Queen Lucia (Audible Audio Edition) E F Benson Flo Gibson Inc Audio Book Contractors Books
Download As PDF : Queen Lucia (Audible Audio Edition) E F Benson Flo Gibson Inc Audio Book Contractors Books
The energetic, pretentious and sometimes malicious Lucia's reign over Riseholme's gentry is challenged by a dazzling diva, a fraudulent guru and the exposur eof her faulty Italian.
Queen Lucia (Audible Audio Edition) E F Benson Flo Gibson Inc Audio Book Contractors Books
When Jane Austin wrote EMMA, she boasted gleefully that she had created a heroine that no one would like. E.F. Benson must have felt confident that his most enduring character - the inimitable Lucia - would be as cordially disliked by modern readers.Lucia reigns as Queen of the village of Riseholme NOT by virtue of beauty, breeding, wealth, achievement, brilliance, or charm but by sheer gall and determination. Like all successful politicians, she's convinced of her fitness to rule and she generally convinces her subjects, although mutiny is always on the boil. Indeed, the simmering resentment of other Riseholmites against Lucia's iron control and their periodic rebellions (always swiftly and cunningly squelched by the resourceful Lucia) is the main theme of the book. Ironically, Lucia's downfall comes at the hands of the one person (newcomer Olga Bracely) who has NO interest in over-throwing her.
Benson was noted for his brittle humor and sharp social satire, but in his six Lucia novels he created characters that the reader cares about while richly enjoying their pettiness, snobbery, and absurdity. Lucia and Peppino and Georgie and Daisy and Lady Ambermere are all big frogs in a little pond and never, EVER do or say anything intrinsically interesting, and yet they ARE interesting. They are so endlessly fascinated with themselves and each other that the reader (against his better judgement) gets caught up in the excitement.
The Lucia series has a small, but devoted following which grows every time a reader stumbles on one of them and gets hooked like a large-mouth bass. They are pure guilty pleasure and who can't use some of that?
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Queen Lucia (Audible Audio Edition) E F Benson Flo Gibson Inc Audio Book Contractors Books Reviews
Ah, Lucia. To know her is to, oddly enough, get to quite like her, despite her occasional less-than-stellar behavior, which the author has no hesitation in pointing out and occasionally even punishing her for. And her interactions with Miss Mapp, as well as Miss Mapp herself, kept me - the only word to use here - amused throughout. This is going to be one of those books I re-read occasionally because I miss the characters and want to spend some time with them again.
E.F. Benson has been my favorite author for decades. I was a bit leery, ordering this dramatized version of his Lucia series, but shouldn't have worried the playwright John van Druten has done a spectacular job! I'm grateful that this work exists; I'm also grateful that the seller made the transaction a most pleasant one superb packing and quick service!
But isn't everything? Long before we had the Housewives of the world, we had Lucia. But alas for us her world had gotten lost obscured. I have quite forgotten why our how I discovered this series by E.F. Benson but I am glad I did. Set in a fantastical English village before WWI where no-one works except at gossip, dinner parties, gardens, and piano recitals Lucia and crew fill there days with trivial, nonsense and anything petty. Hardly a recipe for deep thinking! But damn if I didn't get hooked. And let's face it, the above mentioned mentioned Housewives of Beverly hills or Miami or New York are just as plain! It's a great book between heavier fare. And you just might get a glimpse of people in your own circle of friends and insight to their hearts.
I originally ordered this as a 4 (?) volume set from the Folio Society, but they ran out before my order got to them. So I searched , and this was the best deal going. I thought it was separate books, but it is all in one volume. I bought this for my wife, and she has almost finished reading it, in 4 weeks. She had plenty of time anyway, having broken a leg 2 weeks ago, and is pretty much house bound for the most of it. But she is also reading her kindle too, so all the time is not devoted to the book. I asked her a couple of times, and she really enjoys it. I haven't seen her read a 'real book' since I bought the for her several years ago, so that is telling you something. I may have to start it one day, just to see what has captivated her so much.
When reading a book the reader should ask himself what was the author attempting to accomplish and did he succeed. I dare say that Mr. Benson set out to write a brilliant and entertaining satire and social commentary and he certainly accomplished this.
The mark of great satire is that it stands the test of time, and this story of the social world of a, I assume, Midlands English town could have been written today and transplanted to any affected American suburb today. Yet the characters do not lose their unique English personalities, pretensions and attributes. It rang true then and it rings true now.
Delicious are the leitmotifs of speaking Italian (which Lucia and her husband can't) and the visit of an opera diva to their little world. Where another writer may have sullied the experience of "the queen" and her fate, Benson makes certain that social mores triumph but without too much rancor.
This is one of my favorite series of books, and glad to have it on kindle now as well. Just wanted to drop a note to say as of this review, September 2012, the formatting issues mentioned in previous reviews seemed to be resolved. There is now a linked table of contents to all of the books included. The font is very readable, and the size can be adjusted per usual if that is a need/concern for you.
I own this omnibus as a hardcover edition and I call it "my doorstop" as it is huge and weighs a ton. Though I've bought individual books of the series over time, it's nice to have it in an e-book format, especially if it exposes more people to Benson's genius. But if you like this, let's all push and ask for his books to be republished. We need to keep "forgotten" classics of merit like this in circulation!
Benson wrote over 80 books, not all of them great, but if you love Mapp and Lucia I would recommend, of his others, Secret Lives, Paying Guests and Mrs. Ames A Novel (Bloomsbury Group). They are the most similar in tone and/or structure to the Mapp and Lucia books. (Secret Lives is my personal favorite, though only available as a used book.)
When Jane Austin wrote EMMA, she boasted gleefully that she had created a heroine that no one would like. E.F. Benson must have felt confident that his most enduring character - the inimitable Lucia - would be as cordially disliked by modern readers.
Lucia reigns as Queen of the village of Riseholme NOT by virtue of beauty, breeding, wealth, achievement, brilliance, or charm but by sheer gall and determination. Like all successful politicians, she's convinced of her fitness to rule and she generally convinces her subjects, although mutiny is always on the boil. Indeed, the simmering resentment of other Riseholmites against Lucia's iron control and their periodic rebellions (always swiftly and cunningly squelched by the resourceful Lucia) is the main theme of the book. Ironically, Lucia's downfall comes at the hands of the one person (newcomer Olga Bracely) who has NO interest in over-throwing her.
Benson was noted for his brittle humor and sharp social satire, but in his six Lucia novels he created characters that the reader cares about while richly enjoying their pettiness, snobbery, and absurdity. Lucia and Peppino and Georgie and Daisy and Lady Ambermere are all big frogs in a little pond and never, EVER do or say anything intrinsically interesting, and yet they ARE interesting. They are so endlessly fascinated with themselves and each other that the reader (against his better judgement) gets caught up in the excitement.
The Lucia series has a small, but devoted following which grows every time a reader stumbles on one of them and gets hooked like a large-mouth bass. They are pure guilty pleasure and who can't use some of that?
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