Lurid crime tale from 1867. The influence of Edgar Allen Poe suffuses the whole story, and reads very similar to an EAP story, though the writing style is very different. Footnote states Chas Baudelaire translated Poe into French from 1848-65 (not the first translation but became the standard) and:"The American writer became even more popular in France than in his own country." Which brings us back to our country. Robin Buss, our translator, states in his intro the earliest English version of "TR" he knows of is an American edition from 1881, and the first UK ed was in 1886. James M. Cain was born in 1892 and graduated college in 1910. Like Chandler, he was more educated and had much superior literary background than most people writing in his field. He wrote the two all time greatest lethal-trio stories ever (ok that is just my opinion but if anyone knows a better one please let me know): "The Postman Always Rings Twice" (1934) and "Double Indemnity" (1936). Looking back on those two, JMC definitely seems to have known "TR". Buss writes in his intro: "One drawback is the relative poverty of the vocabulary which Zola has at his disposal to describe the psychological state of the three main protagonists..." and..."It is a vocabulary mainly drawn from the language of sensational fiction..." Later: "It stands, too, as a bridge between the Gothic novel and the modern psychological thriller..." Personally enjoyed "TR" on it's own terms and if you like this type of story, recommend you check it out. TPB

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