| The Luck of the Vails | |
| Author: | E.F. Benson |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
| Genre: | Mystery |
| Publisher: | Heinemann Appleton (US) |
| Release Date: | 1901 |
| Media Type: | |
The Luck of the Vails is a 1901 mystery crime novel by the British writer E.F. Benson, later better known as the author of the Mapp and Lucia series.[1] It was one of only two ventures he made into the genre during his prolific career along with The Blotting Book (1908).[2] In his autobiography Benson numbered it as one of only four of his novels he was satisfied with.[3]
The plot revolves around a cursed golden goblet that has been in the possession of the Vail family for generations. It largely downplays the supernatural elements in favour of traditional mystery. A later novel The Inheritor (1930) also revolved around a family curse.[4]