'Queen Lucia' & 'Miss Mapp' Centernary.

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2020 was the centenary of 'Queen Lucia' the first book of the series published in 1920.

2022 is the centenary of 'Miss Mapp' the second book in the series published in 1922

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The Mapp and Lucia novels feature humorous incidents in the lives of (mainly) upper-middle-class British characters in the 1920s and 1930s, many of whom do not work for a living, who vie for social prestige and status in an atmosphere of extreme cultural snobbery. Several of the books are set in the small seaside town of Tilling, closely based on Rye, where E F Benson lived for a number of years and (like Lucia) served as mayor.

'Queen Lucia' is set in Riseholme, based on Broadway in Worcestershire, where she is the uncrowned queen of 1920s provincial society, the Everest of social climbers and the most delicious of snobs. In this first book she and her unforgettable cronies face up to an Indian guru, spiritualism and a cultural usurper.

'Miss Mapp' introduces us to the social tyrant of the fictional coastal town of Tilling, and the cast of Tillingites, including Diva Plaistow, Major Benji Flint, Mr. and Mrs. Wyse, and Quaint Irene. "Mallards", the home of Miss Mapp—and subsequently Lucia when she moves from Riseholme —was based on Lamb House in Rye. Benson lived in the house which had previously been the residence of Henry James and had a garden room overlooking the street where many of the events take place.

The novels, in chronological order, are:

• Queen Lucia (1920)

• Miss Mapp (1922)

• Lucia in London (1927)

• Mapp and Lucia (1931)

• Lucia's Progress (1935) (published in the U.S. as The Worshipful Lucia)

• Trouble for Lucia (1939)

The first three books concern only the protagonist named in the title; the last three feature both Mapp and Lucia.

Short stories are:

• Desirable Residences (1929)

• The Male Impersonator (1929)

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