foibles, particularly anglophiles, are especially susceptible to this intimate little world.

As Nancy Mitford wrote in her famous introduction to these novels, "None of them [Riseholme or Tilling residents] could be described as estimable, and they are certainly not very interesting, yet they are fascinated by each other and we are fascinated by them....The art of these books lies in their simplicity. The jokes seem quite obvious and are often repeated: we can never have enough of them."

Indeed, those who fall under the spell of these delightful books can never have enough of them. I've read the series at least four times over, with many forays into Benson's other works, but I inevitably end up coming back to the Mapp and Lucia saga itself.

[BrokenTune · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ever since Summer-time had been inaugurated a few years before, it had been one of the chronic dissensions of Tilling. Miss Mapp, Diva and the Padre flatly refused to recognize it, except when they were going by train or tram, when principle must necessarily go to the wall, or they would never have succeeded in getting anywhere, while Miss Mapp, with the halo of martyrdom round her head, had once arrived at a Summer-time party an hour late, in order to bear witness to the truth, and, in consequence, had got only dregs of tea and the last faint strawberry.

Ah, Miss Mapp and her merry band of villagers who are too refined to ask indelicate questions and therefore thrive on the misunderstanding that is fuelled by assumptions, gossip, and the hard of hearing.

There is again much to love about the characters and their adventures such as the interaction between eccentrics who are trying to outperform each other only to realise that they also need each other as a respective audience.

In this second book of the Mapp & Lucia series, a little too much whisky and a little too much eagerness for drama takes the story to its heights when a duel is arranged.

As much as I enjoy parts of the stories, they lack the pace that would make them something I could look forward to. The pace is injected in the dramatisations, but in the books I find the lack of plot development is keeping my enthusiasm at bay. Had the books the same spark as the tv dramatisations, I would liken the stories to Wilde's Important of Being Earnest, which is what I had to think of a few times when reading about the exploits of Captain Flint and Major Puffin, and their supposed rivalry for Miss Mapp.

“If your status in Tilling depended on a reputation for bloodthirsty bravery,” he said, “the sooner it was changed the better. We’re in the same boat: I don’t say I like the boat, but there we are. Have a drink, and you’ll feel better. Never mind your status.”
“I’ve a good mind never to have a drink again,” said the Major, pouring himself out one of his stiff little glasses, “if a drink leads to this sort of thing.”

[Susan in NC · Rating 5 out of 5]

8/8/2023: I adore Nadia May narrating this book, and will probably listen yet again, it’s so fun and funny. The energy Miss Mapp puts into spying on and trying to manipulate her neighbors is truly breathtaking! A great precursor to “Mapp & Lucia”, in which the two titans clash for the honor of being queen of Tilling society.

3/30/2023: Benson is still a go-to read for me for sheer enjoyment! After this reread, I am reminded how much the bossy, manipulative Miss Mapp had it coming to her when Queen Lucia descended on Tilling in the next book (Mapp and Lucia), which I reread recently.

2017: I'm in the mood for fun, light reads, so decided to reread Benson's Lucia and Mapp books this year. I read Queen Lucia not long ago and was instantly immersed in the social schemes and vicious gossip of Riseholme; but divine Lucia, charming Georgie and the delightful opera singer Olga Bracely are one thing, Miss Mapp is another!

She is truly one of the most scheming, hypocritical, suspicious and angry characters I've ever read, ruling Tilling with as iron a fist as Lucia rules Riseholme, but without the velvet glove! Miss Mapp shamelessly spies on her neighbors with opera glasses, claiming to be engrossed in her "sweet flowers" as she perches in her garden room at the head of Tilling's busiest street like a bird of prey, waiting to swoop on anything she considers not up to Tilling's (her) standards.

Like the other Lucia books, nothing much happens among these wealthy, middle-aged British villagers, but Benson weaves his brilliant spell and I am enthralled, trying to find uninterrupted stretches of time to indulge my addiction to his snarky, hilarious, brilliant writing, grinning like a fool and often laughing out loud...

The back of my beautiful Moyer Bell edition of this book best describes what I love about this book - indeed, all the Lucia books - it describes Miss Mapp as a fortyish spinster, "anger and the gravest suspicion of everybody had kept her young and on the boil...Nothing escapes her. Miss Mapp is a hilarious, sharply observed satire that lovingly but pointedly pokes fun at the feuds and foibles of English society in miniature." Perfectly delicious - I may skip Lucia in London and head right for the clash of the titans-Mapp and Lucia!

