Listen free for 30 days

  • The Complete Mapp and Lucia, Volume 1

  • By: E. F. Benson
  • Narrated by: Georgina Sutton
  • Length: 26 hrs and 42 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (114 ratings)

Thousands of incredible audiobooks and podcasts to take wherever you go.
Immerse yourself in a world of storytelling with the Plus Catalogue - unlimited listening to thousands of select audiobooks, podcasts and Audible Originals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
The Complete Mapp and Lucia, Volume 1 cover art

The Complete Mapp and Lucia, Volume 1

By: E. F. Benson
Narrated by: Georgina Sutton
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £40.49

Buy Now for £40.49

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Diary of a Provincial Lady cover art
The Freaks of Mayfair cover art
Barbara Pym: A BBC Radio Drama Collection cover art
Queen Lucia: The BBC Radio 4 dramatisation cover art
The Complete Short Stories cover art
Lucia in London cover art
Crampton Hodnet cover art
Good Evening, Mrs Craven cover art
High Rising cover art
Less Than Angels cover art
No Fond Return of Love cover art
Desert Runner cover art
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy cover art
Duty Demands: A Pride and Prejudice Variation cover art
Some Tame Gazelle cover art
The Martian cover art

Summary

Sharply observant and wickedly funny, E.F. Benson's six Mapp and Lucia novels satirize the upper-middle-class social climbers in 1920s and '30s rural England. Games of bridge and cups of tea fuel hilarious gossip and vindictive plots a-plenty. It is a masterfully sustained spotlight on the minutiae of village life - a clever and ultimately heart-warming series that seems tailor-made for audio. Volume 1 contains the first three books.

©1927 E.F. Benson (P)2021 Naxos Audiobooks

What listeners love about The Complete Mapp and Lucia, Volume 1

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    93
  • 4 Stars
    18
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    84
  • 4 Stars
    15
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    89
  • 4 Stars
    10
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Mispronouncing Riseholme? How tarsome!

I've loved Mapp & Lucia for many years, and these narrated versions of their stories are generally excellent. But the narrator pronounces Lucia's home town variously as "Rise Home", "Rise Holme" or "Raise Holme". I'm afraid I've taken to shouting "RIZZUM!!!" at her each time I hear it mispronounced. How tarsome, as dear Georgie Pillson would say.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Binge-worthy and masterfully read

Such a surprise to suddenly find the M&L unabridged collections on Audible - volume 2 is also now available.

I have long loved the stories and the sly, clever writing. And I knew I would like them being read to me, in full. But the narration is absolutely faultless, and added so much to the enjoyment. I will have to ration myself when I start volume 2, because I know I will be sad when they are finished.

This really is a treat and great value, as they are very long, so you get completely immersed. Bliss. I would now probably buy a recording of Georgina Sutton reading IKEA assembly instructions or anything, faultless.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

great narration

in my opinion, this is the best narration. has Part Two been completed by the same narrator?

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful, and with superb narration.

I love the Mapp and Lucia novels and have read them many, many times. They’re hilariously funny and brilliantly well-observed. I was a bit worried that the audio book would be a disappointment, but the narration of this version is so good that listening to it has been an absolute joy.

Each character has a totally credible, distinct and consistent voice, perfect suited to their individual character traits, but the narration isn’t overdone and doesn’t draw attention to itself by being too stagey.

Probably the best narration of any audio book I have ever listened to, so highly recommended.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

glorious

I think if I had to choose a mastermind specialist subject it would be the Mapp and Lucia novels; that's how much I adore them, know them and cherish them. Fred Benson was an excellent observer and storyteller and his (in my mind) M&L novels (along with his ghost stories) are his crowning glory. you can imagine my joy to find these volumes unabridged and Georgina's narration is perfect: thank you. I'll enjoy these talking books for years to come x

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great stories, let down by pronunciation

It should be Rizzum NOT Rise-home! But that's a small complaint. It did have my inner Mapp cringing though!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Luciaphile!

I love these books. They are beautifully written. The humour never seems to age. This was brilliantly narrated. If you love Lucia, you will love this.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Thoroughly entertaining

Perfect audible book. Really enjoyed the Lucia stories. Very clever and witty writing and fabulous narration!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • EK
  • 14-03-23

Thoroughly enjoyable,


Great narration. Wonderful characters all brought vividly to life but found myself saying 'Rizzom!' every time Riseholme was mentioned which was a lot. For that reason only four stars but still looking forward to listening to the next books in the series.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Really delightful

Well read and so enjoyable. We can’t bear Lucia then we love Lucia. Such brilliant characters.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Grace M-T
  • Grace M-T
  • 15-06-21

At last!

I have been waiting for unabridged recordings of the Lucia novels for years. Every so often I would search “EF Benson” for them, and at last they are here. The narration is absolutely perfect, with just enough (but not too much) acid. Perfect lockdown listening, equally enjoyable now, as we renew acquaintanceship with the outside world and all its follies.

Yes, as one observer notes, both Mapp and Lucia are no better than they should be, but the discomfort arises bc we too aren’t much better, inside, even if we would need truth serum to admit it. While social norms have changed (!) since the 1920s, human nature has not, and the only sure remedy is to laugh. Bravo to Edward Frederic Benson and Georgina Sutton (Now if audible will only release EF’s Dodo books…)

Note: the chapters have no headings so for your reference, the three books start at the following chapters respectively
1: Book 1: Queen Lucia
42: Book 2: Miss Mapp. Preface
85: Book 3: Lucia in London

A pdf with complete contents can be downloaded at Naxos Audiobooks

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

24 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for ElsieEmcee
  • ElsieEmcee
  • 23-02-21

PLEASE release the next volume!

PLEASE release the next volume! The reader is wonderful and the series is too. Just a little bit too acid to be twee, perfect lockdown listening. We've got to get to the next book, when Mapp and Lucia meet!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for D.W.
  • D.W.
  • 05-08-21

Grateful for an unabridged reading, bad narration.

Georgina Sutton did such a great job with "Diary of a Provincial Lady" that I was thrilled to see she was doing my favorite series. Sadly the narration is flat, and rather monotonous. She either didn't understand the stories are satirical, or didn't get the jokes, because this was a joyless rendition. Prunella Scales and Geraldine McEwen both did SO much better.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Customer o  Kindle
  • Customer o Kindle
  • 03-09-21

so wonderful

Excellent narrator, and it's about time the series was available unabridged! The stories are pure escapism, set between the world wars in an idyllic English country village. They portray a world that never really existed for more than a few rather wealthy elites who lived a bit below the upper, upper crust, and only if they were somehow oblivious to real events and issues. Minor social dilemmas and schemes are treated like global intrigues, and real problems --real people-- don't exist at all. I have listened and read over and over. My favorite fantastical brain candy. Do not look for meaningful social commentary or thought-provoking plot twists. But do look for sly humor and exciting tempests at teacup scale.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Gee
  • Gee
  • 12-03-21

Vicious liars

There were times when I laughed out loud, but there were more times when I had to make myself finish it because those women are such vicious, self-absorbed, narcissistic, liars. Most of the people they squashed didn't deserve it.
Nope, they are too awful and I won't do the 2nd volume.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for John
  • John
  • 16-08-23

Ok, Let’s Be Honest…

…lest we relegate these books to period pieces, detailing the social foibles of the last century’s rather empty-headed comfortable class. Lest we imagine we’re above all the petty rivalries, inane jealousies and pointless social competition that make these books so mischievously funny. These days, Facebook and Twitter just make it all worse.

Georgianna Sutton makes Benson’s faultless prose sound even more perfect.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for AR
  • AR
  • 18-06-22

Is it a pronounced Reezom or Ryezom?

Mapp and Lucia is one of my favorite works. I was so thrilled to find this audiobook on Audible. I’ve watched and rewatched the televised series. I was aghast therefore to hear the narrator pronouncing Rhisolme as Rye-zome instead of Reezome ( pronounced thus in the televised series). So which one is right?

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for MLP
  • MLP
  • 30-05-23

She is attempting the imp

I feel bad for Georgina Sutton. This series must be read aloud by someone who is _in love_ with it. And if the listener has Prunella Scales, Geraldine McEwan, Nigel Hawthorne, etc etc etc, inside one’s head, they will never be content with another performance in their lifetime. [The 2014 version was pretty ki@$ a$&, though! Well done!]

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Jacqueline Seys
  • Jacqueline Seys
  • 22-03-23

Lucia is fascinating and the reader gets to read her mind

It’s the original Real Housewives. Jealousy, gossip, scandals, ruthless social climbing and ever shifting from friendship alliances.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Gromit4u
  • Gromit4u
  • 04-03-23

Narration flat and monotone.

I love the Mapp and Lucia books and have listened to every available version. Do you self a favor and listen to the series that is read by Nadia May, far superior to this version. Sutton is very monotone and flat in inflection, her characters all sound alike. Mays version on the other hand has completely captured the various characters in the way Benson meant them to be portrayed.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

adbl_uk_web_target_buy_box_sale_test