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Mary Roberts Rinehart
Mary Roberts Rinehart (1876-1958) was the most be- loved and best-selling mystery writer in America in the first half of the twentieth century. Born in Pittsburgh to the own- er of a sewing machine factory, she wrote fiction in her spare time until a stock market crash sent her and her husband... show more
Mary Roberts Rinehart (1876-1958) was the most be- loved and best-selling mystery writer in America in the first half of the twentieth century. Born in Pittsburgh to the own- er of a sewing machine factory, she wrote fiction in her spare time until a stock market crash sent her and her husband into debt, forcing her to lean on her writing to pay the bills. Her first two novels, The Circular Staircase (1908) and The Man in Lower Ten (1909), established her as a bright young talent, and it wasn’t long before she was a regular on bestseller lists.

Among her dozens of novels were The Amazing Adventures of Letitia Carberry (1911) and The Bat (1932), which was among the inspirations for Bob Kane’s Batman. Today, Rinehart is often called an American Agatha Christie, even though she was much more popular than Christie during her heyday.
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Birth date: 1876-08-12
Died: 1958-09-22
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Community Reviews
Murder by Death
Murder by Death rated it 4 years ago
I knew this was a ghost story, of sorts, so I started it bright and early yesterday morning, and became so engrossed in the story that I almost, almost, finished it last night. leaving nothing but 3 of the last 4 conclusion chapters for me to read today. Mary Roberts Rinehart was an excellent writ...
a reading life
a reading life rated it 6 years ago
Mary Roberts Rinehart is an author I've wanted to try for some time now and The Circular Staircase was a satisfying intro to her works. I like her writing style so far, tinged as it is with a little humour and irony. "This is the story of how a middle-aged spinster lost her mind, deserted her dom...
Themis-Athena's Garden of Books
Themis-Athena's Garden of Books rated it 6 years ago
Ugh. If I hadn't been listening to this for Snakes and Ladders I would have DNF'd. Much too heavy handed use of pseudo-occult phenomena for my taste (also, the dead animals thing was done so much better by Conan Doyle in Silver Blaze; it just felt like copycatting here) -- and I really, really dis...
The better to see you, my dear
The better to see you, my dear rated it 6 years ago
I'm not much for cozy mysteries. The vaguely acerbic nosy middle aged men and women that populate them tend to annoy me. As do the comedy of errors that people being secretive cause. I get it, the very human petty selfishness that makes one try to keep hidden personal peccadilloes even in the face o...
Kaethe
Kaethe rated it 6 years ago
Woo hoo. I love getting lost in a doorstopper, but it takes a skilled writer to squeeze the right emotions out in a shorter work. Roberts Rinehart got mad skills. And a truly modern feel. Hard to believe this was first published more than 100 years ago. We get a quick and dirty set up: Miss Adams ...
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