''The Luck of the Vails'' is a 1901

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...

crime novel Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...

by the British writer

E.F. Benson Edward Frederic Benson (24 July 1867 – 29 February 1940) was an English novelist, biographer, memoirist, archaeologist and short story writer. Early life E.F. Benson was born at Wellington College in Berkshire, the fifth child of the headma ...

, later better known as the author of the

Mapp and Lucia ''Mapp and Lucia'' is a 1931 comic novel written by E. F. Benson. It is the fourth of six novels in the popular Mapp and Lucia series, about idle women in the 1920s and their struggle for social dominance over their small communities. It bring ...

series. It was one of only two ventures he made into the genre during his prolific career along with '' The Blotting Book'' (1908). In his autobiography Benson numbered it as one of only four of his novels he was satisfied with. The plot revolves around a cursed

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

goblet A chalice (from Latin 'mug', borrowed from Ancient Greek () 'cup') or goblet is a footed cup intended to hold a drink. In religious practice, a chalice is often used for drinking during a ceremony or may carry a certain symbolic meaning. Re ...

that has been in the possession of the Vail family for generations. It largely downplays the

supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...

elements in favour of traditional mystery. A later novel ''The Inheritor'' (1930) also revolved around a family curse.Joshi p.150

References

Bibliography

* Edwards, Martin. ''The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books''. Poisoned Pen Press, 2017, * Joshi, S. T. ''Icons of Horror and the Supernatural: An Encyclopaedia of Our Worst Nightmares, Volume 1''. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007. * Reilly, John M. ''Twentieth Century Crime & Mystery Writers''. Springer, 2015. * Weatherhead, Andrew Kingsley. ''Upstairs: Writers and Residences''. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press, 2000. 1901 British novels British crime novels British mystery novels Novels set in England Novels by E. F. Benson Heinemann (publisher) books {{1900s-mystery-novel-stub