James M. Cain

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James M. Cain


Born
in Annapolis, Maryland, The United States
July 01, 1892

Died
October 27, 1977

Genre


James Mallahan Cain (July 1, 1892–October 27, 1977) was an American journalist and novelist. Although Cain himself vehemently opposed labeling, he is usually associated with the hard-boiled school of American crime fiction and seen as one of the creators of the "roman noir."

He was born into an Irish Catholic family in Annapolis, Maryland, the son of a prominent educator and an opera singer. He inherited his love for music from his mother, but his high hopes of starting a career as a singer himself were thwarted when she told him that his voice was not good enough.

After graduating from Washington College where his father, James W. Cain served as president, in 1910, he began working as a journalist for The Baltimore Sun.

He was drafted into th
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More books by James M. Cain…
Quotes by James M. Cain  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“If your writing doesn't keep you up at night, it won't keep anyone else up either”
James M. Cain

“Love, when you get fear in it, it's not love any more. It's hate.”
James M. Cain, The Postman Always Rings Twice

“You have to wait for your mind to catch up with whatever it is it’s working on; then you can write a novel.”
James M. Cain

Polls

December 2017 Short Story Poll

The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry, 32 pages or less, 1905
 
  58 votes, 17.7%

A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf, 112 pages, 1929
 
  57 votes, 17.4%

A Good Man Is Hard To Find by Flannery O'Connor, 24 pages or less, 1955
 
  34 votes, 10.4%

 
  33 votes, 10.1%

 
  32 votes, 9.8%

A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote, 48 pages or less, 1956
 
  27 votes, 8.2%

Nutcracker by E.T.A. Hoffmann, 120 pages, 1815
 
  25 votes, 7.6%

The Eyes by Edith Wharton, 48 pages, 1910
 
  17 votes, 5.2%

To Build a Fire by Jack London, 32 pages or less, 1903
 
  11 votes, 3.4%

The Lion in Winter by James Goldman, 60 pages, 1966
 
  11 votes, 3.4%

R.U.R. by Karel Čapek, 84 pages, 1920
 
  8 votes, 2.4%

 
  8 votes, 2.4%

Double Indemnity by James M. Cain, 115 pages,1936
 
  7 votes, 2.1%

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