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night
Detective Jamieson and the new gardener wake up Rachel and take her to a graveyard, where they dig up the grave of Paul Armstrong and determine that the body in the grave is not that of Paul Armstrong. When Halsey finds out he takes off angrily, and then his car is found crashed into a train with him still missing. Halsey remains missing for several days until finally being discovered tied up in a train car by a hobo. Investigation into the bank fraud determines it was Paul Armstrong who stole the money, not Jack Bailey. Paul Armstrong had then hid the money in his house in a secret room and faked his own death, promising the local coroner a marriage with his stepdaughter Louise if the coroner would go along with the plan. Paul and the coroner had been the burglars trying to break into the house over the past month.
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explanations. Jack and Halsey both had a poor relationship with Arnold because Arnold treated
Gertrude badly. The day Halsey returns news breaks that the local bank (which is owned by Paul Armstrong, and where Jack works, and also where Halsey and Gertrude keep their substantial inheritance) has gone bankrupt because someone who worked there stole a bunch of money. Suspicion immediately falls on the missing Jack Bailey, who turns himself into police custody that day proclaiming his innocence.
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without any help from Arnold for several years. After Arnold was disinherited from his family he began to blackmail Mary by threatening to take his child away from her if she did not give him money. He also beat her with a golf stick. Jack Bailey had disguised himself as the new gardener to help with the investigation and ultimately cleared his name of all charges and marries
Gertrude. Halsey and Louise also got back together after her stepfather died.
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330:. It was an immediate success with both audiences and critics. It ran for 878 performances in New York, and six additional companies took the show to other cities, in addition to a later London production and numerous individual performances. The play was extremely lucrative for Rinehart and her husband Stan, who had invested much of their wealth into it.
156:" school of mystery writing, which often feature female protagonists and narrators who foreshadow impending danger and plot developments by reflecting on what they might have done differently. Rinehart employed this formula in many of her later works, and it inspired dozens of subsequent stories. The novel was adapted for the screen twice: as a
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agrees to return and work as a butler for Rachel. The first night Lydia and Rachel are awoken by the sounds of an intruder sneaking around and dropping a metal golf stick on a staircase. The next morning
Gertrude and Halsey arrive along with Jack Bailey, a local banker who is a friend to Halsey and engaged to Gertrude.
34:
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The next night Rachel is again woken by a loud sound and a dead body is found at the bottom of a circular set of stairs. The police arrive led by
Detective Jamieson and the body is identified as Arnold Armstrong, the estranged son of the house owner Paul Armstrong. Halsey and Jack are both missing
200:
Jack is released from police custody due to claimed illness. Rachel continues to investigate and hires a new gardener on the recommendation of Halsey. She discovers that Thomas and the housekeeper Mary have been hiding a very ill Louise
Armstrong (the step-daughter of Paul Armstrong and fiance of
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Paul dies when he falls down the stairs while fleeing from the police after breaking into his mansion again. Arnold
Armstrong was shot by the housekeeper Mary, who was the sister of Arnold's secret ex-wife. Mary's sister had died giving birth to Arnold's child and Mary had been raising the child
204:
The stable is lit on fire as a distraction so someone can break into the house, but Rachel realizes this and manages to shoot the would-be-burglar in the foot but the burglar still gets away. Louise breaks off her engagement with Halsey against her own wishes to marry the local coroner. Late at
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Rachel Innes is a spinster who has had custody of her orphaned niece and nephew since they were children. The siblings Halsey and
Gertrude are now 20 and 24, respectively, and they talk Rachel into renting a house in the country for the summer. The country-house is owned by the Armstrong family
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Upon arriving Rachel and her long-time maid Lydia set about hiring staff and setting up in the house before Halsey and
Gertrude arrive the next day. They receive an ominous warning that there is a ghost in the house from Thomas, an older man who has worked for the Armstrongs for many years and
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Rachel is determined to remain in the house until the mystery is solved and her nephew is cleared of all suspicion despite the fact that there continue to be break-ins and mysterious tapping noises during the night. A few days later Halsey returns without Jack and refuses to provide any
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125:. The story follows dowager Rachel Innes as she thwarts a series of strange crimes at a summer house she has rented with her niece and nephew. The novel was Rinehart's first bestseller and established her as one of the era's most popular writers. The story was serialized in
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and while searching for them Rachel discovers Halsey's pistol thrown into a tulip bed. She hides this discovery from the police who question both her and
Gertrude. Gertrude provides an alibi for Halsey and Jack, claiming they left just before Arnold was shot to death.
