The "Had I But Known" school of mystery writing -- in which the principal character (frequently female) does less than sensible things when involved in a crime which have the effect of prolonging the action of the novel -- originated 100 years ago with Mary Roberts Rinehart in her 1908 book The Circular Staircase.
This book will be the featured title for the Usual Suspects discussion next Sunday, April 13th, in honor of the Library’s 100th birthday.
This will also be the first anniversary of the Usual Suspects.
An outgrowth of the Victorian melodrama, the genre includes several Golden Age mystery writers and influenced a diverse list of authors, including F. Scott Fitzgerald.
The phrase "The butler did it", a popular mystery cliché, originated with Rinehart's novel The Door, in which the butler did do it, although that exact phrase never actually appears in the work.
Rinehart (1876-1958) was a prolific author and is often called the American Agatha Christie.
Dorothy B. Hughes, crime critic and novelist, has called her “the most important American woman mystery writer.”
The HIBK school was parodied by Ogden Nash in a poem called Don't Guess Let Me Tell You:
“Sometimes it is the Had I But Known what grim secret lurked behind that smiling exterior I would never have set foot within the door,
Sometimes the Had I But Known then what I know now I could have saved at least three lives by revealing to the Inspector the conversation I heard through that fortuitous hole in the floor.”
Hope you can join us on Sunday at 2. New members are always welcome.
Phone 291-4821 for a copy of the book. Call 291-4836 for more information on The Usual Suspects.
