Tish Plays the Game

Tish #4

by Mary Roberts Rinehart

When a friend comes to her with a problem, Tish springs into action—no matter how much trouble it’s going to cause


In the title tale of this collection by Mary Roberts Rinehart, after a long, chaotic life, Tish Carberry retires to her apartment, hoping for a bit of peace and quiet. But why, her friends wonder, does it sound like someone’s practicing riflery in her living room? No one would be surprised if Tish had converted her parlor into a shooting gallery, but her friends suspect something far more She may be playing golf. Tish took an interest in the game last summer when she met a befuddled young man whose beloved was too preoccupied with the sport to even glance in his direction. Soon afterward, a mysterious old woman appeared to challenge the girl—and since then, Tish has never been quite the same.


Here are five of Rinehart’s famous Tish stories—rollicking tales of madcap humor starring one of the most fascinating older women in literary history.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Short Stories, Humor

208 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1926

About the author

Mysteries 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...

Reviews

[Lynn]

I fell in love with this author because of the "Tish" stories, but disappointingly, most of her other books are mysteries and very similar to each other. (The main character is usually the same spunky single woman, presumably the author loosely disguised.) The three "old" ladies (Tish and her two friends, the narrator and someone I think is named Aggie) probably aren't even that old. They call themselves old, but they certainly get around. They are three middle-aged spinsters who always get wrapped up in Tish's kooky schemes. I imagine Tish as an officious, less-intellectual Auntie Mame. In fact, Tish has a nephew who tries half-heartedly to discourage her weird projects, but she is predictably irrepressible.

I think the writer has to be cut some slack, because they are written almost a hundred years ago. At a certain time, if you wanted to write about a bunch of women having adventures, it made it more acceptable to make them silly spinsters. These characters are so stupid that they actually don't know that they are interacting with bootleggers, kidnappers, mobsters, etc. The narrator gives it away to the reader what is really going on, without the characters every realizing what a "close shave" they just had. It comes off condescending and sexist now, but the stories are REALLY funny. Sometimes, I think there some truth in the stereotypes, that maybe these characters only do get away with what they do because they are so bumbling, i.e. non-threatening.

I got sucked in by picking up an anthology and reading the first sentence of a random chapter. The stories all start something like this: "The second time Tish set the house on fire, I couldn't have prevented her because I was busy making sandwiches for the gymnasts. Well, we found out later they weren't really gymnasts, but that's another story." I made that up, but it's EXACTLY that kooky.

star, star, star, star, star and a half.

[Daniel]

This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 4.0 of 5

I don't know what I was expecting with this book (well ... maybe I do) but this definitely wasn't it.
While I have never read a book by Mary Roberts Rinehart prior to this, it was my understanding that she was a mystery writer, so imagine my surprise at this collection of humorous short stories!

The stories center around a middle-aged spinster woman named Letitia ("Tish") Carberry. I say 'middle aged' even though she and her friends call themselves 'old.' The stories are narrator/described by one of Tish's friends, Lizzie.

Tish is one of those spunky older women who is seemingly oblivious to danger, gets into all sorts of humorous, sticky situations, and manages to come through in the end, having achieved her goal - whatever that might be. Everything will work out for Tish and her friends, but there will be some bumps and laughs along the way. The friend, Aggie, seems to come away bearing the brunt of Tish's escapades.

The story that stands out the most to me (not necessarily for being the best, but the most outlandish, is "The Treasure Hunt." Here Tish has a bee in her bonnet about being the first to solve a series of clues. She's pretty smart and soon everyone else in the treasure hunt is following Tish, knowing that she'll lead the way to the next clue. But along the way she has a run in with the local constabulary who threaten to put her in jail ... although that's precisely where she wants to go because she thinks it will lead her to the solution of the treasure hunt.

I actually quite enjoyed these stories (once I got over my expectation that they were going to be mysteries) and would definitely read more. They remind me of a cross between the Marx Brothers and Lucille Ball. The style reminds me of P.G. Wodehouse, but with spinster ladies in stead of a crusty butler.

This book contains the following:

"Tish Plays the Game"
"The Baby Blimp"
"Hijack and the Game"
"The Treasure Hunt"
"The Gray Goose"
Looking for a good book? Tish Plays the Game by Mary Roberts Rinehart, written nearly 100 years ago, is still humorous fiction worth reading.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

[Mirachil27]

Laughed Until Dizzy

I had never heard of Mary Roberts Rinehart or Tish Carberry, but after reading Tish Plays the Game, I will get to know them both well, for I will actively seek out other Tish books. These stories are hilarious. At many points I laughed so hard I got dizzy from lack of oxygen! Even now as I recall certain scenes, I can't help giggling.

Written in 1926, these are not modern stories, but the happenings are as fresh as the day they were conceived. Just imagine the Three Stooges or the Marx Brothers in the bodies of maiden aunts of a certain age. Tish is the brains of the operation, Lizzie narrates the escapades, and Aggie, poor dear, seems to always be on the receiving end of one physical calamity or other. When you are in need of some comic therapy, reach for Tish. You won't be sorry!

[Linda Brue]

This was only the short story, not the book of shorts with the same name.

[Lise Spectre]

Old-fashioned stories. I liked them

[Judy]

I wanted to like this book more than I did.

[Jody]

Not my favorite Tish book, but I love all things Tish.

[Margaret]

Amazing and quirky so many things about this book of stories is outdated but timeless. I imagine Mary Roberts Rinehart remains the queen. Of the mystery and other anomalies.

[Anne Patkau]

3-4*. Lizzie tells, first of Tish matchmaker tragedy to golfer and non. I guess what boats carry and name who rents to gals near Prohibition border. Next, Tish drives on hunt after rhymed clues through outlandish trials. Last, Tish tries to catch out 'sick' wife.Typo Gray..p42 sacred IS scared

[Linda Harris]

If Lucy Ricardo were a spinster geezerette, she would have been Tish. All of this author's Tish books are a delight. If laughter is the best medicine, Tish shoudl be in every doctor's bag.

[Jenn Estepp]

I still find Tish a bit overbearing and know-it-all at times, but I think overall this was more amusing than others I've read