EF Benson (1867–1940)
EF Benson wrote many books, and is best known for his novels about social rivals Emmeline Lucas and Elizabeth Mapp which are set in Rye.
Where Benson lived
Edward Frederick Benson was born in 1867 at Wellington College where his father was headmaster, before becoming Archbishop of Canterbury. Known to his family and friends as Fred, Benson studied classics and archaeology at Cambridge University. During a break from the British School of Archaeology in Athens he published his first novel 'Dodo' (1893). It caused a sensation among people who believed its heroine was really Margot Tennant, future wife of prime minister Herbert Asquith.
Benson lived at 25 Brompton Square in London – the setting for 'Lucia in London' (1927). He frequently visited his family at Horsted Keynes, Sussex, where they settled after the archbishop's death in 1896. He also visited his friend Henry James at Lamb House in Rye. A few years after the American author died, Benson leased Lamb House with his brother Arthur and it became the setting for Mallards, the home of Miss Mapp.
Benson lived in the town for the rest of his life. He became involved in local life, serving as magistrate and mayor, and was given the Freedom of Rye in 1937. He died in 1940 and is buried in the town.
Sussex in Benson’s books
Mapp and Lucia appeared in six books. 'Queen Lucia' (1920) introduces Mrs Emmeline Lucas who lives in Riseholme, inspired by the Cotswold village of Broadway. Known to her friends as Lucia, she is a socialite based on novelist Marie Corelli. Miss Elizabeth Mapp is introduced in 'Miss Mapp' (1922), Benson's first novel set in Tilling. She is a spiteful spinster who dominates her social circle despite being disliked. She satisfies her curiosity by spying on her friends from behind the curtains of Mallards. The two characters meet in 'Mapp and Lucia' (1931) after Lucia moves to Tilling, and become rivals for the leadership of society.
Tilling is easily recognised as Rye. It is a picturesque town on a hill surrounded by marshlands and dykes, and has timber cottages, Georgian houses and narrow cobbled streets. Benson chose the name because the town is by the Tillingham river.
He kept some road names and changed others – Mermaid Street became Porpoise Street and Watchbell Street was called Curfew Street. The garden room at Mallards had bow windows offering views towards the church or down West Street to the High Street, making it the perfect place to observe life in the town. The garden room was destroyed by a bomb in World War II.
Benson also set his novels Colin and Colin II near Rye, at the home of his friend Lady Maud Warrender.
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