Customer Reviews

Make Way for Lucia

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I have waited a very, very long time to review this complete set of E.F. Benson's "Lucia" novels, as I knew I would not be able to do justice to this masterpiece. The characters, whom you must meet for yourself, are the marvelously portrayed gentry of quiet, presumably peaceful hamlets just a short train ride away from London. There they attempt to scratch and claw their way to the top of the limited society in which they live. There is no violence or evil here, just hilarious fun as one tries to outdo the other in becoming the reigning monarch of the town's "royal family". Nobody, but nobody, does this better than Lucia. Whether she is stealing Daisy's Guru or attempting to take credit for introducing "spiritualism" to her subjects, she does it unashamedly and with aplomb! Whether she is reigning in Riseholme, unabashedly social climbing in London, or beseiging the Town of Tilling, she does it with a sense of purpose. Her life is a contest, one she refuses to lose. Winner take all, and woe to those who would oppose her! She is musical, she is magical, she is marvelous, she is LUCIA! I own several copies of this book, lest one is ever lost. I cannot imagine life without a copy nearby. There are some books from which the characters leap from the pages. This is one of those books, with a difference. This is a book into which you will want to leap! Make no mistake, once you have read "Lucia" you will be as much her prisoner as the citizenry of the towns in which she lives and rules. You will become a true "Luciaphile" and will search for others who are also so afflicted. Lucia's world is my safe haven; my escape from the mundane, the frightening and the stress of the world in which I live. It can become the same for you. This is a book you may well bequeath in your will as a cherished family heirloom. I told you I could not do it justice and I have not. Read "Lucia". You will thank E.F. Benson for his malicious, wicked, marvelous wit and the talent to share it through his novels for the rest of your life.

This book has a permanent home with me wherever I go because I return to it whenever I am at a loss for something to read. I have only to pick it up and I am quickly transported to the world of Tilling and all the hilarious escapades of its residents. I love these characters!

If you're a Luciaphile already, this is the ultimate "must-have." If you aren't, read the first few pages, and you'll be hooked, too. E. F. Benson's series of five novels and one short story, combined here in one delightful volume, is set pre-WWI and, variously, in the small English towns of Riseholme and Tilling, with a season in London thrown in for good measure. The heroine, Mrs. Emmeline Lucas, is nicknamed Lucia, which sums up her professed love for the Italian language and for classical music very nicely, and the fact that she is much less of an expert at either than she would have us believe makes for some of the enticing complications throughout. Lucia is the ultimate snob, the ultimate social climber, and she is so good at being Lucia that, soon after you begin reading, you'll join the throngs of her admirers as she rules each respective venue with an iron will, dictating the social lives of those fortunate enough to be among her circle. While capturing our admiration for his resourceful heroine, the author shows a fine sense of balance by making sure that, whenever social success goes to Lucia's head, she is provided with a setback -- sufficient both in making her more human, and in allowing her to rise even more splendidly to the next pinnacle of her achievements. My copy of this book is well-worn from reading and re-reading, and I recommend that each newly converted Luciaphile keep the tome close at hand, so that within moments you can escape to the settings so richly and colorfully described by Benson that you end up feeling you were in fact there

This wonderful compilation of E.F Benson's most delightful characters is a must have for anyone interested in british humour. If you like anything from P.G. Wodehouse to "Absolutely Fabulous", you should read these books. I have a dog-eared copy of this which I have been reading almost continually for the past 15 years; whenever I need an escape from real life, I take a vacation in Tilling with Lucia and Mapp

Its all here in one edition: Lucia, Mapp, Georgy... the whole crew. No need to keep track of six different books. In addition, included is the rarely published "The Male Impersonator". Warning: this is vintage stuff and is as additive as chocolate covered cherries on a rainy English afternoon. Once you've met Benson's Lucia, you will know, for sure, the one in your very own circle. This is the crowning glory of the very under-rated E.F. Benson.

