What do you think?
Rate this book
The Street of Seven Stars
Harmony Wells came to Vienna to pursue her career as a concert violinist. Instead the beautiful young American girl found herself playing a part in a strange concert of evil when she moved into the old mansion on the Street of Seven Stars.
In this house of intrigue, a sophisticated older woman, a charming, sinister man of the world, and a handsome, reckless young doctor each had plans for her. Yet whose lead should Harmony follow as she was whirled into a mad dance of passion and betrayal, and the throbbing heartbeat of love was drowned in the terrifying dissonance of danger?
In this house of intrigue, a sophisticated older woman, a charming, sinister man of the world, and a handsome, reckless young doctor each had plans for her. Yet whose lead should Harmony follow as she was whirled into a mad dance of passion and betrayal, and the throbbing heartbeat of love was drowned in the terrifying dissonance of danger?
222 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1914
72 people are currently reading
303 people want to read
About the author
Mary Roberts Rinehart
550 books424 followersMysteries of the well-known American writer Mary Roberts Rinehart include
The Circular Staircase
(1908) and
The Door
(1930).
People often called this prolific author the American version of Agatha Christie. She is considered the source of the phrase "The butler did it," though the exact phrase doesn't appear in her works, and she invented the "Had-I-But-Known" school of mystery writing.
Rinehart wrote hundreds of short stories, poems, travelogues, and special articles. Many of her books and plays were adapted for movies, such as The Bat (1926), The Bat Whispers (1930), and The Bat (1959). Critics most appreciated her murder mysteries.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Ro...
People often called this prolific author the American version of Agatha Christie. She is considered the source of the phrase "The butler did it," though the exact phrase doesn't appear in her works, and she invented the "Had-I-But-Known" school of mystery writing.
Rinehart wrote hundreds of short stories, poems, travelogues, and special articles. Many of her books and plays were adapted for movies, such as The Bat (1926), The Bat Whispers (1930), and The Bat (1959). Critics most appreciated her murder mysteries.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Ro...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
January 9, 2020
This story has a lot of similarities to Rinehart's book "K" as it's a story of people rather than a mystery novel. There is a gentle romance running through it, but the main focus of the tale is how some Americans in Austria live their lives there on a shoestring budget and how each of their decisions affect each other. A tender and often heartbreaking character study, excellently portrayed.
August 6, 2011
By now, you probably already know that I'm obsessed with her work. She is quickly taking a seat right next to Agatha Christie in my love of a good mystery. There is something so wonderfully lush about her narrative style that I get transfixed by what is taking place on the page. The plots and characters are so cleverly written and thought out, that I can't help but fall in love every time I crack open the pages.
When I first picked this one up, I assumed that it was another one of her mysteries. After I got past the half way point, I realized I had been duped by the synopsis and the cover. This wasn't a mystery at all, it was a gothic romance. I will admit that I was a bit miffed at first. I felt cheated somehow, as if I was offered a gourmet, seven course meal, only to find out I would only get to enjoy the first three courses. I actually put the book down for a few hours, stewing in my disappointment.
Soon after, I had a strange nagging sensation that would not leave me alone. There was a voice in my head screaming at me to finish the story of Harmony and her young doctor Peter Byrne. Every time I glance at the page, I felt Harmony's eyes boring into my brain, demanding that I pick her up and find out how everything ends. Once I relented and dug back in, I was hooked. I had to know if Harmony and Peter would be able to work past all the obstacles thrown in their way. I had to know if Dr. Anna Gates would continue to live with them or be forced to go back to the U.S. to take care of her dying father. I had to know if Jimmy, the young boy dying of myocarditis, would live or succumb to his illness. I even had to know if Stewart would keep treating Marie so shabbily, and if he did, what she would be driven to do.
As you can tell, there are some wonderful side story lines going on in this one. Each of which is just as well crafted and detailed down to the smallest emotional nuance. I also enjoyed how the author used the characters to explore societal morals and standards. There is a small American colony in Vienna, most of them know to each other, so when our heroes don't quite match up to what is "morally" acceptable living, the ramifications are used to further muck things up for both Harmony and Peter, though Harmony seems to take the brunt of it.
Rinehart did not let me down on the suspense part either, though it did take a backseat to the overall story. There is still a international spy who not only has a crush on Harmony, but is eventually arrested and condemned to death. There is also an attempted murder via a branch thrown in the way of a fast moving, down hill sleigh. The attempt is born out of jealously and despair, instead of malice or evil. The suspense nuggets weren't much, but they were enough, especially considering the overall tone of the book. I don't think I ever understood the term gothic romance until I read this book. I love the atmosphere she creates for the characters to envelop themselves in. Other than the lack of someone being murdered, I felt as if I was on the tip of my toes the entire time. I was tense while I was reading this, but it was that wonderful tension that forced me to continue until the end.
