About Mary Roberts Rinehart
Mary Roberts Rinehart was an American writer often called the American Agatha Christie. She published her first mystery novel, The Circular Staircase, in 1908, which introduced the “had I but known” narrative style. In 1930 she wrote The Door, which is credited as the earliest known source of the phrase “the butler did it,” though the exact wording does not appear in the book and the plot device had been used earlier. Rinehart also traveled to the Belgian front lines during World War I, one of the first women to do so, and worked to tell the stories and experiences of front‑line soldiers.
![“[On the Irish:] Strange race ... Don't know what they want, but want it like the devil.” quote by Mary Roberts Rinehart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f15/mary-roberts-rinehart-4636_devil_on-the-irish-strange-race-don-t-know-wha_1072093.jpg)
![“[The writer] wants both to do the best possible work and also to reach the largest possible audience. The result is a fairly normal condition of discouragement.” quote by Mary Roberts Rinehart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90f/mary-roberts-rinehart-4636_audience_the-writer-wants-both-to-do-the-best-pos_1638018.jpg)
