Edward Frederic Benson (1867–1940) was a prolific English writer, best remembered for his Mapp and Lucia series, an acute social satire set in the fictional English towns of Tilling and Riseholme. Born in Wellington College, Berkshire, Benson was the son of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and his upbringing in a well-connected family profoundly influenced his literary career. A graduate of King's College, Cambridge, where he was part of the select society known as the 'Apostles', Benson published his first work, 'Dodo', in 1893, which enjoyed popular and critical success, setting the stage for his future works. Throughout his life, Benson was astonishingly active, penning over a hundred books, including ghost stories, biographies, and historical texts. However, it is the 'Mapp and Lucia' series, with its sharp wit and vivid characterizations, that securely anchored Benson's literary legacy. His depiction of the social machinations and the petit bourgeois squabbles of his characters reflect a quintessentially English sense of humor and keen observation. As a chronicler of the comédie humaine within provincial life, Benson's work remains a touchstone of English comic literature. His keen insight into human nature and the hypocrisies of social life grant his narrative a timelessness that continues to charm and entertain readers to this day.