The Circular Staircase

by Mary Roberts Rinehart

Overview

A middle-aged spinster rents a country house for the summer and soon finds herself plunged into a nasty scenario of bank defaults, stolen securities and murder. An entertaining blend of intrigue, villainy and heart-pounding suspense for crime fiction buffs and lovers of great mystery classics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781974050215
Publisher:	CreateSpace Publishing
Publication date:	07/30/2017
Pages:	126
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.27(d)

About the Author

American author Mary Roberts Rinehart, also known as the American Agatha Christie, was born on August 12, 1876, and died on September 22, 1958. The Circular Staircase, Rinehart's debut mystery novel, introduced the "had I but known" narrative approach. Although the exact phrase does not occur in Rinehart's book The Door (1930), she is regarded as the creator of the "the butler did it" story device. As one of the first women to visit the front lines in Belgium during World War I, she also worked to share the tales and experiences of these troops. Mary Ella Roberts, who is now known as Rinehart, was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's Allegheny City. Olive Louise, Mary's sister who is four years Mary's junior, went on to become well-known as a children's book author and nationally syndicated newspaper columnist. Her father was a frustrated inventor, and the family experienced frequent monetary issues throughout her youth. Mary was just 19 years old when her father committed suicide. She was trained to use her right hand because she was left-handed at a time when that was improper. Her autobiography, titled My Story, was first published in 1931 and then rewritten in 1948.

Editorial Reviews

Because they have entered the public domain, many more vintage mysteries have been appearing in the audiobook format. There are numerous productions of this Mary Roberts Rinehart classic about a wealthy, urbane spinster who rents a remote country estate. Rinehart has been labeled the Agatha Christie of America, but her female detective is unlike Miss Marple. Patrician Rachel Innes, as portrayed by narrator Aimee Lilly, has both an understandable hauteur and a generosity of spirit that makes the listener forgive her condescension. Lilly conveys the mood of the story’s time period and nails the characters’ various socioeconomic classes. Additionally, she delivers an exciting puzzle featuring secret rooms, cryptic notes, ghostly images, odd noises, and, of course, dead bodies. D.L.G. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine

JULY 2022 - AudioFile