Publisher's Synopsis
The Circular Staircase was the novel that took Mary Roberts Rinehart's career from zero to sixty. Before the novel was published in 1908 Rinehart was a housewife and mother. She would help in providing for her family by writing plays and short stories as well as a few novels. Her husband, Stanly M. Rinehart, who was a doctor took little interest in her work. Before the success of The Circular Staircase he considered her writing to be little more than a hobby (Cohn). After her success she was able to pump out several books or plays a year. This waned as she grew older. After 1929 she would publish one, maybe two pieces in a year, but many years went without seeing a play or novel from the prolific author.
