E. F. Benson

The queen bee of the fictional village of Riseholme, Mrs. Emmeline ‘Lucia’ Lucas is a snobbish yet oddly charming woman who prides herself on being the cultural and intellectual leader of her community.

Part of a six-instalment comic book series, Mapp and Lucia, which recounts the eccentric tales of various women in the 1920s and their fight for social status, Lucia in London revives the hilarious character of Emmeline Lucas. It is the third book in Benson’s hugely successful series.

Set in the quaint seaside town of Tilling, inspired by the real-life village of Rye where Benson once lived, busybody Miss Mapp is known for her sharp eye and even sharper tongue.

The Essential Classics: Volume 3 brings together 5 of the greatest classics ever written, perfectly read by an esteemed cast including Lucy Scott, Kristin Atherton, Peter Noble, Robert G. Slade, and Olivia Dowd.

A gripping collection of over 50 of the greatest short stories written by great British writers....

A terrifying collection of classic Victorian short stories about ghosts, werewolves and vampires....

Thirteen classic stories of horror and the supernatural by some of the greatest writers in the genre....

The Cotswold Explorer brings you another collection of spooky tales ranging from haunted houses and bounding werewolves, to tongue-in-cheek tales of reincarnation....

"Dodo Wonders" is the third and final installment in the "Dodo" series by E. F. Benson. The series was rumoured to be based on Lady Asquith...

The narrative follows the stylishly controversial Dodo, a young woman from the British upper-middle-class. She is very confident she is about...

When a Londoner retreats to the Cornish Coast for a break, he encounters a veiled woman....

Keen to escape London to work on their respective music scores and novel, two cousins stumble across a rural holiday let that is well below their budget. But it soon proves too good to be true when something on the top landing starts spooking them and their staff....

A grisly spirit turns travelling companion for an unwitting traveller on the top deck of a London bus one bleak winter’s night in this short story....

Set in the remote Yorkshire Valleys, the narrator in this story returns to the holiday home of his childhood. He has inherited the house from his uncle and has come to oversee the renovations with a friend. However, it soon becomes apparent the house is haunted by a ghost....

Hester Ward is blessed with youth, health, beauty, a husband and two adorable children, but she is being tormented by a face in her dreams. It is hoped that a holiday by the coast will relieve her, but the face eventually manifests itself....

When Philip Hope discovers that his wife, Sybil, is having an affair with his secretary, Julian, he takes great delight in thwarting their affections. Just as Philip dismisses his secretary, though, he falls from a cliff, and Julian doesn’t save him....

Reported to be an account of a real haunting experienced by the author at a house in Rye, this story features fleeting glimpses of an apparition in a walled garden....

‘The Outcast’ tells the story of Mrs Bertha Acres, who is handsome and charming company, but inspires horror and dread in all who meet her, most notably her husband who killed himself after only a month of marriage....

In the remote town of Firham-By-Sea, two holidaymakers are curious about the derelict Corner House and its mysterious owners. Upon investigation, they unveil the grim story of Mr and Mrs Labson....

‘The Bath-Chair’ tells the story of the Faraday siblings. Edmund is a shrewd businessman, priding himself on his impeccable health. His spinster sister, Alice, lives with him performing all domestic duties and despises him....