Mapp and Lucia

These books by E. F .Benson are hilariously funny. Like P.G. Woodehose only with middle aged women and without the painfully funny language. Elizabeth Mapp and Emmeline Lucas (called Lucia) are social rivals in the small town of Tilling. Neither will concede the upper hand and the books Mapp and Lucia and Make Way for Lucia are all about their endless competition for supremacy. Mapp is a stubborn, narrow minded little woman while Lucia is, while more open minded, quite a snob and fake. There are about 6-7 other main characaters who are in their orbit.

One is Georgie, Lucia's best friend who is ridiculously vain with an auburn toupee, and lots of costumey little capes and outfits, but also rather touchingly devoted to Lucia and the excitement she brings to life. They speak a very affected and made-up 'Italian' to each other and are almost unmasked as fakes when an Italian countess comes to town. Lucia is always coming up with new schemes with Georgie in tow: " for the spark was lit now, and it went roaring through her fertile brain like a prairie fire in a high gale".

A vaguely aristocratic snobby couple the Wyses' spend most of the books driving up and down the narrow streets of Tilling in an enormous Rolls Royce. "when the party broke up Mrs. Wyse begged him to allow her to give him a lift in the Royce, but as this would entail a turning of that majestic car, which would take at least five minutes followed by a long drive for them round the church square and down into the High Street and up again to Porpoise Street, he adventured forth on foot for his walk of thirty yards and arrived with undue fatigue." One woman is always referred to as "quaint Irene", quaint apparently being code for "lesbian". Major Benjy is always sneaking a nip of alcohol and yelling "Quai Hi!!!!" (left over from his army days) when he wants the servants.

The BBC made a wonderful television series of the books with Prunella Scales as Mapp and Nigel Hawthorne as a very camp Georgie. Equally as enjoyable.