Edward Frederic Benson (1867 - 1940) wrote over a hundred books, was mayor of Rye, was awarded the OBE and made an Honorary Fellow of Magdalene College, Cambridge, but he is best remembered for his Lucia books, hugely popular when they first appeared in print in the 1920s and periodically in vogue ever since.  "We will pay anything for Lucia books" proclaim Noel Coward, Gertrude Lawrence, Nancy Mitford and W.H. Auden according to the cover of this Penguin omnibus, and I don't believe you could find a stronger endorsement than that, although one can't help wondering when and where the four of them got together to make this collective announcement.  Perhaps at the Ritz, I suppose, after a performance of Private Lives, or possibly over drinks in Auden's rooms at Oxford, or maybe during a luncheon al fresco with Nancy in Versailles.  Whatever the case, wouldn't you love to have been there?  Personally, I would have loved to ask them what else they'd pay anything for.  It must have been a very informative gathering.

I was first introduced to Lucia (Emmeline Lucas of Riseholme) by my friend Luis Lopez-Cepero during a resurgence of interest in the series in the 1970s but I suspect her adventures have been reissued in every decade before and since, and that she has attracted followers of every generation.  Don't you think?  I will admit I was not immediately fond of Lucia's friend Georgie PIllson with his diminutive name and elaborate comb-over, but I did identify with Lucia's neighbor Daisy Quantock, who was a devout Christian Scientist until she found her Guru who felt the call to come and live with her and her husband and caused such a stir in the village.

I am re-reading the books now and finding all sorts of new reasons to admire Benson's work.  What about you?  When did you first meet Lucia?