When I first picked this one up, I assumed that it was another one of her mysteries. After I got past the half way point, I realized I had been duped by the synopsis and the cover. This wasn't a mystery at all, it was a gothic romance. I will admit that I was a bit miffed at first. I felt cheated somehow, as if I was offered a gourmet, seven course meal, only to find out I would only get to enjoy the first three courses. I actually put the book down for a few hours, stewing in my disappointment.
Soon after, I had a strange nagging sensation that would not leave me alone. There was a voice in my head screaming at me to finish the story of Harmony and her young doctor Peter Byrne. Every time I glance at the page, I felt Harmony's eyes boring into my brain, demanding that I pick her up and find out how everything ends. Once I relented and dug back in, I was hooked. I had to know if Harmony and Peter would be able to work past all the obstacles thrown in their way. I had to know if Dr. Anna Gates would continue to live with them or be forced to go back to the U.S. to take care of her dying father. I had to know if Jimmy, the young boy dying of myocarditis, would live or succumb to his illness. I even had to know if Stewart would keep treating Marie so shabbily, and if he did, what she would be driven to do.
As you can tell, there are some wonderful side story lines going on in this one. Each of which is just as well crafted and detailed down to the smallest emotional nuance. I also enjoyed how the author used the characters to explore societal morals and standards. There is a small American colony in Vienna, most of them know to each other, so when our heroes don't quite match up to what is "morally" acceptable living, the ramifications are used to further muck things up for both Harmony and Peter, though Harmony seems to take the brunt of it.
Rinehart did not let me down on the suspense part either, though it did take a backseat to the overall story. There is still a international spy who not only has a crush on Harmony, but is eventually arrested and condemned to death. There is also an attempted murder via a branch thrown in the way of a fast moving, down hill sleigh. The attempt is born out of jealously and despair, instead of malice or evil. The suspense nuggets weren't much, but they were enough, especially considering the overall tone of the book. I don't think I ever understood the term gothic romance until I read this book. I love the atmosphere she creates for the characters to envelop themselves in. Other than the lack of someone being murdered, I felt as if I was on the tip of my toes the entire time. I was tense while I was reading this, but it was that wonderful tension that forced me to continue until the end.
June 2, 2021
“We trace a life by it’s scars, as a tree by it’s rings.” – Mary Roberta Rinehart
The pre–World War One city of Vienna, Austria was considered “THE PLACE” for a budding violin talent who had their sights set firmly on a career as a concert soloist. Based on that criteria, American violinist Harmony Wells was certain that she was in the right place at the right time in her early career.
But the truth was more complicated than that.
Harmony found herself confronted with unforeseen circumstances, which forced her into making unconventional life choices. She was running out of funds and in a prohibitively expensive city such as Vienna, this was a rather unfortunate position for someone so young and poor to find themselves in.
The rubber meets the road when Harmony is reaching the end of her savings and is left with a choice of either using the remainder of her letter of credit to pay for passage back to America where she would live a simple, predictable life with her married sister, and would be left with only one career opportunity…teaching violin lessons.
That was the safer route, but is that what she really wanted for her future? The answer to that was simple, and much more difficult at the same time.
Her other option was to finish under the master’s teaching, and later to be presented, as he had promised, at a special concert at a prestigious Vienna concert hall. Following this, she imagined fame and fortune.
She decided, right there and then that she would stay in Vienna and pursue her dreams, no matter what the cost.
After all, she reasoned to herself, she could shore up her funds by teaching English. The Viennese loved English. This was something she could do on the side and still have the time to practice her violin.
Decision made; she knew that the next step was to seek more affordable accommodations as every dollar had to be stretched as far as possible. This search for a new place to stay eventually led her to the old mansion on the “Street of Seven Stars.”
She soon finds herself caught up in the emotions of joining what turns out to be a sentimental and impassioned household. Also, it is an unconventional living arrangement...considered scandalous in polite society at the time. A single young woman living with a single, slightly older male physician, along with a second young woman still smarting from a bad brush with unrequited love. The motley crew is rounded out with the presence of a charming, but very ill, bed ridden boy.
It took me almost three weeks for me to read this relatively short book.
And the reason for this is that it was very “atmospherically dense.”
As I read, I found myself encountering a unbelievably altruistic physician, a murderous attack on a treacherous Serpentine Coast, a fingerless-gloved musician playing a grand piano in a freezing cold room, a sausage eating cat wrapped in oilcloth, a spirited beer-breathed argument over whether an opera note was A sharp or A natural, a kind-hearted sentry who entertains a sick boy as he marches the route of his post, willow-wand slim Austrian girls and a romantic spy who writes love sonnets in between penning reports for the Minister of War.
