Reading 1914...

Mary Roberts Rinehart has been referred to as 'the American Agatha Christie'. Known for her mysteries, she is considered to be the source of the phrase "the butler did it". Funnily enough, The Street of Seven Stars, which was published in 1914, is not a mystery, but a romance. It's a sweet, well-written story about two Americans in Vienna: Harmony Wells is a talented young violinist studying music; and Peter Byrne is a young doctor studying to be a surgeon. They meet in a pension and soon become friends.

Harmony was as delicately strung, as vibratingly responsive as the strings of her own violin, and under the even lightness of his tone she felt many things that met a response in her--loneliness and struggle, and the ever-present anxiety about money, grim determination, hope and fear, and even occasional despair. 

"It's curious, isn't it?" Peter said. "Here we are, you and I, meeting in the center of Europe, both lonely as the mischief, both working our heads off for an idea that may never pan out!"

Their unconventional friendship is complicated by their lodging arrangements, by their both putting their careers ahead of marriage, by the moral judgments of both strangers and acquaintances, a lack of money, and society in general. Rinehart leaves you guessing whether or not there's going to be a happy ending for these two right up until the very end.

I really enjoyed this 1914 novel. I'd like to read more of Rinehart's books...try one of her mysteries next time. She writes a delightful story. I'm glad my plan this summer to read books that were published 100 years ago led me to this author. At the same time, it makes me a little sad that my summer of reading books from 1914 is fast coming to an end. I only have one more book to go: Leonard Woolf's The Wise Virgins. Hopefully that'll be a good read, too, because the other 1914 books I've read this summer have been a lot of fun.

Happy Reading!