The Bat
The Bat
By: Mary Roberts Rinehart, Avery Hopwood
This is a novelization of The Bat, a three-act play by Mary Roberts Rinehart and Avery Hopwood that was first performed in 1920. The story combines elements of mystery and comedy as Cornelia Van Gorder and guests at her rented summer home spend a stormy night searching for stolen money they believe is hidden in the house, while they are stalked by a masked criminal known as “the Bat.” Bob Kane was inspired by The Bat to create his Batman comic book hero.
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Mary Roberts Rinehart
Mary Roberts Rinehart, often called the American Agatha Christie, is considered one of the founding masters of the modern mystery story for using narrative point of view as a key element of how the mystery is perceived by the reader and eventually solved. She is credited with creating the phrase, “the butler did it” in her novel, The Door.
