The author looks at the master of the hard-boiled novel, James M. Cain, through six perspectives: the tough and proletarian writers; popular fiction writing as a career; writing for the movies and the adaptation of novels to film; the pure novel; the influence of American fiction on European fiction; and the aesthetics of popular culture. Through the perspective of the 'pure' novel, Madden provides a long overview of the characters, subjects, themes, and techniques of all Cain's 18 novels. With annotated bibliography and index.