Audiobook · read by volunteers
Queen Lucia
E. F. Benson (1867–1940)
Read by Martin Clifton · 16 chapters · 8 h 45
About the book
In the pleasant village of Riseholme, Mrs Emmeline Lucas, known to all as Lucia, reigns as queen of the local society. She is cultured, energetic and wonderfully affected, with a taste for Italian phrases, Beethoven and the latest fashionable enthusiasm. Her devoted court laughs at her behind her back and follows her in front of it. But when a celebrated guest arrives, and a rival begins to challenge her authority, the delicate balance of Riseholme is under threat.
E. F. Benson’s Queen Lucia, first published in 1920, is a masterpiece of social comedy, sharp, affectionate and very funny about the small ambitions of small places. It is the first of the Mapp and Lucia novels. In sixteen chapters and just under nine hours, the recording invites you into a world where the stakes are a lot lower than they appear and the battles are fought with the greatest politeness.
Introduction
Edward Frederic Benson (1867–1940) was born at Wellington College in Berkshire, where his father, who later went on to become the Archbishop of Canterbury, was the first Headmaster. He wrote 105 books in all, including novels, biographies, memoirs and ghost stories. Today he is best remembered for the series of comic novels about Lucia and her rival, Miss Mapp.
Queen Lucia, first published in 1920, was the first of Benson’s Mapp and Lucia novels. There were six in all. This first book is set in the fictional village of Riseholme and focuses on Lucia and her circle of friends and admirers. The comedy depends on small gestures: a bit of pretended knowledge, a rivalry over a visitor or a new craze that sweeps through the village. Benson is a master of dialogue and of the telling detail, and he treats his characters with an affection that does not stop him from seeing through them. The book has also been praised for its gentle satire of social climbing and of cultural pretension.
Later books in the series, including Miss Mapp and Lucia in London, bring the two women together, but Queen Lucia stands very well on its own.
The recording has 16 sections and lasts just under nine hours. It is read by a single LibriVox volunteer. Why listen now? Because it is a comedy that has never really aged, and because a fine reader can bring out the humour in every line. The book is ideal for listeners who enjoy P. G. Wodehouse, Jane Austen or any story where a social world is drawn with wit and a certain tenderness. It is a perfect companion for a long journey.
Public domain
E. F. Benson died in 1940: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text