SMB Noir

Nightmare Alley. William Lindsay Gresham. New York: Rinehart and Company, Inc. 1946. First edition. Original dust jacket; art by A. F. Arnold.

Scarce macabre carnival themed thriller. “Loneliness came over him, like an avalanche of snow. He was alone. Where he had always wanted to be. You can only trust yourself. There’s a rat buried deep in everybody and they’ll rat on you if they get pushed far enough.”

1949 Signet reissue

cover art by James Avati

first film adaptation in 1947

second in 2021