The Circular Staircase (1908)

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by Mary Roberts Rinehart



Spinster Rachel Innes and her two young wards take a country house for the summer only to become enmeshed in a complex web of murder and intrigue.

 


The story itself is quite convoluted, but Rachel is a plucky, resourceful heroine and a good first-person guide to the action.

 


I’m no authority on early twentieth-century literature, but it seems likely that such a strong, independent woman who spends no time wishing for a male companion must have been an unusual character for the time.

 


Her affectionate teasing relationship with her maid Libby and the mutual respect she establishes with Detective Jamieson, not to mention the suspenseful climax, are high points.



Mary Roberts Rinehart

"The Mystery of the Spiral Staircase" (Portuguese)

"The Spiral Staircase" (Italian)

"Death Staircase" (Turkish)

"The Spiral Staircase" (German)


"The Spiral Staircase" (Danish)



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