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James Cain Biography

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About 6 pages (1,868 words)
James M. Cain Summary

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Name: James Cain
Birth Date: July 1, 1892
Death Date: October 27, 1977
Place of Birth: Annapolis, Maryland, United States of America
Place of Death: University Park, Maryland, United States of America
Nationality: American
Gender: Male
Occupations: journalist, writer

Encyclopedia of World Biography on James Cain

Although he disliked the title, James M. Cain (1892-1977) is considered one of the preeminent "hard-boiled" crime writers of the 1930s and 1940s along with Dashiell Hammett, Horace McCoy, and Raymond Chandler. His explicit, stark style both startled and enthralled his readers, and his recurring themes of sex, violence, and greed brought controversy to his writing. Cain published his first and most popular novel, The Postman Always Rings Twice, in 1934.

James Mallahan Cain was born on July 1, 1892, in Annapolis, Maryland. His father, James William Cain, was an English professor who taught at St. John's College in Annapolis and was president of Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland. His mother, Rose Mallahan, was a professional opera singer. Cain's parents, both of Irish descent, were Catholic, and Cain was baptized in the Catholic Church. At 13 years of age, he abandoned the church and never returned.

Cain attended Washington College and graduated in 1910 at the age of 17.

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    James Cain from Encyclopedia of World Biography. ©2005-2006 Thomson Gale, a part of the Thomson Corporation. All rights reserved.

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