Reviews

The Bat by Mary Roberts Rinehart

cemoses's review against another edition

3.0

One of my favorite mysteries of all time was the Yellow Room by Mary Roberts Rihenart and I have yet to read another book by her that is as good.

I was reading it with my husband on a nook. He liked it and we both wondered whether the "Bat" was the inspiration for Batman.

I think the book the Bat was originally a stage play and it reads like one. It is a fun but politically incorrect book(sterotypical Irish maid and Japanese butler) which may have been a result of the times.

However, I was disappointed in the ending in that we never really know who the Bat was.

It was a fun light read.

heidenkind's review against another edition

Okay, this put me to sleep one too many times. Don't even care who the bat is anymore.

njw13's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

connie575's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

judyward's review against another edition

2.0

A friend who knows that I am interested in mysteries and in books published between the world wars, loaned me an anthology of three Mary Roberts Rinehart novels, so you will be seeing the other two in a week or two. Mary Roberts Rinehart has often been called the "American Agatha Christie". This is a comparison with which I would argue. She is also the author most identified with the phrase "the butler did it" (although she never said that phrase)and the "Had I But Known" school of mysteries. This book was obviously meant to be read by young women, late at night, with, hopefully, a storm of impressive magnitude raging outside. Published in 1926, the "mystery" was the part of the book that I enjoyed the least. More important to me was the picture of the period that the book portrayed. Gender, class, and race issues were all present in this book in a major way. The central character, Miss Cornelia Van Gorder, is an indomitable 65 year old spinster of means who rather than shrinking from the chaos of the mystery leads the charge into its unraveling. She is the "new woman" of the 20s (although a bit older than most of the examples of her type in the literature of the period) who looks beyond the traditional social mores and gender roles and wants the same for her niece. She refuses to be coerced by the men around her, enjoys the upheaval of the mysterious events in the mansion that she has rented for the summer, and decides that she has followed the rules long enough. Less appealing are the roles that class and race play in the novel. Lizzie has been Cornelia's Irish maid for decades and Lizzie is obviously from a different class than Cornelia. Lizzie is no doubt loved by Cornelia, but that doesn't stop her employer from verbally abusing her and on one occasion, slapping her hand and threatening to lock her in her room. Lizzie demonstrates her class origins by continually becoming hysterical, needing to be attended to, and by her inability to cope with the situation in which she finds herself. The stereotype of the faithful, Irish servant with all of the folkways, superstitions, and terrors of the old country are assigned to her. Cornelia has to solve the mystery as well as deal with Lizzie's constant overblown emotions throughout the book clearly indicating which class each occupies and the values of each of those social classes. And, finally, the racial attitudes of the 1920s are highly visible in the literary treatment of Billy. Billy is the Japanese-American butler of the recently deceased owner of the mansion and he is mocked in every conceivable way. His manner of speaking and pronunciation of words, the color of his skin, the fact that he doesn't reveal his emotions, and the suspicion in which he is held by many of the characters (except Cornelia) all highlight the racial prejudices of many white Americans of the 1920s. But looking at this book primarily as a period piece makes the action in the novel all the more interesting.

lilacs_book_bower's review against another edition

mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Now that I know that this is a novelization of a play (adapted from a novel), things make a bit more sense, but this still isn't a fantastic book.  There were a few elements I liked, like the heroine as an older lady, and the master criminal, the Bat, was just a regular guy.  Knowing this is based on a play, sort of, explains why characters frequently come and go, why some rooms are never seen, and the short time frame in which the action takes place.  However, since I was reading a novel, I'll note: characters behave unrealistically (someone has been shot and you just wander off by yourself in the dark?), some villainy being revealed early spoiled some of the mystery aspect, and the servants' behavior (which I guess would be "humor" on stage).  There is a LOT of classicism with the attitude toward the servants, and (CW) some casual racism towards the Japanese butler (who is referred to as "the J--" a few times).  I understand that there were significant changes between the original novel (The Circular Staircase) and the play, but it still feels like maybe The Bat as a novel isn't really necessary.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Murder, Classism, and Gun violence

marilynsaul's review against another edition

2.0

I can see how this book is a novelized adaptation of a play, as it read like a farcical melodrama you'd see at Gaslight Theater. Lots of faux-hauntings, a mysterious glowing eye, a Snidely Whiplash-type character, power outages in a spooky house, one could hear in one's mind the special effects crew off-stage raising the crescendo, banging the doors, rustling up the wind. I didn't care much for it. The characters were shallow (except Lady Cornelia - played by ancient Maggie Smith in my mind), her friend Lizzie who was prone to hysterics, and her niece Dale who never had a discerning thought and was constantly making stupid decisions - aargh!!! I started out giving this three stars, but, after reading this review :-) , dropped it to two stars. Doesn't come close to The Circular Staircase

jessgaroutte's review against another edition

4.0

I am not usually a detective mystery person, but i think Mary Roberts Rinehart did a very good job.

miklosha's review against another edition

3.0

Mary Roberts Rhinehart, the American Agatha Christie (or you can consider Agatha Christie to be the English Mary Roberts Rhinehart, however you prefer) writes similarly to her English counterpart, by means of cozy mysteries and minimal actual violence and gore.
The Bat is about a robber villain who strikes terror in the heart of a country village and Miss Cornelia van Gorner, a shrewd older woman, isn't having any of it. The book takes place in her house, along with several friends (and enemies), and maybe a gun or two. Overall, the story reads more like a play, with multiple complex scenes happening at once and minimal scene changes. Suspenseful story, with minor twists and turns but in the end, nothing too extravagant.

quietjenn's review against another edition

3.0

This is pretty similar to Rinehart's "The Circular Staircase" in many, many ways. Still enjoyable, but not exactly a thrill. More interesting did I find the book from a sociological/cultural standpoint, since it was the basis for a lot of old performance and purportedly one of Bob Kane's inspirations in creating the character of Batman. And, in the initial descriptions of The Bat, you can totally see it.