Queen Lucia Audiobook By E. F. Benson cover art

Queen Lucia

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for $0.00
Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.

Queen Lucia

By: E. F. Benson
Narrated by: Nadia May
Try for $0.00

$0.00/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $14.58

Buy for $14.58

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel
The fascinating story of the village of Riseholme's reigning queen of high society: the indomitable Lucia!

England between the wars was a paradise of utter calm and leisure for the very, very rich. But into this enclave is born Mrs. Emmeline Lucas - La Lucia, as she is known - a woman determined to lead a life quite different from the pomp and subdued nature of her class. With her cohort, Georgie Pillson, and her husband, Peppino, she upends the greats of high society, including the imperious Lady Ambermere and her equally imperious dog, Pug; the odious Piggy and Goosie Antrobus; the Christian Scientist Daisy Quantrock, with her penchant for the foreign; and everyone else in the small English town that the wealthy Britons call their country home. Beset on all sides by pretenders to her social throne, Lucia brings culture, the fine arts, and a great deal of excitement and intrigue into this cloistered realm.

(P)1997 Blackstone Audio Inc. Literature & Fiction Funny Witty

Critic reviews

"[A] delicious satire of the pretensions and foibles of provincial middle-class life in Britain in the 1920s and '30s...[with] droll send-ups of the bitter battles waged by matrons desperate to live out their fantastical versions of upper-class elegance and wit, and...shrewd readings of the ways in which our longings can make us both bizarre and sometimes appealing." (Kirkus Reviews)
Witty Satire • Brilliant Writing • Perfect Narration • Incisive Humor • Charming Story • Subtle Humor Delivery
Highly rated for:
All stars
Most relevant  
Nadia May is superb, which suits Lucia just fine. The story as narrated by miss May is never tarsome

Always irresistible.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I am ashamed to say that I did not know this author before stumbling by mere chance on "Queen Lucia." What a find! Absolutely hilarious. Well written, witty, entertaining and just plain good (humorous) literature.
I will look for more audiobooks from this author.
As far as Nadia May is concerned: BRAVA! I bought a few Audibles read by Nadia May and hated them all. As I indicated in my reviews, I couldn't tell if it was because of the reader's lack of talent or because the novels themselves were not well written. But finally, for this book, this reader was ideal!! Absolutely unbeatable!
I highly recommend this Audible.

We all need more E.F. Benson in our life!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
EF Benson's witty Lucia novels are the rare kind of satire that is incisive and engrossing, but never ever cruel. Here are fiendish plots and dastardly counterplots, short term tactics and long game strategy, without murders, mayhem, car wrecks, or the merest whiff of sex (though the sexlessness is itself wildly funny). This first of the series (which by popular demand intersected with the Miss Mapp novels) introduces Queen Lucia, her realm in the 1920s Elizabethan town of Riseholm, her court, and the rivals and pretenders to her throne. The narration is perfect, bringing out the subtle humor with just the right amount if sympathy and restraint. Morris dancing in the Moonlight (Sonata).

Always clever -- sometimes laugh-out-loud funny.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Would you consider the audio edition of Queen Lucia to be better than the print version?

Not this audio edition - it is read way too fast for me to truly enjoy and savor it.

What did you like best about this story?

The characters and their motivations seem authentic.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

SLOW DOWN!!!!!

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Jilted, replaced and reclaimed

Any additional comments?

Beautifully written and intricate enough to hold my attention. I get so tired of mystery novels and prefer stories involving understanding of human relationships which can vary from culture to culture but still contain the common thread of humanity. "Make new friends and keep the old ones..." I like the book so much I will try another reader.

Wonderful characters and interactions

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I think I expected funnier. And Lucia is a woman I don't think I'd want to spent any time with in real life. Control-freak, anyone? But the full cast of characters are charming (and not in the snotty, backhanded way). I might read the next in the series. Nadia May made the reading worth finishing. A few laugh out loud moments.

Maybe I was looking for Wodehouse

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A little slow to get into but well worth it! Funny characters and situations, well narrated.

A delight

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Extremely enjoyable, with a good understanding of the vocal inflection of the age and the cultural environment that produced them.

One of the very few worthy interpretations of the work.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
No bodices ripped, no politics to speak of, and nothing important to anyone outside a village the size of at most three city blocks. But, the Guru! The Princess! The Diva! And a half dozen village snobs, all social schemers and climbers and pretenders and people I would walk a mile out of my way to avoid in real life, and the ridiculous pretentious social crises they create ... I just cannot get enough of them as told by EF Benson and performed by Nadia May, archaic colonialisms and all. Satirical mountain upon mountain -- dizzying heights and stupendous social crashes narrowly averted again and again. George Pilson, acolyte and occasional private critic, brings the only suggestion of self-awareness to the (dinner, tea, garden) party. He momentarily wonders at the thrill as he is towed along in the Queen's social wake. "And why do I say it in Italian?" But Georgie is as happy and busy with his selfish little concerns as any of the social elite, and Benson makes me love him for it. This book and this reading of it give my soul a rest.

Satire and escapism at their best

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The story is full of the absurdities of the self involved. The characters and situations will give you a chuckle.

If you like the television show, Frasier, you'll love this book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
There is a pretty hardcore racist line of dialogue in this novel. Potential readers should be aware. In addition I interpreted a character as being potentially antisemitic. Outmoded cultural depiction of a character from India.

Be careful before you select this audiobook

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews