The Bat (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. A 1920s Country House Mystery of Masked Crime, Locked Rooms, Gothic Suspense, and Stage-Driven Detective IntrigueBy Mary Roberts Rinehart, Avery Hopwood
Length7h 40m
About this audiobook
The Bat gathers the defining energies of early twentieth-century American mystery into a tightly wrought drama of concealment, suspicion, and theatrical surprise. Set within the charged space of a country house shadowed by crime, it fuses Gothic atmosphere, drawing-room comedy, detective plotting, and melodramatic suspense. Its masked criminal, secret rooms, mistaken identities, and brisk reversals made it a landmark in popular mystery theatre and a precursor to later traditions of the costumed master-criminal and the haunted-house thriller. Mary Roberts Rinehart and Avery Hopwood bring together complementary talents: Rinehart's command of domestic suspense and the "Had-I-But-Known" school of mystery, and Hopwood's instinct for stagecraft, pacing, and audience manipulation. Emerging from the commercial theatre and popular fiction cultures of the 1910s and 1920s, their collaboration reflects a moment when genre fiction, Broadway spectacle, and modern mass entertainment were increasingly intertwined. Readers should approach The Bat as both an absorbing thriller and a historically significant artifact of American popular literature. It offers a compact encounter with multiple pleasures—comic wit, psychological unease, architectural mystery, and criminal intrigue—while illuminating how suspense moves between page and stage. For students and general readers alike, it rewards attention as a lively dialogue between genre convention and theatrical invention.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- A succinct Introduction situates the work's timeless appeal and themes.
- The Synopsis outlines the central plot, highlighting key developments without spoiling critical twists.
- A detailed Historical Context immerses you in the era's events and influences that shaped the writing.
- A thorough Analysis dissects symbols, motifs, and character arcs to unearth underlying meanings.
- Reflection questions prompt you to engage personally with the work's messages, connecting them to modern life.
- Hand‐picked Memorable Quotes shine a spotlight on moments of literary brilliance.
- Interactive footnotes clarify unusual references, historical allusions, and archaic phrases for an effortless, more informed read.
Audiobook details
GenreMystery and Thriller
Length7 hrs 40 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateNov 26, 2023
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1The Bat (Annotated)
26BILLY PRACTICES JIU-JITSU
2Introduction
27CHAPTER TWELVE
3Synopsis
28"I DIDN'T KILL HIM."
4Historical Context
29CHAPTER THIRTEEN
5CHAPTER ONE
30THE BLACKENED BAG
Show all chaptersShow less
6THE SHADOW OF THE BAT
31CHAPTER FOURTEEN
7CHAPTER TWO
32HANDCUFFS
8THE INDOMITABLE MISS VAN GORDER
33CHAPTER FIFTEEN
9CHAPTER THREE
34THE SIGN OF THE BAT
10PISTOL PRACTICE
35CHAPTER SIXTEEN
11CHAPTER FOUR
36THE HIDDEN ROOM
12THE STORM GATHERS
37CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
13CHAPTER FIVE
38ANDERSON MAKES AN ARREST
14ALOPECIA AND RUBEOLA
39CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
15CHAPTER SIX
40THE BAT STILL FLIES
16DETECTIVE ANDERSON TAKES CHARGE
41CHAPTER NINETEEN
17CHAPTER SEVEN
42MURDER ON MURDER
18CROSS-QUESTIONS AND CROOKED ANSWERS
43CHAPTER TWENTY
19CHAPTER EIGHT
44"HE IS—THE BAT!"
20THE GLEAMING EYE
45CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
21CHAPTER NINE
46QUITE A COLLECTION
22A SHOT IN THE DARK
47Analysis
23CHAPTER TEN
48Reflection
24THE PHONE CALL FROM NOWHERE
49Memorable Quotes
25CHAPTER ELEVEN
Dangerous Days (Annotated)Mary Roberts Rinehart14h 33m$2 · $0.00
The Man in Lower Ten (Annotated)Mary Roberts Rinehart8h 3m$2 · $0.00
The Yellow Room (Annotated)Mary Roberts Rinehart10h 41m$2 · $0.00
The Frightened Wife and Other Murder Stories (Annotated)Mary Roberts Rinehart9h 18m$2 · $0.00
The Greatest Murder Mysteries of Mary Roberts Rinehart - 25 Titles in One Edition (Annotated)Mary Roberts Rinehart125h 58m$2 · $0.00
Long Live the King! (Annotated)Mary Roberts Rinehart13h 34m$2 · $0.00
The After House (Annotated)Mary Roberts Rinehart6h 20m$2 · $0.00
Tenting To-nightMary Roberts Rinehart3h 56m$1 · $0.00
Sight UnseenMary Roberts Rinehart2h 50m$2 · $0.00
The Greatest Works of Mary Roberts RinehartMary Roberts Rinehart203h 53m$1 · $0.00
The Man in Lower TenMary Roberts Rinehart7h 12m$2 · $0.00
Haunted LadyMary Roberts Rinehart7h 36m$1 · $0.00
The WallMary Roberts Rinehart12h 49m$1 · $0.00
The Collected Works of Mary Roberts RinehartMary Roberts Rinehart202h 51m$1 · $0.00
The Window at the White CatMary Roberts Rinehart6h 16m$1 · $0.00
The Street of Seven StarsMary Roberts Rinehart8h 42m$2 · $0.00
Mystery Cases of Letitia Carberry, TishMary Roberts Rinehart22h 53m$1 · $0.00
The Bat & The Circular StaircaseMary Roberts Rinehart15h 8m$2 · $0.00
The Breaking Point (Annotated)Mary Roberts Rinehart13h 31m$2 · $0.00
Meddlesome MoneyMildred Abbott8h 21m$20
Midnight ShadowsS.E. Smith5h 40m$17
CollateralBrian Andrews, Jeffrey Wilson13h 8m$23
The Complete Sherlock Holmes Novels & Stories (4 Novels + 56 Short Stories) (Annotated)Arthur Conan Doyle73h 13m$2 · $0.00
The ReunionJana Deleon6h 31m$26 · $0.00
Animal 3K’wan6h 33m$20
To Hold and ProtectSandra Owens7h 59m$8 · $0.00
Extinction WarNicholas Sansbury Smith12h 1m$23
Savy WisdomPeggy McColl2h 53m$15
3 a.m. Premium: Books 1–5Nick Pirog15h 27m$25
Farewell My Lovely (Annotated)Raymond Chandler10h 37m$2 · $0.00
The Labyrinth of the SpiritsCarlos Ruiz Zafon27h 55m$53 · $0.00
Tracing Killer EvidenceJodie Bailey5h 46m$12 · $0.00
AGATHA CHRISTIE Premium CollectionAgatha Christie37h 15m$2 · $0.00
Sign of the MakerBrian Shea7h 13m$17
No Sin UnpunishedLynDee Walker7h 43m$17
The Cases of Lord Peter Wimsey - Complete Series (Annotated)Dorothy L. Sayers148h 10m$2 · $0.00
Sherlock HolmesMade for Success14h 22m$25
Sons of War 4: SoldiersNicholas Sansbury Smith, Tom Abrahams12h 54m$25
Murder in the TowerRoy Lewis8h 23m$20
You may also like
As the Pig TurnsM. C. Beaton6h 32m$20
The House of Lurking DeathAgatha Christie35m$9 · $0.00
Mystery at the RectoryDorothy Fielding8h 46m$1 · $0.00
The Seven Dials mysteryAgatha Christie8h 8m$2.30 · $0.00
It Takes a PhotographerEdward Kendrick2h 35m$4.50 · $0.00
Dangerous SecretsSusan Hunter9h 10m$20
Garden of LamentationsDeborah Crombie12h 46m$33 · $0.00
Mystery at the Rectory (Annotated)Dorothy Fielding8h 55m$2 · $0.00
The Circular Staircase & The Bat (Annotated)Mary Roberts Rinehart15h 48m$2 · $0.00
Poirot InvestigatesAgatha Christie6h 12m$5.80 · $0.00
The Body on the BeachSimon Brett7h$17
DEAD MEN'S MONEY (Murder Mystery Classic) (Annotated)J. S. Fletcher8h 58m$2 · $0.00
Detective Gabriel Hanaud: At the Villa Rose & The Affair at the Semiramis HotelA. E. W. Mason10h 37m$1 · $0.00
The murder of Roger AckroydAgatha Christie8h 9m$1 · $0.00
Deal with the Deviled EggsJessica Payseur7h 12m$5.50 · $0.00
The Greatest Works of Mary Roberts RinehartMary Roberts Rinehart203h 53m$1 · $0.00
Agatha Raisin and the Murderous MarriageM. C. Beaton5h 56m$20
Tragedy at Beechcroft (Annotated)Dorothy Fielding10h 3m$2 · $0.00
The Notting Hill MysteryCharles Felix5h 11m$2 · $0.00
The Couple at the TableSophie Hannah11h 28m$29 · $0.00