Author Description

The Tish: The Chronicle of Her Escapades and Excursions by Mary Roberts Rinehart, first published in 1916. THIS book is the first in a series about a middle-aged lady (Rinehart specializes in middle aged lady protagonists, thank God somebody does!) named Tish, a spinster of fifty (which at the turn of the previous century was pretty old I guess) who refuses to not live life to the fullest. Mary Roberts Rinehart (1876-1958) was an American writer, often called the American Agatha Christie, although her first mystery novel was published 14 years before Christie's. She is considered the source of the phrase "The butler did it," although she did not actually use the phrase. She is considered to have invented the "Had-I-But-Known" school of mystery writing. She also created a costumed super criminal called "the Bat," who was cited by Bob Kane as one of the inspirations for his "Batman."