I luxuriated in the reading of this richly told story.
After all, rushing through it would’ve have been, as Mary Roberts Rinehart put it, “Like swallowing one’s cake…all in one bite.”
The pre–World War One city of Vienna, Austria was considered “THE PLACE” for a budding violin talent who had their sights set firmly on a career as a concert soloist. Based on that criteria, American violinist Harmony Wells was certain that she was in the right place at the right time in her early career.
But the truth was more complicated than that.
Harmony found herself confronted with unforeseen circumstances, which forced her into making unconventional life choices. She was running out of funds and in a prohibitively expensive city such as Vienna, this was a rather unfortunate position for someone so young and poor to find themselves in.
The rubber meets the road when Harmony is reaching the end of her savings and is left with a choice of either using the remainder of her letter of credit to pay for passage back to America where she would live a simple, predictable life with her married sister, and would be left with only one career opportunity…teaching violin lessons.
That was the safer route, but is that what she really wanted for her future? The answer to that was simple, and much more difficult at the same time.
Her other option was to finish under the master’s teaching, and later to be presented, as he had promised, at a special concert at a prestigious Vienna concert hall. Following this, she imagined fame and fortune.
She decided, right there and then that she would stay in Vienna and pursue her dreams, no matter what the cost.
After all, she reasoned to herself, she could shore up her funds by teaching English. The Viennese loved English. This was something she could do on the side and still have the time to practice her violin.
Decision made; she knew that the next step was to seek more affordable accommodations as every dollar had to be stretched as far as possible. This search for a new place to stay eventually led her to the old mansion on the “Street of Seven Stars.”
She soon finds herself caught up in the emotions of joining what turns out to be a sentimental and impassioned household. Also, it is an unconventional living arrangement...considered scandalous in polite society at the time. A single young woman living with a single, slightly older male physician, along with a second young woman still smarting from a bad brush with unrequited love. The motley crew is rounded out with the presence of a charming, but very ill, bed ridden boy.
It took me almost three weeks for me to read this relatively short book.
And the reason for this is that it was very “atmospherically dense.”
As I read, I found myself encountering a unbelievably altruistic physician, a murderous attack on a treacherous Serpentine Coast, a fingerless-gloved musician playing a grand piano in a freezing cold room, a sausage eating cat wrapped in oilcloth, a spirited beer-breathed argument over whether an opera note was A sharp or A natural, a kind-hearted sentry who entertains a sick boy as he marches the route of his post, willow-wand slim Austrian girls and a romantic spy who writes love sonnets in between penning reports for the Minister of War.
I luxuriated in the reading of this richly told story.
After all, rushing through it would’ve have been, as Mary Roberts Rinehart put it, “Like swallowing one’s cake…all in one bite.”
July 18, 2015
Rinehart, a nurse who married a doctor, does like to set her romances around medical professionals, doesn't she?
Anyway, this is one of her non-mysteries, here in pre-World War I Vienna. The main plot/romance between a budding violinist and a student doctor is OK, at best, but there are all sorts of supporting characters that make this worth reading - a dying boy, a guard, a student's mistress, a Bulgarian spy, a female doctor beginning her spinsterhood...
There is one distinctly false step at the end , and, as said previously, the main plot isn't much, but I'm still rounding this up. Blame the guard.(*)
3.5/5. Available on Gutenberg.
(*) And my current hormonal balance, which is making me wallow in the sentimental. I'm much more hard-edged when away from newborns.
Anyway, this is one of her non-mysteries, here in pre-World War I Vienna. The main plot/romance between a budding violinist and a student doctor is OK, at best, but there are all sorts of supporting characters that make this worth reading - a dying boy, a guard, a student's mistress, a Bulgarian spy, a female doctor beginning her spinsterhood...
There is one distinctly false step at the end , and, as said previously, the main plot isn't much, but I'm still rounding this up. Blame the guard.(*)
3.5/5. Available on Gutenberg.
(*) And my current hormonal balance, which is making me wallow in the sentimental. I'm much more hard-edged when away from newborns.
October 22, 2013
This is one of Mary Roberts Rinehart's pre-World War I romance novels. I've come to the conclusion that she could write anything she put her mind to--she wrote great mysteries, hysterically funny screwball comedies, dramas, social commentary, romances, an amazing book of war correspondent observations, novels, plays, short stories--I think she practically singlehandedly started her sons' publishing business by providing them with so much material to publish.
This novel is set in Vienna, Austria, a winter or two before the First World War broke out. It was published in September 1914, just as the war started, so dating it to the winter before is pretty reasonable. There are background indications throughout the novel that war is coming--troops everywhere, sentries, mentions of different European governments engaging in arming for conflict, a Bulgarian spy with carrier pigeons--and these flavor the setting.
By this time Vienna had been THE destination for serious medical students and had hosted art and music students for over 100 years. Two such students are Americans Harmony Wells, studying violin, and Peter Byrne, a doctor wanting to do advanced surgical training. Their story forms the central plot of the novel, but there are numerous interesting subplots, and the complications are about as daunting as the Alps Peter goes to visit.
The social mores at the heart of the conflict are clearly outlined. At that time, the double standard of sexual behavior was in full force, in that men were relatively free to behave as they wanted, but women could and did lose their reputation for virtue for as little an action as being seen in the wrong place, however innocent in reality.
This novel uses foils to show the changing attitudes of people toward sexual freedom or constraint. On one end of the scale are the very proper Boyers who ironically rent the apartment of the couple on the opposite end of the scale: an American man, Wallace Stewart, living with a young Austrian woman, Marie, who is described in pejorative terms. In the middle are Peter Byrnes and Harmony Wells.
The ending image is military--a soldier uncovers his head as other soldiers take their prisoner to his execution, an interesting choice for a romance novel, but it is perhaps a subtle symbol of the central theme.
This novel is set in Vienna, Austria, a winter or two before the First World War broke out. It was published in September 1914, just as the war started, so dating it to the winter before is pretty reasonable. There are background indications throughout the novel that war is coming--troops everywhere, sentries, mentions of different European governments engaging in arming for conflict, a Bulgarian spy with carrier pigeons--and these flavor the setting.
By this time Vienna had been THE destination for serious medical students and had hosted art and music students for over 100 years. Two such students are Americans Harmony Wells, studying violin, and Peter Byrne, a doctor wanting to do advanced surgical training. Their story forms the central plot of the novel, but there are numerous interesting subplots, and the complications are about as daunting as the Alps Peter goes to visit.
The social mores at the heart of the conflict are clearly outlined. At that time, the double standard of sexual behavior was in full force, in that men were relatively free to behave as they wanted, but women could and did lose their reputation for virtue for as little an action as being seen in the wrong place, however innocent in reality.
This novel uses foils to show the changing attitudes of people toward sexual freedom or constraint. On one end of the scale are the very proper Boyers who ironically rent the apartment of the couple on the opposite end of the scale: an American man, Wallace Stewart, living with a young Austrian woman, Marie, who is described in pejorative terms. In the middle are Peter Byrnes and Harmony Wells.
The ending image is military--a soldier uncovers his head as other soldiers take their prisoner to his execution, an interesting choice for a romance novel, but it is perhaps a subtle symbol of the central theme.
October 14, 2009
Of course it's odd to keep filing these books as "historical," since they were contemporary when they were written -- at least for the most part -- but I think that's part of their appeal for me now.
This is a sweet romance; while there are plenty of the typical plot twists to keep the characters apart, somehow they don't seem nearly so contrived as they often do in modern stories. Maybe because, at the time, they weren't?
A nice little story to read at bedtime and while in the bath, if you'd like to think of days gone by and so on and so forth.
This is a sweet romance; while there are plenty of the typical plot twists to keep the characters apart, somehow they don't seem nearly so contrived as they often do in modern stories. Maybe because, at the time, they weren't?
A nice little story to read at bedtime and while in the bath, if you'd like to think of days gone by and so on and so forth.
September 11, 2019
I was hoping for a mystery at least or a ghost story at best but this is neither. It is a too long melodrama, complete with poor but goodhearted lovers who are kept apart by every possible real and imagined dilemma, including a dying but oh-so-inspiring child. When I finally understood the direction of the story I thought about not finishing and I assumed it deserved no more than 2 stars. But then I realized I was rather fond of the Dudley Do-Right character and his lovely and angelic Nell (here named Harmony which is even more perfect). Once I accepted the story for what it is I rather enjoyed it.
January 14, 2010
There is certainly a lot of character development here.
The book seems to be about an American girl named Harmony who seeks to make her fortune as a musician, in Germany. She meets a guy (Peter) who takes it upon himself to protect her (whether or not she wants it). However, she wishes to be independent and to continue in her career efforts rather than marry.
Harmony seems to be well-established (brought up) in the blooming culture of women being strong, self-sufficient, equal, etc. (as well as liberally minded) and seems to take it for granted that anyone else might think otherwise. I hadn’t realized that such a culture existed during that time period—so much so that she could take it for granted, anyhow, without even realizing the opposition.
The characters are confronted with some moral issues, but if they offend you, the end part of the book probably won’t. I mean, Harmony and Peter end up both living in the same place, along with a doctor lady and an orphan child in Peter's care. This is not an abnormal living arrangement in Harmony's culture, but it is offensive in the culture of those who would be her references (and Peter understands this), and so she has a lot of trouble because of this, even though she and Peter don’t seem to think they love each other much of the time (and even though the doctor is there with them). Ultimately, Harmony leaves and goes out on her own (without telling Peter where she is going). She comes back just before the sick orphan child dies.
