Attention! Mapp and Lucia Readers Alert!

Do you enjoy series? I love them! My own collections include series on cat mystery cozies! However, when an author is no longer able to continue the series, it is often heartbreaking for the following. Recently I met Guy Fraser-Sampson, another lover of a series usually referred to as Mapp and Lucia. New to me but it has an international following. Kudos to Guy for having the courage to ask permission from the estate of the former author, E. F. Benson, and working to continue this legacy.

As we were talking, I thought it would be great to have Guy share on my blog and tell us more about his efforts. He has given us a little info about his first book, a note from the originator, E. F. Benson designed to set the stage, and has shared a review of his own book by Frank McGillion, a fellow author and a past Booker Prize nominee. Check for a total of three articles all together.

Now a few words from Guy...

I have written a book called “Major Benjy”, which is a continuation of the work of a dead author. His name was E.F. Benson and the books in question are usually referred to as the Mapp and Lucia stories, named after their two leading characters. They are works of comic fiction and, unusually, the humour has survived very well over the years (they were written before WWII and Benson died in 1940; see the author’s note following. Incidentally, Benson underwent something of a revival on some college campuses a year or two back.

I gained the consent of Benson’s estate to continue the series, so this is similar to what has been done recently with the James Bond books of Ian Fleming. This was welcomed by the international fan following of Mapp and Lucia stories. This is a continuation of the wonderful comic stories originally penned by E.F. Benson, which over in England are regarded in the same light of P.G. Wodehouse’s “Jeeves and Wooster” stories, and were made into a number of TV shows starring Prunella Scales of “Fawlty Towers” fame.

Thanks so much, Glenda, for helping get the word out in the US to those who might be Mapp and Lucia fans and to all those who enjoy reading! I'm on LinkedIn and will be joining other book sites soon. I look forward to talking with you!