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Mrs. Ames

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About this listen

E. F. Benson, best known for his irresistible Mapp and Lucia novels set in the fictional town of Tilling, England, was a prolific and beloved novelist. Though the Mapp and Lucia books remain popular to this day, this kindred book will be back in print for the first time since its initial publication.

The son of E. W. Benson, archbishop of Canterbury from 1883 to 1896, the young E. F. Benson was educated at Marlborough School and at King's College, Cambridge. After graduation he worked in Athens for the British School of Archaeology from 1892 to 1895, and later in Egypt for the Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies. In 1893 he published Dodo, a novel that attracted wide attention. It was followed by a number of other successful novels, including his hugely popular Mapp and Lucia series. In 1938 he was made an honorary fellow of Magdalene College, Cambridge. He died in February 1940.

Public Domain (P)2013 Audible, Inc. Classics Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction

Critic reviews

"An extraordinary study in comedy and quite the best thing artistically that Mr. Benson has done." ( New York Times)
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I felt the story was a bit too meandering and not as pithy as the Mapp and Lucia books. The narration was a bit grating after a while although the character performances were good. I had to relisten to certain chapters as I just zoned out a few times. Ok for a freebie.

A build up to Lucia

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Poor pacing and emphasis throughout. Made worse by a string of incorrectly pronounced words.

Not upto Benson’s writing in Mapp & Lucia, but all the hallmarks of that series.

Not quite right.

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I found it hard to emerse in the story as the enslaught of strangely pronounced words and phrases jarred continuously.

The odd pronunciation

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I didn’t always understand the use of the vocabulary and although the story was pleasant, it wasn’t interesting enough for me.

It was difficult to get interested in the story.

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The mispronunciation of common words was very annoying. How is it possible to not know how to say Lumbago correctly, for example?

Pleased to have access to this early novel

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