It gets to where Harmony feels that Peter proposes to her every time things go wrong, as if it will make everything better. (Actually, that starts very early on).
Anyway, Harmony doesn’t want to marry Peter since she wants to pursue her career *and* because she doesn’t think she loves him (she thinks he just wants to protect her out of pity or something)—and she wants him to pursue his career instead. However, through their character development they finally learn some things and decide to marry (at the very end is when they come to this conclusion).
Anyway, if they were that set on their careers, I don’t see why they shouldn’t have just gotten married and both continued as they were, without being miserable about each other (except with more romance after), unless they were expecting to have children immediately—but they never even mentioned children (so I’m guessing they just were brought up in a culture where you had to do certain things when you got married, no questions asked). It seemed like they thought they had to be comfortably settled to get married—like all married people were well off and had leisure to sit around idly on expensive furniture all day or something. Did one exist?
One thing I didn't quite understand was why they thought of themselves as lonely even when they were with each other all the time. I don’t equate desire for sex (or even desire for romance) with loneliness, personally, although it can certainly coincide in a powerful way. It’s not at all the same thing, although both are quite severe, even apart. Sure there might be immensely strong desire for it, but that’s hardly the same thing as loneliness. I’m guessing the characters hardly knew what true loneliness was, separate from sexual longings—either that, or it just wasn’t something they considered or experienced much.
Anyway, it’s a wild book. The writing style is nice—not the easiest to follow, but fairly relaxing. The narration was great.
The book seems to be about an American girl named Harmony who seeks to make her fortune as a musician, in Germany. She meets a guy (Peter) who takes it upon himself to protect her (whether or not she wants it). However, she wishes to be independent and to continue in her career efforts rather than marry.
Harmony seems to be well-established (brought up) in the blooming culture of women being strong, self-sufficient, equal, etc. (as well as liberally minded) and seems to take it for granted that anyone else might think otherwise. I hadn’t realized that such a culture existed during that time period—so much so that she could take it for granted, anyhow, without even realizing the opposition.
The characters are confronted with some moral issues, but if they offend you, the end part of the book probably won’t. I mean, Harmony and Peter end up both living in the same place, along with a doctor lady and an orphan child in Peter's care. This is not an abnormal living arrangement in Harmony's culture, but it is offensive in the culture of those who would be her references (and Peter understands this), and so she has a lot of trouble because of this, even though she and Peter don’t seem to think they love each other much of the time (and even though the doctor is there with them). Ultimately, Harmony leaves and goes out on her own (without telling Peter where she is going). She comes back just before the sick orphan child dies.
It gets to where Harmony feels that Peter proposes to her every time things go wrong, as if it will make everything better. (Actually, that starts very early on).
Anyway, Harmony doesn’t want to marry Peter since she wants to pursue her career *and* because she doesn’t think she loves him (she thinks he just wants to protect her out of pity or something)—and she wants him to pursue his career instead. However, through their character development they finally learn some things and decide to marry (at the very end is when they come to this conclusion).
Anyway, if they were that set on their careers, I don’t see why they shouldn’t have just gotten married and both continued as they were, without being miserable about each other (except with more romance after), unless they were expecting to have children immediately—but they never even mentioned children (so I’m guessing they just were brought up in a culture where you had to do certain things when you got married, no questions asked). It seemed like they thought they had to be comfortably settled to get married—like all married people were well off and had leisure to sit around idly on expensive furniture all day or something. Did one exist?
One thing I didn't quite understand was why they thought of themselves as lonely even when they were with each other all the time. I don’t equate desire for sex (or even desire for romance) with loneliness, personally, although it can certainly coincide in a powerful way. It’s not at all the same thing, although both are quite severe, even apart. Sure there might be immensely strong desire for it, but that’s hardly the same thing as loneliness. I’m guessing the characters hardly knew what true loneliness was, separate from sexual longings—either that, or it just wasn’t something they considered or experienced much.
Anyway, it’s a wild book. The writing style is nice—not the easiest to follow, but fairly relaxing. The narration was great.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 26, 2015
Harmony Wells is a struggling American studying music all alone in pre-WWI Vienna, Peter Byrne a young doctor in similar circumstances. He vows to look after her, out of which an awkward relationship and romance begins to blossom.
This novel was far from what I expected from the 'American Agatha Christie'. The cover promises a 'novel of romance and suspense', but I'm not sure it was much of either. I know that Christie wrote a few (unheralded) romances too, but I doubt they were quite like this one.
