= Mary_Roberts_Rinehart =

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= Mary_Roberts_Rinehart =
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Introduction
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Mary Roberts Rinehart (August 12, 1876September 22, 1958) was an
American writer, often called the American Agatha Christie. Rinehart
published her first mystery novel, 'The Circular Staircase', in 1908,
which introduced the "had I but known" narrative style. Rinehart is
also considered the earliest known source of the phrase "the butler
did it", in her novel 'The Door' (1930), although the exact phrase
does not appear in her work and the plot device had been used prior to
that time. She also worked to tell the stories and experiences of
front line soldiers during World War I, one of the first women to
travel to the Belgian front lines.

Biography
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Rinehart was born Mary Ella Roberts in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania,
now a part of Pittsburgh. A sister, Olive Louise, four years Mary's
junior, would later gain recognition as an author of children's books
and as a nationally syndicated newspaper columnist. Her father was a
frustrated inventor, and throughout her childhood, the family often
had financial problems. Her father committed suicide when Mary was 19
years old. Tending to be left-handed at a time when that was
considered disadvantageous, she was trained to use her right hand
instead.

She attended public schools and graduated at age 16, then enrolled at
the Pittsburgh Training School for Nurses at Pittsburgh Homeopathic
Hospital, where she graduated in 1896. She described the experience as
"all the tragedy of the world under one roof." After graduation, she
married Stanley Marshall Rinehart (1867-1932), a physician she had met
there. They had three sons: Stanley Jr., Alan, and Frederick.

During the stock market crash of 1903, the couple lost their savings,
spurring Rinehart's efforts at writing as a way to earn income. She
was 27 that year, and produced 45 short stories. In 1907, she wrote
'The Circular Staircase', the novel that propelled her to national
fame. According to her obituary in the 'Pittsburgh Post-Gazette' in
1958, the book sold 1.25 million copies. Her regular contributions to
'The Saturday Evening Post' were immensely popular and helped the
magazine mold American middle-class taste and manners.

In 1911, after the publication of five successful books and two plays,
the Rineharts moved to the Pittsburgh suburb of Glen Osborne, where
they purchased a large home at the corner of Orchard and Linden
Streets called "Cassella." Before they could move into the house,
however, Mrs. Rinehart had to have it completely rebuilt because it
had fallen into disrepair. "The venture was mine, and I had put every
dollar I possessed into the purchase. All week long I wrote wildly to
meet the payroll and contractor costs,” she wrote in her
autobiography. In 1925, the Rineharts sold the house to the Marks
family; the house was demolished in 1969. Today, a Mary Roberts
Rinehart Nature Park sits in the borough of Glen Osborne at 1414
Beaver Street, Sewickley, Pennsylvania.

Rinehart's commercial success sometimes conflicted with her expected
domestic roles of wife and mother, yet she often pursued adventure,
including a job as a war correspondent for 'The Saturday Evening Post'
at the Belgian front during World War I. During her time in Belgium,
she interviewed Albert I of Belgium, Winston Churchill and Mary of
Teck, writing of the latter "This afternoon I am to be presented to
the queen of England. I am to curtsey and to say 'Your majesty,' the
first time!" Rinehart was working in Europe in 1918 to report on
developments to the War Department and was in Paris when the armistice
was signed.
In 1922, the family moved to Washington, DC, when Dr. Rinehart was
appointed to a post in the Veterans Administration. She was a member
of the Literary Society of Washington from 1932 to 1936. Her husband
died in 1932, but she continued to live in Washington until 1935, when
she moved to New York City. There she helped her sons found the
publishing house Farrar & Rinehart, serving as its director.

She also maintained a vacation home in Bar Harbor, Maine. In 1947, a
Filipino chef who had worked for her for 25 years fired a gun at her
and then attempted to slash her with knives until other servants
rescued her. The chef committed suicide in his cell the next day.

Rinehart suffered from breast cancer, which led to a radical
mastectomy. She eventually went public with her story, at a time when
such matters were not openly discussed. The interview "I Had Cancer"
was published in a 1947 issue of the 'Ladies' Home Journal'; in it,
Rinehart encouraged women to have breast examinations.

