Customer Reviews
great fun. - By: S. Hapgood, 06 Nov 2003 
If you want a bit of real light-hearted escapism then this is just the thing. Filmed in Rye (the original of E F Benson's Tilling) & with a superb cast, the whole series captures the spirit of the much-loved books splendidly. Nigel Hawthorne camps it up brilliantly as the loveable Georgie, & Prunella Scales is absolutely spot-on as the infamous Miss Elizabeth Mapp, the town's foremost busybody. For a lot of my fellow Tilling-ites Geraldine McEwan wasn't quite the Lucia we had in mind, she simply isn't fey & quirky enough, but her comic skill is not to be sneered at. Pure class. Molto bene, as they say in Tilling.
Light as Thistledown - By: Robert Ray, 08 Jul 2003 
The Lucia books & now this series redefine "camp". Great fun. But of course this series leaves you begging for more. When can we get the other series?
Au Reservoir - By: Neil Lewis, 07 Nov 2002 Five episodes of fun, wit & outrageous hats. The production values for this 1980s adaptation of E F Benson's masterpiece social satire are not exactly classy, but the performances by Geraldine McEwan, Prunella Scales & Nigel Hawthorne make up for that, intimately recreating the delights of village life in Tilling & the calculated nonchalance of the never-ending battle for social superiority.
Lucia Rules - By: , 07 Sep 2002 Having been a fan of Mapp & Lucia books for about 20 years I was delighted to know that that they had been re-released on video.
I wasn't disappointed. The late lamented Nigel Hawthorne was sublime, Prunella Scales as Mapp portrayed the part to a T. Geraldidine McEwan as Lucia almost makes me want to become a snob. As a member of the Tilling Society I wasn't disappointed.
Buy this if you have a slightly off the walll sense of humour.
I cannot recomend this highly enough!
A Perfect Cast - By: , 21 Aug 2002 If you have never seen Mapp & Lucia, I promise you a treat is in store. If you have seen it then you will have been awaiting the dvd release as eagerly as me.
Mapp & Lucia is a jewel of genteel english comedy, adhering pretty closely to the original books (also wonderful)though missing the first couple of volumes, there is some editing of minor characters, but this only serves to keep the series tight. There is not one duff performance, from the stately arrogance of Geraldine McEwan's Lucia, to the frustrated impotence of Prunella Scale's Mapp, via Nigel Hawthorne's fey fop Georgie, alll are spectacular. The supporting cast are no less memorable. Denis Lill as Major Benjy, Mary Macleod as Diva, Geoffrey Chater & Marion Mathie as Mr & Mrs Wyse stand out. It is unfair to single out performers though, many laughs are to be had from the minor characters such as the servants. The storyline revolves around the battle for social supremacy in a smalll coastal english town. There are not reallly 'jokes' as such, the comedy arises from the complex web of social intrigue woven by the two ladies of the title. The series reallly repays watching over & over, I have watched the whole thing at least twice a year since it was first broadcast, & have yet to show it to anyone who didn't immediately become a convert. To put it simply, BUY IT! And sit back & enjoy what I think is a true classic of british television.