322:; they made a number of alterations to the source to prepare it for the stage. They renamed characters, changed plot elements, and most significantly, added the titular villain, who disguises his identity under a frightening bat costume until the play's denouement.
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Halsey) in the groundskeeper's house. News arrives that Paul Armstrong has died due to heart disease and poor health. Thomas the groundskeeper dies of a heart attack not much later.
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and another Rinehart story. Though this failed to come together, Rinehart was soon able to sell her work to film companies, beginning with a group of comic stories that
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as Gertrude. It received lukewarm reviews; one critic wrote that it followed the novel too closely to be effectively cinematic. The film is now
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after the works' similarities led to legal troubles over film rights. In 1920, Rineheart bought back
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185:(who are currently away on vacation), and currently only has a housekeeper named Mary.
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for five issues starting with the November 1907 issue, then published in book form by
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led to several adaptations of its own. In 1926, Rinehart licensed a novelization of
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hit and inspired a number of later works, including several adaptations of its own.
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Detectionary: A Biographical Dictionary of Leading Characters in Mystery Fiction
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694:. In Soister, John T.; Nicolella, Henry; Joyce, Steve; Long, Harry H. (eds.).
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American Silent Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Feature Films, 1913-1929
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357:. Rinehart tried to file suit to keep Selig from using the title.
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The Web of Iniquity: Early Detective Fiction by American Women
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Rinehart was inspired to write the novel after a visit to
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was also adapted for an episode of the television series
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In 1912, Rinehart's friend Beatrice DeMille, mother of
377:. It was filmed three times: as the 1926 silent film
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s most notable adaptation was as the 1920 stage play
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Improbable Fiction: The Life of Mary Robert Rinehart
608:
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486:
318:. Rinehart started working on the play in 1917 with
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1908 mystery novel by American Mary Roberts Rinehart
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241:in 1914. In 1915, Rinehart sold the film rights to
166:in 1956. Its best known adaptation was as the play
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345:rights from Selig Polyscope, and hoped to license
257:adaptation of Rinehart's work. It was directed by
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289:that aired on June 21, 1956. The episode starred
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349:for a film. However, Selig re-released the 1915
365:, published under her name but ghostwritten by
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698:. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. pp. 89–92.
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675:. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
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249:for an apparently small amount. The
221:Advertisement for film version, 1915
152:pioneered what became known as the "
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971:American novels adapted into plays
961:American novels adapted into films
669:Nickerson, Catherine Ross (1998).
654:. University of Pittsburgh Press.
253:, released in 1915, was the first
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724:. New York: The Overlook Press.
415:Heincer, Amanda (May 24, 2017).
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966:Works by Mary Roberts Rinehart
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800:public domain audiobook at
739:Rzepka, Charles J. (2005).
624:Thompson, Nathaniel (2016)
333:Rinehart later denied that
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861:The Case of Jennie Brice
692:"The Circular Staircase"
468:, pp. 119, 144, 219
19:Not to be confused with
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310:The Circular Staircase'
247:Selig Polyscope Company
179:
172:, which became a major
27:The Circular Staircase
853:The Circular Staircase
797:The Circular Staircase
780:The Circular Staircase
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720:Roseman, Mill (1977).
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339:The Circular Staircase
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243:The Circular Staircase
231:The Circular Staircase
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114:The Circular Staircase
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838:Mary Roberts Rinehart
369:, partly to distance
367:Stephen Vincent Benét
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123:Mary Roberts Rinehart
45:Mary Roberts Rinehart
951:1908 American novels
21:The Spiral Staircase
588:, pp. 140, 142
121:by American writer
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912:The Breaking Point
646:Cohn, Jan (1980).
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576:, pp. 141–142
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351:Circular Staircase
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741:Detective Fiction
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337:was connected to
293:as Rachel Innes.
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265:as Halsey,
251:silent film
239:short films
237:adapted as
213:Adaptations
158:silent film
945:Categories
888:Seven Days
428:2018-10-13
402:References
263:Guy Oliver
711:March 16,
613:Cohn 1980
598:Cohn 1980
586:Cohn 1980
574:Cohn 1980
562:Cohn 1980
520:Cohn 1980
508:Cohn 1980
481:Cohn 1980
135:in 1908.
128:All-Story
67:Publisher
802:LibriVox
174:Broadway
51:Language
923:Related
904:The Bat
630:tcm.com
395:The Bat
380:The Bat
371:The Bat
363:The Bat
359:The Bat
355:The Bat
347:The Bat
335:The Bat
324:The Bat
315:The Bat
298:The Bat
286:Climax!
169:The Bat
163:Climax!
140:Melrose
54:English
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117:is a
103:Pages
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275:lost
180:Plot
82:1908
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