Rinehart received a Mystery Writers of America special award a year
after she published her last novel, and an honorary doctorate in
literature from George Washington University.

On November 9, 1956, Rinehart appeared on the interview program
'Person to Person'. She died at age 82 at her apartment at 630 Park
Avenue in New York City.

Writing
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Rinehart wrote hundreds of short stories, poems, travelogues and
articles. Many of her short stories, books, and plays were adapted for
movies, such as 'Bab: A Sub-Deb' (1917), 'The Bat' (1926), 'The Bat
Whispers' (1930), 'Miss Pinkerton' (1932), and 'The Bat' (1959
remake). The novel 'The Circular Staircase' was first adapted to the
screen as a silent film in 1915, and later as an episode in the TV
show 'Climax!' in 1956. In 1933 RCA Victor released 'The Bat' as one
of the early talking book recordings. She co-wrote the 1920 play 'The
Bat' which was later adapted into the 1930 film 'The Bat Whispers'.
The latter influenced Bob Kane in the creation of Batman's
iconography.

Carole Lombard and Gary Cooper starred in 'I Take This Woman' (1931),
an early sound film based on Rinehart's novel 'Lost Ecstasy' (1927).

While many of her books were best sellers, critics were most
appreciative of her murder mysteries. Rinehart, in 'The Circular
Staircase' (1908), is credited with inventing the "Had-I-but-Known"
school of mystery writing. The Had-I-But-Known mystery novel is one
where the principal character (frequently female) does things in
connection with a crime that have the effect of prolonging the action
of the novel. In 'The Circular Staircase' "a middle-aged spinster is
persuaded by her niece and nephew to rent a country house for the
summer. The gentle, peace-loving trio is plunged into a series of
crimes solved with the help of the aunt." Ogden Nash parodied the
school in his poem 'Don't Guess Let Me Tell You': "Sometimes the Had I
But Known then what I know now could have saved at least three lives
by revealing to the Inspector the conversation I heard through that
fortuitous hole in the floor."

The phrase "The butler did it" is often attributed to Rinehart's novel
'The Door', in which the butler actually did murder someone, although
that exact phrase does not appear in the work. The device had been
used earlier (for example Herbert Jenkins' 1921 story "The Strange
Case of Mr. Challoner") to the point that in 1928 S.S. Van Dine wrote
a critique of mystery novels called "Twenty Rules for Writing
Detective Stories" in which he argued that it was a poor choice to
have a domestic servant be the murderer. Tim Kelly adapted Rinehart's
play into a musical, 'The Butler Did It, Singing'. This play includes
five lead female roles and five lead male roles.

She followed her initial success with 'The Man in Lower Ten', another
novel that continued to reinforce her fame. After these two, Rinehart
published about a book a year. She also wrote a long series of comic
stories about Letitia (Tish) Carberry, that was frequented in the
'Saturday Evening Post' over a number of years. This was later made
into a series of novels by Rinehart that started with 'The Amazing
Adventures of Letitia Carberry' in 1911.

After her fiction writing era, Rinehart worked as a correspondent
during World War I. She became "obsessed by the injustice, the wanton
waste and cost" of the war, and wrote extensively of the things she
had seen in 10 articles for the 'Saturday Evening Post', which were
later republished in the 'London Times.' During this time, her
interviewees included Albert I of Belgium, Winston Churchill, French
General Ferdinand Foch, and Mary of Teck. She sent the notes from her
interview with Albert I to President Wilson in the hopes of swaying
him from neutrality to fighting alongside the Belgians. Her articles
were later published as a collection titled "Kings, Queens and Pawns"
in 1915.

Afterwards, she continued to write many novels and also began writing
plays. She wrote an autobiography, 'My Story', in 1931, which later
was revised in 1948. During her prime, she was said to be even more
famous than her rival, Agatha Christie. At the time of Rinehart's
death, her books had sold over 10 million copies.

