Queen Lucia

E.F. Benson was born at Wellington College in Berkshire on July 24th 1867. Educated at Marlborough and Kings College Cambridge he began his career as a writer at an early age and was published whilst still studying. As an athlete he represented his country at Figure skating. His career was prodigious and widely acknowledged. Perhaps he is best known for his collection of novels about ‘Mapp & Lucia’ which have proved very popular through the decades and have crossed over to many a TV Series. He was also well regarded as a writer of ghost stories – ‘spook stories’ in the then vernacular- as well as biographies. Benson never married and his lifestyle gave rise to much speculation as to his sexual orientation. Benson died in 1940 of throat cancer in University College Hospital, London.