Like an English provincial "Finnegan's Wake", the minute you finish it all you really must go back and start all over again. Phooney on the Ab-Fab girls. Lucia reigns supreme and Benson is her prophet.

Cast of bizarre characters infest a picturesqe English village, resulting in glorious fun. I was fortunate enough to see the BBC production of Mapp and Lucia on TV a decade or so ago. I loved it, but assumed, since it was the 4th in a series of 6 novels, that the rest of the Lucia novels didn't measure up. Then I read "Queen Lucia" and knew I had been dead wrong. Lucia's madcap attempts to dominate her peers sometimes sends her footsoldiers fleeing to the enemy camp, as when she tries to ban bridge in favor of more intellectual pursuits, but usually wins the day. Lucia will periodically entertain, actually bore to tears, her social set by playing only the first movement of the "Moonlight Sonata". She disdains from playing the 2nd movement she says which is more like 11:00 am, and the 3rd 3:00 pm, and her captive audience count their blessings while begging, tongue in cheek, for more. Likewise with Lucias attempts to demonstrate her sophistication by interspersing her conversation with a sprinkling of Italian. Lucia speaks such beautiful Italian coos Mapp, hoping that someone who really speaks Italian will show up, and they do. Lucia is never able to tame the villainous Ms. Mapp, but generally wins the battles with aplomb. Fortunately for Luciaphiles, contemporary British author Tom Holt has written two excellent Lucia sequels, "Lucia in Wartime" and "Lucia Triumphant". They are hard to find, but worth the trouble.

I have just completed rereading what I refer to as "The Lucia Anthology" (all stories are contained in MAKE WAY FOR LUCIA) for the fifth time...my ten year rotation. With each reading I laugh, I enjoy and I continue to discover something new as to the wonderful world created for us by E. F. Benson. Lucia, Miss Mapp, Daisy Quantock, Quaint Irene, Diva, Peppino...and of course...Mr. Georgie... bring to us a slice of England as it perhaps never was but could have been. The characters are completely "over the top". There is a two boxed set video/DVD series available as to Lucia's time spent in Tilling with her neighbor Mrs. Mapp-Flint (married to Major Benjy-Boy Flint) but MAKE WAY FOR LUCIA includes the earlier years in Riseholme (and the first we hear of the gourmet wonder known as Lobster a la Risehome which is a saga unto itself). By all means, read the books in order from start to finish.
Any who are Anglophiles and any who will allow themselves time to escape into a "good read" should jump into the world of "Luciaphiles" and just enjoy. Lucia and Company...they are a treat!

This was a gift for a friend. I liked my own copy so much I wanted to share the fun--without giving up my copy!

There is an Elizabeth Mapp and a Lucia Lucas in all our lives. We may try to avoid them, we may even be slightly
scared of them, but we wouldn't for a moment be without them. "Make Way for Lucia" is a collection of relatively short stories centred around the claustrophic life of the pre-war British villages of Riseholme and Tilling. Lucia is the social queen but she is under constant threat of being toppled from her throne by the socially ambitious Miss Mapp.
This most genteel warfare is set amongst tea-gardens, bridge parties and music evenings. The stories are entertaining with many "laugh out loud" moments, and the joy and the pleasure linger long after the final curtain.
A book to be read again and again. Enjoy.

I think of E. F. Forsters "Lucia" series in the same way I do P.G. Wodehouse, both beloved authors that must be read again and again.

Unlike Wodehouse's world which is one of men, Lucia's world is dominated by women although several men are complete characters and could not be omitted without great loss. But it is a woman's world, filled with "important" goings on in village life. I can't say it's typical for an English village of 1940's vintage (?? exact years) having never lived in one but I have lived in a South Florida homeowners association and human nature remains the same: gossipy, full of small events that get elevated to extreme importance, pompous and hysterically funny. Imagine Monty Python taking tea with pinkie finger stuck out and taking oneself completely seriously.

When I want a long long read that makes me smile I reach for "Make Way for Lucia".