Mary Roberts Rinehart 
The Circular Staircase (Annotated) 

• This edition includes the following editor’s introduction: Women writers in the origins of the mystery and detective genre

Originally published in 1908, “The Circular Staircase” is a mystery novel by American writer Mary Roberts Rinehart. “The Circular Staircase” was Rinehart’s first bestseller and established her as one of the era’s most popular writers. It is also considered by many to be the first thriller novel.



“The Circular Staircase” tells the story of Rachel Innes, a middle-aged spinster that rents a country house for the summer and soon finds herself immersed in a nasty scenario of bank defaults, stolen securities and murder.



“The Circular Staircase” is an entertaining mix of intrigue, villainy and suspense for fans of crime novels and lovers of the great mystery classics.