Not that Harmony and Peter don't have a romance of sorts, they do, with all that ultimately entails, it's just that there wasn't anything particularly romantic about the pair of them. She's nice but dull, he's saintly yet shabby.
There are some typically melodramatic trimmings included with which to bring them together - their desperate poverty, a seriously ill boy named Jimmy who they both care for - but, like Peter's appearance, theirs is a rather shabby affair.
As for the suspense, I couldn't detect any. Don't be fooled into thinking that, despite the author, The Street of Seven Stars is in any way a mystery story. If it was supposed to be, rather, a gothic romance, then it's an unusually lukewarm one.
And yet it's not badly written, the overall tone never quite degenerated into a mushy melodrama and there were some unexpectedly gritty insights into the underside of a Vienna preparing for war. The writer certainly knew her location intimately.
But in the end, hampered with uninteresting leads and being neither really one thing nor the other, it became merely meandering.
This novel was far from what I expected from the 'American Agatha Christie'. The cover promises a 'novel of romance and suspense', but I'm not sure it was much of either. I know that Christie wrote a few (unheralded) romances too, but I doubt they were quite like this one.
Not that Harmony and Peter don't have a romance of sorts, they do, with all that ultimately entails, it's just that there wasn't anything particularly romantic about the pair of them. She's nice but dull, he's saintly yet shabby.
There are some typically melodramatic trimmings included with which to bring them together - their desperate poverty, a seriously ill boy named Jimmy who they both care for - but, like Peter's appearance, theirs is a rather shabby affair.
As for the suspense, I couldn't detect any. Don't be fooled into thinking that, despite the author, The Street of Seven Stars is in any way a mystery story. If it was supposed to be, rather, a gothic romance, then it's an unusually lukewarm one.
And yet it's not badly written, the overall tone never quite degenerated into a mushy melodrama and there were some unexpectedly gritty insights into the underside of a Vienna preparing for war. The writer certainly knew her location intimately.
But in the end, hampered with uninteresting leads and being neither really one thing nor the other, it became merely meandering.
July 6, 2010
I can only blame myself for not particularly enjoying this book. Having read Rinehart’s ‘The Circular Staircase’ and knowing her to be called the American Agatha Christie, I assume all her novels were the same detective/mystery genre. Wrong! I managed to pick one an anomaly of the bunch and only took the time to glance at blurb rather than read it, doing so may have caused me to realise beforehand and avoid disappointment! Simply put, this story wasn’t for me, I found it quite boring. The irony is that I chose it because I felt I hadn’t read a truly decent book recently and could rely on this author to provide one!
I didn’t warm to the characters, finding the first of the main ones feeble and the second saintly to the point it became sickly.
The ending was inevitable the whole way through, however (being perhaps half asleep!) I didn’t see the way in which it would come to be encouraged, so that at least was something.
I will definitely be reading another Mary Roberts Rinehart, but this time I will make sure it’s of the right genre!
I didn’t warm to the characters, finding the first of the main ones feeble and the second saintly to the point it became sickly.
The ending was inevitable the whole way through, however (being perhaps half asleep!) I didn’t see the way in which it would come to be encouraged, so that at least was something.
I will definitely be reading another Mary Roberts Rinehart, but this time I will make sure it’s of the right genre!
May 19, 2015
The only Rinehart to disappoint me. The pivot in the story is a dying boy named Jimmy, abandoned by his mother who preferred a career in show biz to the responsibility of being a mother. A talented young violinist is advised by the mother, after Jimmy dies, that being a wife and mother is the only truly fulfilling career for a woman. And this comes from Mary Roberts Rinehart who had a fabulous career as a nurse and writer, and was also a wife and mother! Many of her books are 5 stars - but NOT this one!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 28, 2020
If I had read this book in 1914, I would have loved it. I might have found it charming when I was a teenager, and there is still a certain charm to Rinehart’s attempts at modernity and her overblown passionate speeches.But its age shows so badly now. Its themes of good girls versus bad ones, good men versus bad ones, the scorn of older women who jump to conclusions, are so hard to read now. It’s a book of its time, but I’m not a reader of that time.
July 6, 2010
This book was barely tolerable. Nothing happened.
July 11, 2025
Owned copy, 1964 paperback reprint.
Very boring story of people who would do almost anything to further the careers about which they felt so passionately. The one thing they wouldn't do, however, was stand up to the hypocrisy of their time.
I have to say I had no respect for Harmony at all on that score. She was ultimately selfish and self-destructive at the same time. All she seemed to care about was becoming a concert violinist, but so many things she did actively worked against her fulfilling that dream.
What little "intrigue" was involved in the plot was never fully explained. I suppose everyone reading in 1914 -- when the book was first published -- was fully cognizant of the political issues in Europe at the time, and especially in Vienna, but even a tiny bit of background would have been nice, or even a Foreword from the 1964 publisher. Helen MacInnes's introduction to her Above Suspicion worked well that way.
