 Title page for Miss Mapp (1922) | |
| Author | E. F. Benson |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Comic novel |
| Publisher | Hutchinson |
Publication date | 1922 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Preceded by | Queen Lucia |
| Followed by | Lucia in London |
Miss Mapp is a 1922 comic novel written by E. F. Benson. It is the second of six novels in the popular Mapp and Lucia series, about idle women in the 1920s and their struggle for social dominance over their small communities. This book introduces Miss Mapp, the social tyrant of the fictional coastal town of Tilling, and the cast of Tillingites, including Diva Plaistow, Major Benji Flint, Mr. and Mrs. Wyse, and Quaint Irene. Tilling was inspired by the town of Rye, where Benson lived at Lamb House, with his own commanding view of the High Street inspiring Mapp's domain, Mallards.[1]
Like the 1920 Queen Lucia, which features a similar domineering lead character, the book was a success for Benson, and led to the realisation that "his financial future might very well depend thenceforth upon his creation of monstrous women."[2] Both Lucia and Mapp went on to appear in further novels, making a joint six-book series.
- ^ Kiernan, Robert F. (1990). Frivolity Unbound: Six Masters of the Camp Novel. Continuum Publishing. pp. 73–78. ISBN 978-0826404657. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Masterswas invoked but never defined (see the help page).