&sq=&lang=&file=File:Serenade_(1937_novel)_James_M._Cain.jpg) Cover of the first edition | |
| Author | James M. Cain |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Hardboiled novel |
| Publisher | Alfred A. Knopf |
Publication date | 1937 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (hardcover and paperback) |
| ISBN | 0-679-72323-4 |
Serenade is a novel by James M. Cain published in 1938 by Alfred A. Knopf. and one of four Cain novels to feature opera as a plot device. [1] Loosely based on Bizet's Carmen, the story explores the sources of artistic development, in particular the role played by sexual orientation in the development of artistic talent.[2]
Regarded as one of his most significant works, Serenade has been called "Cain's finest sustained piece of writing."[3][4]
- ^ Hoopes ,1982 p. 317: Among his "most important works…" And p. 474: Knopf, which published Serenade considered it "a masterpiece."
Skenazy, 1989 p. 2: The other "opera" novels are Career in C Major (1938), Mildred Pierce (1941) and The Moth (1948). - ^ Skenazy, 1989 And pp. 55-58 on Cain's homophobia. And p. 55: "...Carmen…"
- ^ Skenazy, 1989 p. 53-54: "This short, intense novel is in many ways Cain's finest sustained piece of writing."
- ^ Hoopes ,1982 p. 317: Among his "most important works..."