The Circular Staircase (Dover Mystery Classics) [Paperback]

Mary Roberts Rinehart (Author), Douglas G. Greene (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 21, 2012 | Series: Dover Mystery Classics

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.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

<DIV>Rinehart was a mystery and romance writer.</DIV><br /><br /><DIV>Rebecca Burns is editor-in-chief of Atlanta Magazine, which has won numerous regional and national awards under her direction.</DIV> --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From AudioFile

A Gothic mystery unfolds when a spinster arrives at the mansion she's rented for the summer. Plans for a restful vacation are soon interrupted by niece and nephew, ghosts and spirits, murder and mayhem. The complicated plots can make them tough to follow in audio format. The fairly simple story line here is a plus. The mystery is enjoyable for its historical setting, and it doesn't come across as dated. Reading with obvious pleasure, the narrator adds dramatic effect. One can hear the affection in the voices of the elderly mistress and housekeeper, who have an ongoing feud although they're inseparable. Those with a taste for a mystery that's tame but fun will enjoy this recording. B.M.W. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 178 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (March 21, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486297136
• ISBN-13: 978-0486297132
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #631,964 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Much "Old Style" But Quite A Bit Of Fun Nonetheless, July 16, 2005

By 

Gary F. Taylor "GFT" (Biloxi, MS USA) - See all my reviews
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Mary Roberts Rinehart (1876-1957) was never a critic's darling and both her short stories and novels were repeatedly dismissed as "low brow junk"--but the reading public of the early 1900s adored her, and she had a very long and commercially profitable career. And although most of her work could be best described as "romance," it is for her occasional mystery that she is best recalled today.

Written in 1907 and published in 1908, THE CIRCULAR STAIRCASE was among Rinehart's most popular works. Wealthy spinster Miss Innes is persuaded by her two wards--niece and nephew Gertrude and Halsey--to take a house in the country for the summer. But no sooner is Miss Innes and her fearful maid Liddy installed at Sunnyside then things begin to go bump in night, and murder is not far behind.

THE CIRCULAR STAIRCASE is very much of its era: like many novels of the time it has a Victorian hang-over that shows in both its highly improbable plot and its determination to spell out every possible detail. Not a great stylist, Rinehart was never really able to shed these issues in any of her works--but if you are prepared to suspend disbelief and enter into the spirit of the thing THE CIRCULAR STAIRCASE is actually quite a bit of fun. There are sounds in the night, mysterious faces at the window, screaming maids, unexpected visitors, and all the rest. And the book would become extremely influential in an unexpected way.

In 1917 Rinehart joined forces with playwright Avery Hopwood to adapt THE CIRCULAR STAIRCASE to the stage, and when it opened on Broadway in 1920 as THE BAT it proved one of the decade's most durable shows, a mixture of mystery and comic cliche. The result was a wave of similar novels, plays, and films that not only cast a long shadow but which are still very much with us today. So wait until a dark and stormy night, pour yourself a cup of warm milk, and read THE CIRCULAR STAIRCASE by flickering candlelight... and if you hear a noise in the furthermost part of the house, just tell yourself it's only Miss Innes making one of her ill-advised nocturnal investigations!

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic mystery thriller., November 3, 2000

By 

D. R. Schryer (Poquoson, VA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Circular Staircase (Paperback)

For decades Mary Roberts Rinehart was the queen of mystery thrillers -- the American Agatha Christie. The Circular Staircase was Rinehart's first published novel (The Swimming Pool was her last), but it is a well-constructed work in ever way. Rinehart's special gift was in the evocation of an overlying and unremitting atmosphere of unease and potential danger and it is under such an atmosphere of apprehension that she spins her stories. For some time it has been fashionable to dismiss the novels of Mary Roberts Rinehart as old fashioned. This may apply to superficial details -- such as gas lighting -- but it definitely is not true of the novels themselves which are timeless in their ability to hold the reader in a grip of mystery and suspense. The Circular Stasircase is one of the finest mystery novels ever written.

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Clever, but no one edited this one, June 5, 2000

By 

Michael Schau (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Circular Staircase (Paperback)

This is an enjoyable mystery in the classic mode with some deft turns. But it is completely unedited and riddled throughout with type-os and silly mistakes. Surely no person at the publishing house read this book before it was released; I'd go so far as to say no one bothered to use spell-check to detect ludicrous errors. In most cases, the correct spelling or usage is fairly easy to figure. In one, a "Mrs." should have been a "Mr." and that caused a bit of confusion. Readers appreciate these budget-priced editions, but couldn't someone at the publishing house give them a look after they've been scanned into the computer? Surely a summer intern in the editorial department might even have a good time reading this pleasant little mystery.