The Circular Staircase by Mary Roberts Rinehart
A wealthy, middle-aged spinster arrives at the mansion she's rented for the summer while her own town house is being renovated. The mansion is the home of a millionaire local banker, who has left for California with his wife and stepdaughter...
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A wealthy, middle-aged spinster arrives at the mansion she's rented
for the summer while her own town house is being renovated. The
mansion is the home of a millionaire local banker, who has left for
California with his wife and stepdaughter. But all is not peace and
relaxation in the vast villa. Before long, the spinster's house
help is frightened out of her wits by various strange noises. What
follows is a spooky tale of mysterious disappearances, murder,
apparitions and weird goings on. The Circular Staircase by Mary
Roberts Rinehart is her first published novel and was wildly
popular when it first came out in 1907. It catapulted the 27 year
old ex-nurse into national fame and she kept her family in relative
luxury through several more best-selling novels. The Circular
Staircase is a gripping mystery story and one that's guaranteed to
keep readers guessing till the very end. It is also the book which
invented the “Had I But Known It” school of detective fiction, in
which the principal character's actions have the effect of
inadvertently prolonging the mystery and the action. Ogden Nash
famously parodied this form of mystery writing in his poem Don't
Guess Let Me Tell You: “Had I but known what I know now, I could
have saved at least three lives by revealing to the Inspector what
I heard through that fortuitous hole in the floor!” In The Circular
Staircase, the no nonsense and fiercely independent Rachel Innes
and her timorous help, Liddy, are both memorable and delightful
characters. The book's popularity compelled the author to adapt it
into a successful play in which she added a character called The
Bat – a costumed figure who inspired Bob Kane to create his famous
Batman. Mary Roberts Rineheart came to be known as the American
Agatha Christie. She wrote more than sixty detective novels and
plays, featuring amateur sleuths like Miss Cornelia van Gorder,
Letitia Carberry and Hilda Adams. She is also the author of a large
number of short stories which she regularly contributed to
magazines like the Saturday Evening Post. Her non-fiction works
include travelogues, two autobiographies and a collection of
essays. Though she is almost unknown today, Mary Roberts
Rineheart's books were awaited with much anticipation by her
faithful fan following. As a straightforward detective story, The
Circular Staircase is a classic that will certainly appeal to
readers of all ages. With the mandatory mild romance thrown in,
there's enough to keep you entertained on a rainy afternoon.
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