Miss Mapp

By: E. F. Benson

Narrated by: Helen Lloyd

An arch-schemer, gossip, and insatiably curious social climber, Miss Elizabeth Mapp is a 40-something spinster living in the picturesque English seaside town of Tilling. Miss Mapp and her nemesis, Godiva Plaistow vie for sartorial and social status much to the amusement of the gentlemen of Tilling - particularly Major Flint and his friend Captain Puffin.

A contemporary review in The Bookman stated, "Mr. Benson has made a narrative out of what are usually regarded as the trimmings of a novel, the small circumstances, the everyday conversations, the hourly happenings of ordinary people.... It is surprising how quickly Miss Mapp's curiosity about her neighbours becomes our own."

Asking whether the book merely narrates storms in tea-cups, the review concludes, "Mr. Benson is at liberty to reply that while we are among the tea-cups of Tilling the storm is very real."

Miss Mapp is the second in the Mapp and Lucia series by E. F. Benson and was first published in 1922.

Public Domain (P)2021 Helen Lloyd

Critic reviews

"Helen Lloyd brings to vivid life the English seaside village of Tilling and its competitive, sometimes mean-spirited residents. Listeners meet Miss Mapp, who sees everyone and everything from her centrally located home—and rooftop. Lloyd brings out the contradictions in each character and lets listeners decide for themselves what to make of them. Instantly recognizable are: Mapp's nemesis, braggart Godiva Plaistow, whose arguments are legendary; the attention-seeking vicar, who humorously uses either an Old English or Scottish accent; and competitive golfing and drinking buddies Major Benji and Captain Puffin. Lloyd is at her best recounting the duel that almost happened. Could it have been over Mapp? This congenial slice-of-life picture of the 1920s continues for six parts and is based on actual people and places." (S.G.B. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine)