Mary Roberts Rinehart

Mary Roberts Rinehart (1876-1958) trained as a nurse, and first started writing when she and her husband needed money after the stock market crash. She wrote dozens of highly successful novels, had two hits plays running simultaneously on Broadway, and, acting as a war correspondent, was the first journalist - man or woman - to reach the front during World War I. In addition, Rinehart was a staunch advocate to Congress for the Blackfoot Indians, covered the political conventions of 1916, lived in a haunted house, unearthed German spies, went public with a mastectomy (in 1947) as she wanted as many people as possible to be aware of the largely un-discussed disease cancer. She also survived an attempted murder! Known as 'the American Agatha Christie', she is also credited with inventing the phrase 'the butler did it'.