[Lady Clementina ffinch-ffarowmore · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second of the Mapp and Lucia books, which introduces us to Miss Mapp—the two formidable ladies haven’t met yet—in the village of Tilling (based on real-life Rye), where we also meet other residents, Diva Plaistow, ‘quaint’ Irene, the artist, Major Benjy and Captain Puffin, Mrs Poppet and Isabel, and Mr Wyse among others. Unlike Lucia in her village of Riseholme, Miss Mapp is not ‘queen’ of Tilling, but very much a part of its society, with shopping, games of bridge and tea parties, and some sketching (golf for the Major and Captain) being daily activities (Unlike Riseholme, there is no music, and other ‘cultural’ activities). But the battle for social one-upmanship is very much always on in Tilling as well, be it in a recipe for cherry fool ‘handed down by grandmamma’ (one has to wonder whose), or battles over sartorial choices, or Miss Mapp simply suggesting that she was the cause of a duel. Miss Mapp is rather spiteful and unlikeable, so I do prefer Lucia over her, but her adventures are pretty entertaining, from attempts at hoarding to stealing or ending up with the same outfit as Diva—more than once—they certainly give you a laugh. A fun revisit!

[Jesse · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was charmed & finally quite delighted by this social comedy; I have a special love for novels that are little more than low-stakes depictions of the messy little foibles of everyday life, & this is a particularly good example. Centered around the formidable title character who quite literally functions as our navigation system to the insular little social bubble of uppercrust Tilling, Elizabeth Mapp could quite easily have been a deeply unpleasant character, but Benson holds so much wry affection for her that we can't help but be quickly won over too. The same can also be said about all of the other characters that become entangled in Miss Mapp's orbit (although I found the men significantly less engaging than the women & their always-simmering battle of wills).

Benson's style reminded me at times of Wilde, only less bitchy-clever & more good-naturedly amused (ie "it was very inconvenient that honesty would be the best policy"). I burst out laughing multiple times, & I had to sheepishly explain to my confused boyfriend that it was situational humor & unexpected turns of phrase that are really only funny in context.

This was my first encounter with Benson's universe & I'm very much looking forward to engaging with it more.

"It is no use denying that the Cosmic Consciousness of the ladies of Tilling was aware of a disagreeable anticlimax to so many hopes and fears. It had, of course, hoped for the best, but it had not expected that the best would be quite as bad as this."

[Susan]

When you get right down to it, Miss Mapp is an unpleasant character with her fake enthusiasm and constant battles for the upper hand in her social circle in the English town of Tilling. But, her daily battles and occasional triumphs are quite amusing, informed by the author’s sharp eye for everyday hypocrisies and small social contretemps. Nadia May’s narration of the audiobook enhances the comedy. Reread. 4.5 stars

[Masteatro · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5 estrellas.
Nos encontramos ante un libro amable ambientado en un pintoresco pueblecito inglés donde todos son auténticos cotillas y la mayoría tienen bastante mala idea.
Me ha resultado divertido, he sonreído en muchas ocasiones y me he reído en algunas pero sí que debo decir que me hubiese gustado más con menos páginas porque aunque la señorita Mapp es todo un personajes, en ocasiones las situaciones se vuelven un poco repetitivas.

Nota: 7

[Elinor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Mean Girls all over again, set in an English country village in the 1920s. And the meanest girl of all is a middle-aged woman who is so devious that she embodies the term gaslighting. She spies, schemes, lies and denies so skilfully that lesser intellects are left hurt and bewildered. The characters are memorable, especially Miss Mapp herself, and the writing is both clever and caustic. I'm subtracting one star only because the plot lacks any real drama, but relies on the constant twists and turns of Miss Mapp's social-climbing vanity.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5* rounded up for this audiobook edition.

It has been decades since I read the Mapp & Lucia series and I had forgotten much this entry (2nd in publication order but 3rd in the omnibus). I found Miss Mapp meaner than I remembered but the book funnier (so often the way in satires that the nastier characters are the source of most of the humor).

Nadia May does a marvellous narration so I am glad to have listened to this rather than read my Kindle edition.