Novels
========
*'The Circular Staircase' (1908) Adapted (with Avery Hopwood) for the
stage as 'The Bat'
*'The Man in Lower Ten' (1909)
*'The Window at the White Cat' (1910) Revision of 'The Mystery of
1122'
*'When A Man Marries, or Seven Days' (1910) Expansion of Rinehart's
1908 novella 'Seven Days'
*'Where There's a Will' (1912)
*'The Case of Jennie Brice' (1913)
*'The Street of Seven Stars' (1914)
*'The After House: A Story of Love, Mystery and a Private Yacht'
(1914)
*'K.' (1915)
*'Bab, a Sub-Deb' (1916)
*'Long Live the King!' (1917)
*'The Amazing Interlude' (1918)
*'Twenty-Three and a Half Hours' Leave' (1918)
*'Dangerous Days' (1919)
*'A Poor Wise Man' (1920)
*'The Truce of God' (1920)
*'Sight Unseen' (1921)
*'The Confession' (1921)
*'The Breaking Point' (1922)
*'The Red Lamp' (1925) Alternate title 'The Mystery Lamp'
*'The Bat' (1926) Novelization of play, credited to Rinehart and
Hopwood, but ghostwritten by Stephen Vincent Benét
*'Lost Ecstasy' (1927) Alternate title 'I Take This Woman'
*'This Strange Adventure' (1928)
*'Two Flights Up' (1928)
*'The Door' (1930)
*'The Double Alibi' (1932)
*'The Album' (1933)
*'The State vs. Elinor Norton' (1933)
*'The Doctor' (1936)
*'The Wall' (1938)
*'The Great Mistake' (1940)
*'The Haunted Lady' (1942)
*'The Yellow Room' (1945)
*'A Light in the Window' (1948)
*'The Swimming Pool' (1952)

Letitia (Tish) Carberry
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*'The Amazing Adventures of Letitia Carberry' (1911)
*'Tish: The Chronicle of Her Escapades and Excursions' (1916)
*'More Tish' (1921)
*'Tish Plays the Game' (1926)
*'Tish Marches On' (1937)

Hilda Adams
=============
*'The Buckled Bag' (1914)
*'Miss Pinkerton' (1932) Alternate title 'The Double Alibi'
*'The Haunted Lady' (1942) Sequel to 'Miss Pinkerton'
*'Episode of the Wandering Knife' (1950)

Short story collections
=========================
*'Love Stories' (1919)
*'Affinities and Other Stories' (1920)
*'Temperamental People' (1924)
*'The Romantics' (1929)
*'Married People' (1937)
*'Familiar Faces: Stories of People You Know' (1941)
*'Alibi for Isabel and Other Stories' (1944)
*'The Frightened Wife and Other Murder Stories' (1953) Special Edgar
Award, 1954

Plays
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*'The Double Life' (1906)
*'Seven Days' (1909) (with Avery Hopwood)
*'Cheer Up' (1912) Produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille
*'Tumble In' (1919) (with Avery Hopwood) Musical version of 'Seven
Days'
*'The Bat' (1920) (with Avery Hopwood)
*'Spanish Love' (1920) (with Avery Hopwood)
*'The Breaking Point' (1923)

Nonfiction
============
* "Faces and Brains," 'Photoplay', February 1922, p. 47.
*'Kings, Queens, and Pawns: An American Woman at the Front' (1915) A
collection of Rinehart's reports as a correspondent during World War I
* 'Through Glacier Park: Seeing America First with Howard Eaton'
(1916)
*'The Altar of Freedom: An Appeal to the Mothers of America' (1917) An
appeal to prepare for the coming war
* 'Tenting Tonight: A Chronicle of Sport and Adventure in Glacier Park
and the Cascade Mountains' (1918) First published in 'Cosmopolitan'
(1917)
* 'The Out Trail' (1923)
* 'Nomad's Land' (1926)
*'My Story' (1931; revised 1948) Rinehart's autobiography

Essays
========
* "Isn't That Just Like a Man!" (1920) Available in one volume with
"Oh, Well, You Know How Women Are!" by Irvin S. Cobb
* "Why I Believe in Scouting for Girls"

