The Inheritor (novel)

The Inheritor is a 1930 mystery novel by the British writer E.F. Benson, best known as the author of the Mapp and Lucia series. Like his earlier 1901 novel The Luck of the Vails it revolves around a curse plaguing a wealthy family. While that had downplayed the supernatural elements in favour of a crime approach The Inheritor, one of his final works, was more ambiguous.

Synopsis
A long-standing curse hangs over the Gervase family for generations, but unexpectedly the current heir Cambridge University student Stephen Gervase appears normal and untouched by the spell.