confession to a member of his own staff. Cora, believing her confession made, returns to prison. Though Cora would be sure to learn of the trickery, a few valuable hours are gained. The lawyer uses the time to manipulate the insurance companies financially interested in the trial to have their private detective recant his testimony, which was the final remaining weapon in the prosecution's arsenal. The state is forced to grant Cora a plea agreement under which she is given a suspended sentence and no jail time. After the trial, Cora's diner begins to boom, but her relationship with Frank worsens. While Cora is attending her mother's funeral, Frank has an affair with a wild cat tamer. Upon returning home, Cora tells him that she is pregnant. She is also angered when she finds out about his affair. Frank and Cora eventually reconcile, get married and plan a happy future and a family. Then Cora is killed in a car crash while Frank is driving. The book ends with Frank, from death row, summarizing the events that followed, explaining that he was wrongly convicted of murdering Cora. The text, he hopes, will be published after his execution. Publication history After failing as a scriptwriter for Paramount and Columbia studios in 1932, Cain resumed his efforts to write a longer work of fiction. His short story "The Baby in the Icebox" had impressed Alfred A. Knopf publishers, and with their encouragement and that of playwright Vincent Lawrence, Cain began to write a novel in March 1933. Completed in September, the manuscript was initially turned down by both Knopf and Macmillan. Walter Lippman, who Cain had served under as a journalist at the New York World, interceded on his behalf and convinced Alfred Knopf to acquire the story. Originally titled Bar-B-Que, the work appeared as The Postman Always Rings Twice in early 1934. Publisher Knopf detested both the originally proposed title Bar-B-Que, as well as The Postman Always Rings Twice. A compromise title "For Love or Money" was proposed by Knopf. Cain and Lawrence insisted that the metaphor of a mail carrier as the agent of fate was essential and prevailed in the title dispute. [See below: Origins of the title]. Critical response In 1934, the 42-year-old Cain was a successful journalist, known primarily for his satiric dialogues and sketches published in American Mercury and as a human interest columnist for New