Lucia in Wartime

Having read all of the original Benson books and the sequels by Tom Holt, I think I am something of a Lucia-expert. Therefore, I can certainly feel the difference in style between the Benson books and this wonderful Holt pastiche, but I still love it. England is at war, as are Mapp and Lucia. The battle in Tilling goes to the one who gathers the most officers for their parties. Naturally, Queen Lucia leads the fray, but Elizabeth has an ace up her sleeve in the form of a distant cousin who serves in the military. The campaign against Germany has nothing on the intrigues of those nemesi of Tilling. Holt does an admirable job of breathing life into these characters, and his obviously knowledge about and affection for the original saga makes this novel a joy.

Holt is ingenious in his attempts to cast himself back into the twisted mind of EF Benson. Throughout the book he nearly achieves the impossible, for alas no modern author could really be as perfect as Benson. Nevertheless this book (and TRIUMPHANT) are worthy successors to the original six and are not bad in their own right, though perhaps giving Georgie Pillson such prominence wasn't the best idea he had. LUCIA IN WARTIME might well have been called GEORGIE IN WARTIME for our little hero, one of the most effeminate husbands in all literature, here achieves mass popularity nearly on the scale of his opera singing idol Olga Bracely, by becoming a cook. His radio broadcasts sweep the nation and cheer up a populace devastated by German bombing and grimly stuck with a harshly limited menu, for Georgie has somehow learned to disguise everything as something else so that you too can serve Lobster a la Riseholme (Benson's immortal invention) at a dinner party for eight even if you have only a cup of rolled oats and perhaps a carrot. Lucia is thereby thrust somewhat in the shadow of things, and even her arch rival Elizabeth Mapp-Flynt attains a momentary upper hand when she intercepts Lucia's invitation from Windsor Castle and goes in Lucia's place, claiming that Lucia will be unable to attend. Maybe TRIUMPHANT is a bit better that WARTIME, for TRIUMPHANT has the hilarious mystery of Mapp's lineage to make a throughline in it, whereas WARTIME just goes amiably along from one "almost working" plot to another. Nevertheless all the old gang are here, nearly recognizable--quaint Irene, Diva Plaistow, the Wyses, Benjy and Foljambe. Long live Lucia!

Though published before Holt's other highly satisfying sequel to Benson's sextet, "Lucia in Wartime" reads perfectly as the concluding volume. Best to read "Lucia Triumphant" right after the last Benson (or maybe a few weeks later, so the very slight shift in voice and rhythm isn't so apparent), and then this last. The final paragraph is just how that dazzling chronicle of entre-deux-guerres small-town England should end.

Tom Holt has moved Lucia to the days of Winston Churchill and WWII. He wrote this sequel to the Lucia novels after E.F. Benson passed on, and I must say, he did an admirable job of catching the dialog exactly. You'd swear that Benson wrote this book. The plot is predictably Lucia, who seeks to gain local social prominence, this time amongst the officers who are heading off to war. Their staff of servants (cook especially) are off doing important wartime work and Lucia and Georgie must fend for themselves. Georgie turns out to have a flair for the kitchen, even with wartime rationing and a surfeit of parsnips. He escapes from Lucia's domininance to shine on his own. Which leads to the triumphant end of the book, and a dinner for a certain cigar chomping notable.Sad this is out of print, so seek one out. If you are a Lucia addict, this book will add to your enjoyment.