Moonfleet is an 1898 adventure and historical novel written by English writer J. Meade Falkner.

The main character is John Trenchard, an orphan who lives with his aunt, Miss Jane Arnold.

The inn is nicknamed the Why Not?, a pun on the Mohune coat of arms, which includes a cross-pall in the shape of the letter "Y".

Village legend tells of the notorious Colonel John "Blackbeard" Mohune who is buried in the family crypt under the church.

While attending the Sunday service at church, John hears strange sounds from the crypt below.

John finds a locket in the coffin that he hid behind (it turns out to be that of Blackbeard himself) which holds a piece of paper with verses from the Bible.

John eventually passes out after drinking too much of the wine while trying to quench his thirst, having not eaten or drunk for over 24 hours.

While there, John inadvertently finds out that the verses from Blackbeard's locket contain a code that will reveal the location of his famous diamond.

Once John's wound heals, he and Block decide to recover the diamond from Carisbrooke Castle.

After a suspenseful scene in the well where the jewel is hidden, they succeed in escaping to Holland where they try to sell it to a diamond merchant named Krispijn Aldobrand.

The merchant, suffering a guilty conscience and in an attempt to make amends, had bequeathed the worth of the diamond to John.

The children grow up, the sons going away to "serve King George on sea and land" while their daughter too, it seems, has married away.

on an antique board which bears a Latin inscription Ita in vita ut in lusu aleae pessima jactura arte corrigenda est (translated in the book as As in life, so in a game of hazard, skill will make something of the worst of throws).

Its popularity among children worldwide continued up until at least the 1970s, primarily as a result of its adventure themes relating to pirates, treasure, and smuggling, and due to its suspenseful story-line.

Falkner uses the local geography of Dorset and the Isle of Wight in the book, only changing some of the place names.