Had She But Known
A Biography of Mary Roberts Rinehart
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Before Agatha Christie, there was America’s Mistress of Mystery. This is the story of her life and creative legacy, from the butler who did it to Batman.
In the decades since her death in 1958, master storyteller Mary Roberts Rinehart has often been compared to Agatha Christie. But while Rinehart was once a household name, today she is largely forgotten. The woman who first proclaimed “the butler did it” was writing for publication years before Christie’s work saw the light of day. She also practiced nursing, became a war correspondent, and wrote a novel—The Bat—that inspired Bob Kane’s creation of Batman.
Born in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, before it was absorbed into Pittsburgh, and raised in a close-knit Presbyterian family, Mary Roberts was at once a girl of her time—dutiful, God-fearing, loyal—and a quietly rebellious spirit. For every hour she spent cooking, cleaning, or sewing at her mother’s behest while her “frail” younger sister had fun, Mary eked out her own moments of planning, dreaming, and writing. But becoming an author wasn’t on her radar . . . yet.
Bestselling mystery writer Charlotte MacLeod grew up on Rinehart’s artfully crafted novels, such as the enormously successful The Circular Staircase—“cozies” before the concept existed. After years of seeing Christie celebrated and Rinehart overlooked, MacLeod realized that it was time to delve into how this seemingly ordinary woman became a sensation whose work would grace print, stage, and screen. From Rinehart’s grueling training as a nurse and her wartime interviews with a young Winston Churchill and Queen Mary to her involvement with the Blackfoot Indians and her work as doctor’s wife, mother of three, playwright, serialist, and novelist, this is the unforgettable story of America’s Grande Dame of Mystery.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Mystery writer MacLeod draws heavily on Rinehart's autobiography ( My Story ) to detail her subject's life, and the result, though readable, lacks objectivity and insight. Rinehart (1876-1958), an enormously popular author best known for her mystery novels ( The Circular Staircase ), also worked as a journalist and toured the Western front during WW I. While training to become a nurse, she married Stanley Rinehart, a doctor, managed to cope with his temper tantrums for 36 years and raised their three sons, while also writing prolifically and attracting mounting fame. After the death of her husband, Rinehart developed an interest in spiritualism and consulted mediums to contact him. Clearly an admirer, MacLeod argues that though Rinehart's writing style now seems dated, she deserves credit for paving the way for modern mystery writers. Fair enough. But unfortunately, MacLeod's uncritical attitude does her subject a disservice by simplifying her. Photos not seen by PW.