The Freaks of Mayfair by E.F. Benson is a series of satirical sketches introducing us to some bizarre inhabitants of Edwardian High Society of Mayfair, which was, and still is today, the stamping ground of the very wealthy. Each sketch introduces a different type of "freak". Sir Louis and Lady Mary Marigold turn snobbism into fine art; Sarah Whitehand is the social-climbing wife of an American toilet bowl magnate, and the so-called "Grizzly Kittens", Babs Begum and Charlie Gordon, cling desperately to their youth as they totter toward old age. Aunt George and Mrs. Weston are clearly the prototypes for Georgie Pilson and Mrs. Quantock in Queen Lucia, Aunt George being the effete bachelor with a passion for embroidery, and Mrs. Weston the "serial faddist" religiously following every new idea. These and other intriguing specimens, all desperate social climbers, are held up to us for ridicule, albeit affectionate ridicule, as they are ruthlessly dissected by Benson's scalpel-sharp wit.  

The Freaks of Mayfair was first published in 1916 and is in the public domain.

Recording copyright 2022. Helen Lloyd Audio.

Original cover design by Amelie Williams

Helen Lloyd is an award-winning British audiobook narrator and producer who has previously recorded E.F. Benson's Queen Lucia and Miss Mapp.