The Street of Seven Stars was unrelentingly depressing. The poverty of the protagonist characters, Harmony Wells and Dr. Peter Byrne, was bad enough. The cruelty of virtually everyone they came in contact with was beyond exasperating. And the refusal on the part of Harmony and Peter to recognize and/or admit to their emotions was more absurd than that in any romance novel of fifty to a hundred years later.
Then to have both of them basically give up on their cherished dream! Yikes! I suppose Peter will go back to Cleveland or wherever it was and become a kindly old family G.P. like Archibald Graham, and Harmony will wear blue hats like Alicia. Ugh. Shades of You've Got Mail, a movie I hated like few others.
I won't even comment on the racism except to say, "Be prepared."
This was, sadly, my introduction to Mary Roberts Rinehart. I'll try at least another, more representative sample later, but this was really a waste of my time.
Very boring story of people who would do almost anything to further the careers about which they felt so passionately. The one thing they wouldn't do, however, was stand up to the hypocrisy of their time.
I have to say I had no respect for Harmony at all on that score. She was ultimately selfish and self-destructive at the same time. All she seemed to care about was becoming a concert violinist, but so many things she did actively worked against her fulfilling that dream.
What little "intrigue" was involved in the plot was never fully explained. I suppose everyone reading in 1914 -- when the book was first published -- was fully cognizant of the political issues in Europe at the time, and especially in Vienna, but even a tiny bit of background would have been nice, or even a Foreword from the 1964 publisher. Helen MacInnes's introduction to her Above Suspicion worked well that way.
The Street of Seven Stars was unrelentingly depressing. The poverty of the protagonist characters, Harmony Wells and Dr. Peter Byrne, was bad enough. The cruelty of virtually everyone they came in contact with was beyond exasperating. And the refusal on the part of Harmony and Peter to recognize and/or admit to their emotions was more absurd than that in any romance novel of fifty to a hundred years later.
Then to have both of them basically give up on their cherished dream! Yikes! I suppose Peter will go back to Cleveland or wherever it was and become a kindly old family G.P. like Archibald Graham, and Harmony will wear blue hats like Alicia. Ugh. Shades of You've Got Mail, a movie I hated like few others.
I won't even comment on the racism except to say, "Be prepared."
This was, sadly, my introduction to Mary Roberts Rinehart. I'll try at least another, more representative sample later, but this was really a waste of my time.
December 29, 2017
Well written, and beautiful description! The characters were unique and interesting, and the choice between a career and love was an interesting problem for them to face. The romance was sweet, and there was an interesting foil relationship that was completely opposite the main characters'.
The pace was a little slow. The cover promised "a novel of romance and intrigue," but the story was a little light on intrigue. There was a subplot about a spy/war, but it didn't come into the story much.
The plot was a little stressful due to their lack of funds, which put them in danger of starving and destitution. I understand the pressure of trying to build a career with only a little funds to fall back on, so that may be why it cut so close.
Overall, a story I would read again someday, but not necessarily one I need to own.
The pace was a little slow. The cover promised "a novel of romance and intrigue," but the story was a little light on intrigue. There was a subplot about a spy/war, but it didn't come into the story much.
The plot was a little stressful due to their lack of funds, which put them in danger of starving and destitution. I understand the pressure of trying to build a career with only a little funds to fall back on, so that may be why it cut so close.
Overall, a story I would read again someday, but not necessarily one I need to own.
January 26, 2021
I have come to learn that every Rinehart book is different. So as I got into this story I soon realized that this was no mystery thriller. And having read her other non-mystery writings and having liked them very much, I carried on with this book too with a lot of expectations. I was not disappointed. There is a mild romance between the protagonists Harmony and Peter but that somehow did not seem central to the narrative. All the interweaving stories were about priorities and life choices in pre-WW1 Vienna. The money crunch before war, the tense political situation in Central Europe, the plight of American students there were so real that the reader is dragged into the feelings and emotions experienced by all the several characters in the book. The cadence was gentle but the impact was forceful. A mild, yet powerful story.
March 25, 2025
The description of this book on my library's site made it seem like it would be a mystery novel, but it's actually a novel with no mystery. I did really enjoy the different characters and the way they fell into difficulty and emerged out the other side. Very enjoyable read.
August 23, 2019
What a wonderful story. Very much a melodrama, but the characters are written so that they compel you to learn their whole story and adventures.
The narrator on this audio book helped to keep the atmosphere and to continue to draw you along into the next part of the book. And the next and next.
I had not read a book set in Vienna before the first war. Nor had I known about the Americans who set about to follow hopeful careers by training in medicine or in music. So the descriptions of the city and way of life, even the idea of an American community, were fascinating to learn about.
