Serendipity strikes again and tugs at my heart (and purse) strings. This week my thoughts turned to E. F. Benson's glorious
Mapp and Lucia novels after reading an excellent post by
Desperate Reader. Shortly after, I was excited to learn from Library Thing that
The Folio Society have recently reissued the boxed set of the
Mapp and Lucia novels, first published by Folio in 1994.
I have been coveting this beautiful box set for over a year but could not afford the second hand price tag that ranged from £60.00 to £100.00! I think it's wonderful that there is now the option of possessing it in a freshly printed condition... although now it costs more... £120.00.
This new edition appears to be identical to the previous one with the exception of the slipcase being a pastel blue instead of pink, and the books are not in individual shades. But the graceful and witty illustrations of Natacha Ledwidge are present on each cover and this is part of the attraction for me. I have yet to peruse an individual book and have only been able to gaze at the photographs that proud owners have been kind enough to share. Sigh!
7 comments:
Aren't they lovely?! I have the Black Swan editions but I've been gazing wistfully at the beautiful Moyer Bell editions. Have you seen them?
I have and they are also quite attractive - they're US published, I think. I believe the 'Queen Lucia' and 'Lucia in London' is taken from an image of Geraldine McEwan from the TV series.
Oh these are gorgeous. I ordered the Mapp and Lucis books from Amazon yesterday, but unfortuntely they are not as gorgeous as the Folio Society ones.
I'm very fond of the Black Swan editions too :-) If you are about to read the Mapp and Lucia series for the first time, you have a great treat in store! 'Queen Lucia' and 'Lucia in London' are not as hilarious as the later ones and they do not include 'darling Tilling' and Miss Mapp. So if you do not take to these, you're quite safe to start with 'Mapp and Lucia' and proceeding to the next two (or go back to the previous three) without feeling displaced... but the last three should be read in order as significant events take place. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did and I look forward to reading your thoughts on your blog :-)
Thanks for the advice Richester Reader :) They arrived in the post yesterday, so looking forward to reading these. Maybe after I finish Brideheads Revisted.
I was so lucky to find these so cheaply - I rather think it was an error (very welcome to me!) on the part of the person pricing, as Blackwells usually put things at 80% or 90% of their retail value.
I also have all the Black Swan eds, which I'd bought before I got the Folio set...
Hi Simon and thank you for visiting :-)
What a great buy! I have the Black Swan editions too, which I like very much... their covers are so cheery :-)
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