E. F. Benson is best-known for his wickedly funny tales of English village life, but here he shows himself a master of mystery and country-house crime In a Holbein portrait above the grand old fireplace, Francis Vail, second baronet, brandishes a beautiful golden goblet, encrusted with pearls, rubies, and emeralds. But this treasure, the Luck of the Vails, has brought the family nothing but ruin and death. On the eve of his 21st birthday, when Harry Vail discovers the Luck hidden in the attic of his ancestral home, the family curse is reawoken, and a tale of madness, avarice, and...

"Mapp & Lucia" first published in 1935. "Lucia's progress" first published 1935. "Trouble for Lucia" first published in 1939.

The official TV tie-in to the new BBC adaptation of E. F. Benson's hilarious novels.
The arrival of the snobbish Mrs Emmeline Lucas (know as Lucia to her friends) to the small seaside town of Tilling causes waves as she threatens the queen bee of Tilling's social circle, Miss Elizabeth Mapp. Against a backdrop of genteel tea parties and bridge evenings a series of hilarious conflicts ensue between the two power-hungry women as they battle on the social stage to gain the ultimate place as the first lady of society.
This edition includes three of E. F Benson's satirical stories of...