Barbara Jefford may be the hilariously outrageous Lucia within this BBC Radio 4 dramatisation from the novel by E.F. Benson. Lucia is the uncrowned queen of 1920s provincial culture, the Everest of social climbers and the most delicious of snobs. In the pastoral serenity from the town of Riseholme, Lucia and her unforgettable cronies face up to an Indian guru, spiritualism and a social usurper.

E.F. Benson’s wickedly witty satires around the rivalries of British middle-class life have got elevated Lucia’s extravagant exploits to cult comedy status.