I would definitely recommend reading the book or indeed listening to it. It will tug at your heart strings, though, so have some hankies at hand.
The narrator on this audio book helped to keep the atmosphere and to continue to draw you along into the next part of the book. And the next and next.
I had not read a book set in Vienna before the first war. Nor had I known about the Americans who set about to follow hopeful careers by training in medicine or in music. So the descriptions of the city and way of life, even the idea of an American community, were fascinating to learn about.
I would definitely recommend reading the book or indeed listening to it. It will tug at your heart strings, though, so have some hankies at hand.
April 19, 2020
2.5 stars
September 23, 2020
slow start and difficult to follow but I enjoyed the book and will read more Mary Roberts Rinehart
May 27, 2023
beautifuly written
November 27, 2023
Yep, I got sucked into a book over 100 years old, yelling at the protagonist to come to his senses about the girl.
November 12, 2011
A novel by Mary Roberts Rinehart. Peter Bryne, a young doctor, finds Harmony Wells, a young musician, living alone in Austria and tries to make her life better for her. What starts out as altruism quickly turns into something deeper. He proposes to Harmony twice, but each time is rejected because Harmony feels he is only doing so out of compassion, and because she thinks marriage would be the end of her career as a musician. Eventually, Harmony leaves Peter and disappears into the city hoping to find her career and be less dependent on Peter. Over a series of events, she finally realizes that Peter loves her and that it would be stupid to throw a good man's love away for the sake of her career. By the end of the book, it was about time.
April 20, 2015
A Romance, Not a Mystery
Maybe I should've known this, but this book is not a mystery! I didn't know Rinehart wrote non-mystery books so I kept waiting for what never came. This is a romance - and a clean one (no sex scenes, hallelujah!) ... even a slightly realistic one as it shows how choices can have positive and negative impact. I also liked the message at the end of the novel. ... but the book itself was kindof tedious and painful. I honestly wouldn't have finished the book if I had realized it was a romance & not a mystery before getting halfway in. It just wasn't a gripping story.
Maybe I should've known this, but this book is not a mystery! I didn't know Rinehart wrote non-mystery books so I kept waiting for what never came. This is a romance - and a clean one (no sex scenes, hallelujah!) ... even a slightly realistic one as it shows how choices can have positive and negative impact. I also liked the message at the end of the novel. ... but the book itself was kindof tedious and painful. I honestly wouldn't have finished the book if I had realized it was a romance & not a mystery before getting halfway in. It just wasn't a gripping story.
June 13, 2009
It is a story of growing love between a poor music student Harmony and doctor Peter Byrne. Since her friends have left Vienna to return to America, Scatch to marry her sweathart, and the big soprano because she isn't good enough, Harmony has a home problem. She has to leave their apartment and search for a cheap room. Finally she finds an affordable room in pension Schwarz, where she meets Peter and dr Anna Gates.
Together they decide to take an apartment and all is well to the moment Anna has to go back to America.
It's an easy read and I liked the story.
Together they decide to take an apartment and all is well to the moment Anna has to go back to America.
It's an easy read and I liked the story.
October 10, 2015
Another fortuitous find on Librivox of an engaging early 20th-century novel whose author I hadn't heard of before. The plot is more tightly woven and focused than you may realize in the early chapters. I didn't catch on to one of the main points of where it was going till about 2/3 of the way through, but I was entertained throughout, so it was worth waiting for. Beautiful reading by Librivox volunteer "MaryAnn," whose voice and rendering seem to fit the story just right.
February 20, 2011
I'm reading my way (very selectively) through Project Gutenberg's Magic Catalog of free ebooks, which is where I found this one. When I was reading it I couldn't put it down. After I'd finished, though, I recognized how melodramatic it was, and how much better I would have liked it if the heroine had been the feisty, cynical spinster doctor instead of the wishy-washy young violinist.
September 30, 2013
Very sweet story (with some tearkjerker parts too) about 3 people in pre WW1 Austria that are brought together under tough circumstances, they all decide to share an apartment to save money. The apt is on a street called The Street of 7 Stars. This book tells the story of each of the three characters with other characters thrown into the mix here and there.
May 19, 2016
This is a romance novel, not a mystery. It is set in Vienna just before the first World War. The main characters are a man who is studying to be a doctor and a girl who is studying violin. They are both determined to focus on their careers but find many distractions and obstructions in their paths. It is a beautiful little period piece.
June 23, 2011
Rather boring story about Harmony, who wants to be a musician and is prepared to starve to learn her craft from a European master(!) and a noble but poor doctor who is doing the same thing to learn from a European doctor. Ends happily ever after, of course. Don't bother.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews