Today is the anniversary (143rd actually, but what's a number?) of the birth of the fabulously camp author E.F. Benson.
One of three gay brothers and a lesbian sister (what must their Victorian parents have thought?), Fred was the youngest, and - despite his older brother composing the lyrics to Land Of Hope And Glory - left us the most cherished of legacies, especially here at Dolores Delargo Towers.
For it was the youngest Benson who brought us the exquisite Mapp and Lucia! If anyone has not heard of them before, these tales of small-town snobbery, rivalry and bitchiness are a must-read. However, it is for the practically perfect Channel 4 TV series, starring Geraldine McEwan, Prunella Scales and Nigel Hawthorne that we love these tales the most.
Lucia's Art Deco gowns! The precision of the barbed put-downs! The machinations of reaching the top of the social ladder in Tilling! Oh, how we love it... Enjoy!
Mapp & Lucia on IMDB
The Friends of Tilling website
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