[Margie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Miss Mapp, a comedy of manners, is the second in E.F. Benson's Mapp and Lucia series. I really enjoyed Queen Lucia, the first book in the series, but even though I kept turning pages to see what Miss Mapp would do next, I couldn't really get attached to her or any of the characters in this one.

Miss Mapp is a thoroughly unlikable character who lives and breathes town gossip in the fictional village of Tilling. Gossip is her reason for living. She sits looking out her window for hours on end keeping up with the locals so that she can be the first to report their activity. Tilling was based on Rye, the village where the author lived for many years of his life. I have to think that there was someone in Rye whom he thoroughly disliked or perhaps several villagers who caused him to write such mean-spirited, gossipy, social climbing, conniving characters. Mean-spirited and conniving are the key words here, mostly applicable to Miss Mapp.

If you want to look into this series, definitely start with the first book, Queen Lucia. I found it funny and charming and really enjoyed the characters in that one. It does not take place in Tilling!

[Ivonne Rovira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Miss Elizabeth Mapp -- malicious, snooping, miserly and snobbish -- serves as the social center of Tilling, a thinly veiled portrait of the English town of Rye, Sussex, in the 1920s. Determined to maintain her position and to one-up her neighbors, Godiva Plaistow and Susan Poppit, MBE, Miss Mapp resents others' success and devotes hours to planning how to elevate herself. Aside from social-climbing, bridge parties and gardening, Miss Mapp's only other concern is the long-shot scheme of entrapping her neighbor, an Army captain and middle-aged bachelor named Benjamin Flint, into matrimony.

Sounds like an outdated bore? In fact, E.F. Benson's biting satire on upper-middle-class pursuits proves hilarious, sort of a more cynical version of a P.G. Wodehouse novel. If you're a fan of M.C. Beaton's Agatha Raisin series or of Julian Fellowes' Snobs, you'll love all of the books in the Mapp & Lucia series.

[Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Two of the series, in which the Reader is introduced to Miss Mapp, social dominatrix of the seaside town of Tilling and future arch-rival of the matchless Lucia. Here, she gets a novel all to herself and threatens to chew it to bits with her great, gleaming, hypocritical teeth. Wickedly funny.

[Laurel Hicks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delicious! Miss Mapp is her own worst friend.

[A.J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second in the Mapp and Lucia series (or third if one goes by a popular re-ordering). While the first book concerned the sprightly Lucia in the town of Riseholme, this one concerns the conniving Miss Mapp in the (I suppose nearby) town of Tilling. There is a passing reference made to Riseholme but otherwise this is a completely separate book only really connected through the later volumes where Lucia and Mapp meet. However both of the first two books are identical in their biting satire of the well-to-do of the time.

Miss Mapp herself is something of a monster of a character. She is supremely involved in everybody else's business to the point of spending large parts of her days putting herself in the position of being able to spy on others (her house and windows on a corner of two well travelled streets give her a wonderful and easy vantage point). While one may wonder why others in the town put up with it, it must be noted that she has just enough social grace to keep herself included in things and she has a fierce cleverness that helps her to balance and (usually) get away with it.

It also doesn't hurt her that Tilling is absolutely stocked to the brim with residents who are busybodies. Though Miss Mapp is the queen of the busybodies, no one really minds all that much because everybody else is doing it too. Well, at least most of the women, who make up most of the major characters. The two older bachelor men who live across the street from each other, in full view of Mapp's windows and ever-gazing eyes, spend their time trying to sneak around the female busybodies instead.

While Lucia's Riseholme set had a more oblivious and blithe atmosphere, Mapp's Tilling set has a (slightly) more frugal and anxious air to it. No one (of the main characters) really works in either and everyone in both mostly spend their days in leisurely pursuits, but in Tilling at least there is a show of the characters dutifully going shopping for daily necessities on the main street on a regular basis and complaints about prices and hoarding and the like. In Riseholme I would guess that a play to the higher class or nobility would be openly admired, but in Tilling it is fodder for criticism. In a sense I might say that Riseholme is the optimistic while Tilling is the pessimistic and Lucia is the glass half full while Mapp is the glass half empty. Really that's a little too severe but it does help to easily encompass the difference between the two.

While I slightly preferred the first book in the series, this one has its moments as well. One moment in particular really had me laughing out loud and I thought I wanted to mention it in my review, but alas I forgot what it was, heh (I actually finished the book about two weeks ago but just now sat down to review it). I think it had something to do with Miss Mapp being put in an uncomfortable and comeuppance sort of position. There are a few moments like that but the one I wanted to recall is not complying with my desire for it to re-enter my consciousness at present.

I look forward to the rest of the series and especially to Miss Mapp and Lucia meeting. By the way, I heard the Benson was the Queen Mum's favourite author and I can see why.

I listened to the audiobook read by Nadia May. She also narrated Queen Lucia and so I was already prepared for her great voice work.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

14 January 2008: I finished the book last night, finally! I've been so busy it was hard to devote any consistent time to the novel, though I did enjoy it immensley.

I wavered between awarding it four or five stars, because some aspects were truly outstanding and others were only slightly lacking--and it may just have been because I didn't read it daily, but it was a bit hard to keep the characters (except Miss Mapp) straight in the beginning, and the first 1/3 or so of the book were more unrelated vignettes, rather than a continuous storyline as the latter chapters proved to be. Then again, I found Benson's style charming, witty and engaging; intelligent without being overindulgent or difficult. He was able to convey the innerworkings of his characters' (complex and amusing) minds with remarkably clarity and humor.

It was impossible not to smile and chuckle inwardly at the various antics of the characters in their quests to discover and spread the juciest gossip of charming wee Tilling. The one-ups-manship is staggering and the "keeping up appearances" and even malice of some of the characters was amusing in Benson's story, but would have been truly revolting in real life as no one seemed to truly care about anyone but herself. So, it is difficult to completely love a book when it is impossible to love any of the characters. I appreciated Benson's style, humor and insight into the pettiness and social clamboring of many folks--but, then again, I'd rather not invite Miss Mapp and her "friends" over for tea.


**********************************************************
I began this book over the Thanksgiving holiday--but only managed about a chapter what with all the festivities and trying to get the new apartment looking like a home instead of a maze of boxes! From what I can tell, though, the book promises to be charming. Cozy-cute British village setting, an interesting assortment of inhabitants, all seen through the keen and discriminating eyes of Miss Mapp. So far, she is a deliciously annoying combination of Rachel Lind from "Anne of Green Gables" and Mrs. Bucket (pronouced "boo-kay!") from British TV's "Keeping Up Appearances." This promises to be quite a ride!!! :->

[Karin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my second time reading this but this time I rounded it up because I liked it better by not having read it soon after reading Queen Lucia. This time I appreciated more of the writing Benson does and especially the rivalry between Mapp and Diva; it I hadn't read it on kindle due to the quarantine, I'd have marked some brilliant quotes. As well as Benson writes, I can't say that I love this book to the point of five stars. I want to finally read Mapp and Lucia (I've read the first three in the series) but didn't like the third as much as I did the first two so stopped for some reason or other)--I suspect that they will have a rivalry that will exceed that of Diva and Mapp, because no doubt about it, Lucia is much smarter than is Diva.

Original Review

3.5 stars

Miss Elizabeth Mapp, who is on the other side of 40, has a view of the entire neighbourhood where she sees and conjectures much. She has her little tiffs with Diva, particularly over clothing, and she secretly wishes one of the gentlemen in the neighbourhood will marry her, although he has been rather naughty and staying up until all hours at home. But there are a myriad of fun characters, little events and things that make one chuckle in this book.

While I can't say that I like the character Miss Mapp quite as well as I like Lucia, I did enjoy the story and the cast at least as much. Although this novel started off rather slow for me, by the middle of the book I was having fun with it, and if you like Lucia, EF Benson or witty books set in 1920s England, I recommend this.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another reread that I know already is five stars!

Paragraphs like this one are why I adore E.F. Benson:

"Peace on earth and mercy mild," sang Miss Mapp, holding her head back with her uvula clearly visible. She sat in her usual seat close below the pulpit, and the sun streaming in through a stained glass window opposite made her face of all colours, like Joseph's coat. Not knowing how it looked from outside, she pictured to herself a sort of celestial radiance coming from within, though Diva, sitting opposite, was reminded of the iridescent hues observable on cold boiled beef. But then, Miss Mapp had registered the fact that Diva's notion of singing alto was to follow the trebles at the uniform distance of a minor third below, so that matters were about square between them.

Rereading in 2014, Nadia May's sublime performance again.

Listened to the audiobook again as traveling entertainment as we drove to Missouri and back. Still fantastic!

