A sacred chalice leads to murder,
The Gyrth family had guarded the Chalice for hundreds of years. It was
held by them for the Crown. Its antiquity, its beauty, the extraordinary
legends that were connected with it, all combined to make it unique of
its kind. It was irreplaceable. No thief could hope to dispose of it in
the ordinary way. And indeed no ordinary thief would dream of trying.
But there are others besides those who make their living by robbery,
others whose immense wealth and passion for collecting render them less
immune to the practical considerations that must guide even the less
honestly minded citizens. These people cherish a desire to possess for
their own private pleasure treasure that cannot be bought. And it was by
this sort of person that the Chalice, and the lives and happiness of its
guardians, were now threatened.
Margery Allingham was born in London in 1904. Her first novel was
published when she was 17. In 1929 she published The Crime at Black
Dudley and introduced the character who was to become the hallmark of
her writing--Albert Campion