Nightmare Alley (novel)
Author | William Lindsay Gresham |
---|---|
Language | English |
Publisher | Rinehart & Company |
Publication date | 1946 |
Publication place | United States |
Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
Nightmare Alley is a novel by American writer
Gresham attributed the origin of Nightmare Alley to conversations he had with a former carnival worker while they were both serving as volunteers with the Loyalist forces in the
Plot
Stanton Carlisle watches the
Stan performs
Their act becomes very successful, but Stan grows bored and transforms himself into Reverend Carlisle, an upstanding spiritualist preacher offering séance sessions with the help of his medium. Stan gains a devoted following, but the stress of leading a false life leads him to seek the help of a psychologist named Lilith Ritter, who seduces and then begins controlling him. Stan pleads constantly for them to go away together, and Lilith eventually agrees, suggesting the Rev. Carlisle swindle a rich man for the getaway money. They settle on Ezra Grindle, a ruthless auto tycoon with a skeptical interest in the occult. Stan manages to convince Grindle of his powers, and the businessman becomes a devoted spiritualist.
Stan keeps Grindle hooked by promising to reunite him with his deceased college sweetheart Dorrie, who died in a botched
His life in shambles, a drunk Stan finds a carnival owner and asks to join the sideshow as a palm reader. The owner gives Stan some whiskey but refuses his proposal, saying the show is full. But as Stan begins to stumble out, the owner changes his tune and invites Stan back in with a job offer: "Of course, it's only temporary – just until we get a real geek."
Reception
In a 2010 review, American critic Michael Dirda proclaimed, "I was utterly unprepared for its raw, Dostoevskian power... It's not often that a novel leaves a weathered and jaded reviewer like myself utterly flattened, but this one did....it's more than just a steamy noir classic. As a portrait of the human condition, Nightmare Alley is a creepy, all-too-harrowing masterpiece."[2]
Author and creative writing professor Dwight V. Swain described the conclusion of Nightmare Alley as an exemplar of a novel with an unhappy ending that was nonetheless a "fitting ending," where the protagonist brought misfortune on himself.[3]
Editions
- (reprinted in) Crime Novels: American Noir of the 1930s and 40s, Robert Polito, ed. (ISBN 978-1-883011-46-8
- 2010 reprint by ISBN 978-1-59017-348-0
- 2013 reprint with four Gresham essays on fortune-telling and freak shows, by ISBN 978-1-61347-006-0
Adaptations
- A film adaptation of the same name - as a film noir starring Tyrone Power as Stanton Carlisle - was released in 1947.
- A graphic novel adaptation of the novel was produced in 2003 by underground cartoonist Spain Rodriguez.[4]
- A musical by Jonathan Brielle, directed by Gil Cates. It opened on April 21, 2010 at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles.[5]
- A film adaptation of the same name - as a neo-noir psychological thriller starring Bradley Cooper as Stanton Carlisle - was released in 2021.
References
- ISBN 978-0-8131-2358-5.
- ^ 'Nightmare Alley,' by William Lindsay Gresham, reviewed by Michael Dirda.
- ^ Swain, Dwight V (1990). Creating Characters: How to Build Story People. Cincinnati: Writer's Digest Books, p. 101.
- ^ "Graphic Novel Review: Nightmare Alley". May 16, 2012. Retrieved May 18, 2012.
- ^ Fick, David."NIGHTMARE ALLEY" Musical Cyberspace, February 23, 2010.