[Jana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love reading about Miss Mapp! Adding to the fun is that in January I was very fortunate to get to visit the lovely village of Rye with my dear friend/fellow anglophile and stroll the streets where these books are set. It is not a must, of course, but the fact that I know exactly where Miss Mapp spied on the neighbors from her garden, watched the cars rounding the bend in front of the church, and her view down the cobblestone streets, adds to my extreme enjoyment & delight.

I look forward to Miss Mapp being joined by Lucia in the next volume. And the amazing (per said anglophile above who got to see the advance screening) BBC production of these books out now in the UK. Come along to the USofA soon, please!

Here's some BBC info:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/late...

[Dominika]

I didn't enjoy this one nearly much as Queen Lucia, but it still had some very funny moments.

My favorite line of all:

"They passed together down the road and into the High Street, unconscious that their every look and action was being more commented on than the epistle to the Hebrews"

I imagine it's going to horribly hilarious when Elizabeth and Lucia finally meet later in the series, and I can't wait for it.

[Terris · Rating 4 out of 5]

So cute!

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Moments of wonderful humour and sharp insight on little England, but I found this patchy, and with odd moral victories for the wrong characters.

[Pamela Shropshire · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series by E.F. Benson is deliciously and wickedly witty and satirical. This one takes place in the village of Tilling, a twin of Riseholme that is Lucia’s home. As indicated by the title, Miss Mapp is the central figure in Tilling Society, and her greatest rival is Diva Plaistow - called Diva because Miss Mapp is too genteel to say her full given name of Godiva. 😂

Because these books were written and set in the 1920s, none of our main characters have a profession, except that of Professional Gossip, in which each character is constantly attempting to outdo the others.

Miss Mapp commissions a splendid tea gown of “kingfisher-blue” inspired by an American fashion magazine. At the first event to which she wears it, drama ensues when Diva enters wearing the identical gown! Miss Mapp decides to dye it crimson lake, knowing how much more brilliant she will appear in red. Alas, Diva also has dyed hers crimson lake.

Such fun.

[Lindley Walter-smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Miss Mapp all on her own is a bit exhausting - so much evil and malice and spite in one plump and dimpled spinster, and none of Lucia's generous nature to lighten the mixture a bit. Miss Mapp's nasty plottings and the social jostlings of Tilling are still enthralling, and Diva is quite lovable. Acidly witty and all too perceptive.

[Ignis · Rating 5 out of 5]

¡La verdadera reina cotilla vive en Tilling!

Cuando ya creía que Emmeline Lucas no podía ser superada, E. F. Benson nos presenta una protagonista aún más perspicaz y obsesionada con la vida social: Elisabeth Mapp.

La señorita Mapp vigila con vista de lince a todos los habitantes del pintoresco pueblo de Tilling desde su bien situado celador. Para ella, enterarse la última de las noticias más recientes es sinónimo de fracaso. De ahí su ansia por controlar y estar alerta ante cualquier suceso que pueda tener lugar en su círculo social.

De nuevo, el autor realiza una sátira de la alta sociedad inglesa, presentando a un conjunto de personajes extravagantes y sometiéndolos a una continua sucesión de enredos cómicos. Al igual que pasaba en Reina Lucía, los diálogos resultan tan inteligentes y sarcásticos que es una gozada ver cómo se enfrentan ciertos vecinos entre sí.

He disfrutado especialmente de las eternas disputas entre Elisabeth y Godiva, dos mujeres chismosas que, aunque se odien, comparten más características de lo que les gustaría admitir.

Lectura recomendada para aquellos que adoran reírse de ricos frívolos y disfrutar de una narración llena de detalles e ironía.

[Rafa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ególatra, cotilla, pedante, torpe, metomentodo, narcisista y aún y con todo adorable. Las vicisitudes de un pequeño pueblo británico en los años veinte del pasado siglo pasados por el filtro del particular humor británico.
El autor gustaba describirse como un escritor de terror, y no lo hacía nada mal (el que quiera comprobarlo tiene algunos títulos en la Editorial Valdemar). pero hay que reconocer que le salió una vena cómica magnífica y al final se le recuerda por los relatos de la Señorita Mapp y Lucía.
Ya tengo el tercero de la saga en cola.

[Trin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mystery box book #23!

This series is just not for me, I'm afraid. I don't find the prose particularly charming or witty, and the characters are all so unpleasant that their antics fail to amuse. I just don't enjoy spending time with them.