Past All Dishonor
Published on 21. May 2024
233 pages
978-1-5040-9473-3 (ISBN)
Description
A naïve young man follows a fallen woman to a Nevada mining town and risks his life to win her: "Entertaining... Cain [has a] flair for realistic detail." -
The New York Times
Early in the Civil War, the Confederacy sends Roger Duval to Sacramento to keep an eye on the situation in California in hopes of turning the Western territory toward the Southern cause. It's a plush assignment, well out of the line of fire, but he hasn't been there long before he comes into mortal danger.Duval nearly drowns in the Sacramento River but is saved by Morina, a quick-witted sex worker, who tosses him a rope. Suffocated by instant, irresistible love, Roger follows Morina to Virginia City, Nevada. For the silver miners, gamblers, and gunfighters who populate this hardscrabble town, her price is negotiable. But for a man in love, she charges a thousand dollars. Roger will sacrifice body, mind, and soul to get that money-but will any sacrifice be enough to make her love him?
"A classic." - Newsweek
"[Cain is] one of the greats of American noir." - The Guardian
Early in the Civil War, the Confederacy sends Roger Duval to Sacramento to keep an eye on the situation in California in hopes of turning the Western territory toward the Southern cause. It's a plush assignment, well out of the line of fire, but he hasn't been there long before he comes into mortal danger.Duval nearly drowns in the Sacramento River but is saved by Morina, a quick-witted sex worker, who tosses him a rope. Suffocated by instant, irresistible love, Roger follows Morina to Virginia City, Nevada. For the silver miners, gamblers, and gunfighters who populate this hardscrabble town, her price is negotiable. But for a man in love, she charges a thousand dollars. Roger will sacrifice body, mind, and soul to get that money-but will any sacrifice be enough to make her love him?
"A classic." - Newsweek
"[Cain is] one of the greats of American noir." - The Guardian
More details
Person
James M. Cain (1892-1977) was one of the most important authors in the history of crime fiction. Born in Maryland, he became a journalist after giving up on a childhood dream of singing opera. After two decades writing for newspapers in Baltimore, New York, and the army-and a brief stint as the managing editor of the
New Yorker-Cain moved to Hollywood in the early 1930s. While writing for the movies, he turned to fiction, penning the novella
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1934). This tightly wound tale of passion, murder, and greed became one of the most controversial bestsellers of its day, and remains one of the foremost examples of American noir writing. It set the tone for Cain's next few novels, including
Serenade (1937),
Mildred Pierce (1941),
Double Indemnity (1943), and
The Butterfly (1947). Several of his books became equally successful noir films, particularly the classic 1940s adaptations of
Mildred Pierce and
Double Indemnity. Cain moved back to Maryland in 1948. Though he wrote prolifically until his death, Cain remains most famous for his early work.