Film and TV adaptations
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*1914 - ';- short film
*1914 - ';- short film
*1915 - ';- short film
*1915 - ';- short film
*1915 - ';- short film
*1915 - 'The Circular Staircase' (novel 'The Circular Staircase')
*1915 - ';- short film
*1915 - ';- short film
*1915 - 'What Happened to Father?' (story)
*1916 - 'Acquitted' (story)
*1917 - 'Bab's Diary' (story)
*1917 - 'Bab's Burglar' (story)
*1917 - 'Bab's Matinee Idol' (story)
*1918 - 'The Doctor and the Woman' (novel 'K.')
*1918 - 'The Street of Seven Stars' (novel)
*1918 - 'Her Country First' (story "The G.A.C.")
*1919 - '23 1/2 Hours' Leave' (story)
*1920 - ' (novel) / (titles)
*1920 - ' (story "Empire Builders");- film
*1922 - 'Affinities' (story)
*1922 - 'The Glorious Fool' (stories "In the Pavillion" and
"Twenty-Two")
*1923 - 'Mind Over Motor' (story)
*1923 - 'Long Live the King' (book)
*1924 - 'The Breaking Point' (novel)
*1924 - 'The Silent Watcher' (story "The Altar on the Hill")
*1924 - 'Her Love Story' (story "Her Majesty, the Queen")
*1924 - 'K -- The Unknown' (novel 'K.')
*1925 - 'Seven Days' (play co-written with Avery Hopwood)
*1926 - 'The Bat' (play 'The Bat')
*1927 - 'City of Shadows' (story)
*1927 - 'What Happened to Father?' (story)
*1927 - 'Aflame in the Sky' (story)
*1928 - 'Finders Keepers' (story "Make Them Happy")
*1930 - 'The Bat Whispers' (based upon play 'The Bat')
*1931 - 'I Take This Woman' (novel 'Lost Ecstacy')
*1932 - 'Miss Pinkerton' (novel)
*1934 - 'Elinor Norton' (novel 'The State vs. Elinor Norton')
*1935 - 'Mr. Cohen Takes a Walk' (novel)
*1937 - '23½ Hours Leave' (story)
*1941 - 'The Dog in the Orchard' (story) - short film
*1941 - 'The Nurse's Secret' (novel 'Miss Pinkerton')
*1942 - 'Tish' (stories)
*1952 - 'Robert Montgomery Presents' (TV series) (novel 'The Wall')
*1953 - 'Your Favorite Story' (TV series) (story "Strange Journey")
*1953 - 'Broadway Television Theatre' (TV series) - 'The Bat'
*1956 - 'Star Stage' (TV series) (story "I Am Her Nurse")
*1954-56 - 'Ford Television Theatre' (TV series) - 'The Unlocked Door'
(1954) original story/'Autumn Fever' (1956)
*1954-56 - 'Climax!' (TV series) - 'The After House' (1954)/'The
Circular Staircase' (1956)
*1957 - 'Telephone Time' (TV series) - 'Novel Appeal'. Claudette
Colbert portrayed Rinehart in the story of the genesis of the novel
'The After House'.
*1959 - 'The Bat' (play 'The Bat') with Agnes Moorehead and Vincent
Price
*1960 - 'Dow Hour of Great Mysteries' (TV series) - 'The Bat'
*1978 - ' (TV film) based on 'The Bat'

See also
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* Detective fiction
* List of female detective characters
* List of female detective/mystery writers
* List of mystery writers

Further reading
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*
*Evans, Delight. "The Mother of the Sub-Deb," 'Photoplay', January
1920, p. 74. MRR profile.
*
*
*

External links
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*
*[https://ancexplorer.army.mil/publicwmv/#/arlington-national/search/results/1/CghyaW5laGFydBIEbWFyeQ--/
Arlington National Cemetery]
*
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20131103104954/http://www.mrrnaturepark.org/Namesake.html
Mary Roberts Rinehart Nature Park (Glen Osbourne, PA) with picture of
"Casella" (demolished 1969)]

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Original Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Roberts_Rinehart