Mapp & Lucia

By Donald Liebenson

Based on E.F. Benson's stories, this beloved 1986 British miniseries stars the incomparable Prunella Scales (best-loved as dragon lady Sybil Fawlty in Fawlty Towers) and Geraldine McEwan star as Mapp and the recently widowed Lucia, who has come to the provincial English village Tilling-on-Sea. Lucia rents a house from Mapp for the summer. Almost immediately, the battle lines are drawn between these two formidable adversaries, who vie for control of Tilling society. Mapp and Lucia plot and counterplot against each other with such unconventional weapons as a conflicted gardener and a disputed lobster recipe. Adding to the fun is a gallery of eccentric characters, including Georgie (Oscar® winner Nigel Hawthorne of Yes Minister fame), Lucia's fey confidante and co-conspirator, as well as the local minister, who insists on speaking with a Scottish accent, and Irene, a pipe-smoking artist who paints pictures of lady wrestlers. For those who have yet to make their acquaintance, Mapp and Lucia is a dishy delight.

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