Women’s History Month: Mary Roberts Rinehart
“A little work, a little sleep, a little love and it’s all over.” -Mary Roberts Rinehart
Mary Roberts Rinehart was born in Pittsburgh in 1876 and became one of the most famous female mystery writers, second only to Agatha Christie.
Her writing career began as early as high school, where she sold writings to help her financially strapped family. She didn’t really take her talent seriously until after she graduated from the Pittsburgh Training School for Nurses, where she also met her future husband, Stanley.
She did not become well known until the release of her book, The Circular Staircase, which launched her career and led to other well known publications, such as The Bat, which was turned into a movie, The Red Lamp, When There’s a Will, The Great Mistake and many others. She also started the saying “the butler did it” despite the phrase never appearing in her novels, but which was taken from her book, The Door. She is also responsible for starting the “Had I But Known” school of writing, which usually featured the main character accidentally prolonging the story by doing less than sensible acts.
She was also well known for an interview she did with Ladies Home Journal, titled “I Had Cancer.” At this time in 1947, women did not openly discuss breast cancer and Rinehart was a radical for her frank discussion on her condition and for advocating breast exams for women.
According to her obituary, Rinehart wrote over 50 books, hundreds of short stories, 8 plays, poems, travel pieces and other various articles during her lifetime. She died in 1958 at the age of 82 in her New York City home, where she moved to in 1935.
For more information on Mary Roberts Rinehart, please visit the following websites:
There is also a Mary Roberts Rinehart Chapter of Sisters in Crime based in Pittsburgh. For more information on the organization, visit their website here.
If you’re interested in other famous local women, you may also want to check out my previous post on Willa Cather and Gertrude Stein here.
Pittsburgh, Women’s History Month, Mary Roberts Rinehart, mystery, crime
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