A cool, cruel, rediscovered classic of American noir in which a ruthless conman who preys on the wealthy and the weak finally meets his match when he teams up with a beautiful female psychologist Soon to be a major motion picture, directed by Guillermo del Toro
Nightmare Alley was American writer William Lindsay Gresham's first book, and was a bestseller, subsequently adapted into a film in 1947. The novel was in part inspired by conversations Gresham had with a former sideshow employee whom he befriended while volunteering during the Spanish Civil War. Gresham followed Nightmare Alley with one further piece of fiction, and three works of non-fiction, but was unable to replicate the success of his debut. Gresham married three times, and his second wife, the poet and novelist Joy Davidman later (on her death bed) became the wife of British author C.S. Lewis. An early adopter of Scientology, which he later denounced, Gresham overcame his alcoholism via Alcoholics Anonymous but struggled with his mental health. Facing a diagnosis of terminal cancer, he committed suicide in 1962. In his pocket were found business cards reading, 'No Address. No Phone. No Business. No Money. Retired.'
More than just a steamy noir classic. As a portrait of the human
condition, Nightmare Alley is a creepy, all-too-harrowing
masterpiece * Washington Post *
Along with The Grapes of Wrath and They Shoot Horses,
Don't They?, this is a great American Depression-era novel.
Read and shudder. And relish * Guardian *
A brilliant and horrific book * The Times *
The 'nightmare' of the title rings true, for this delirious and
unstoppable novel ... inverts the American dream ... Never was noir
more autobiographical than here... Nightmare Alley remains a
masterpiece * Los Angeles Times *
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