The Cave Author:Robert Penn Warren The Cave is Robert Penn Warren's sixth novel. — the event around which this dramatic story is built takes place in Johnstown, Tennessee in the 1950s. A young man is believed to be trapped in a cave, and Johnstown becomes the center of national attention as television cameras, promoters and newscasters move in to exploit the attempt at rescue, and... more » thousands of spectators gather at the mouth of the cave, driven by the fascination of disaster and desire "to break out of the dark mystery which was themselves".« less