Rare and First Edition Books from Buckingham Books

Dealer in Rare and First-Edition Books:  Western Americana; Mystery, Detective, and Espionage Fiction

Nightmare Alley. WILLIAM LINDSAY GRESHAM

Nightmare Alley.

WILLIAM LINDSAY GRESHAM

Other works by WILLIAM LINDSAY GRESHAM

Publication: Rinehart and Company, Inc, (1946), New York

First edition. Author's first book. Very lightly foxed on front and rear endpapers, else fine in dust jacket with light professional restoration to spine ends and top edge of rear panel. The source for the troubling 1947 noir film in which Tyrone Power portrayed a charismatic carnival hustler eventually done in by his own arrogance. Stanton Carlisle starts off as a small-time magician in a travelling show. The show's kindhearted mentalist teaches him the art of fortune telling, but Carlisle soon makes a bid for more elaborate cons. He ascends to high society parlors and becomes addicted to the idea of tricking the wealthy. How he ends up selling his act to a skeptical, high-powered industrialist is a study in both psychological savvy and moral deterioration. Cons always rely as much on intuition as on sleight-of-hand, so it's no surprise that Carlisle's downfall comes from his own lack of self-understanding. After manipulating so many people for so long, he ends up as the stooge for the one person who could outthink him: his therapist lover. An exceptional copy.

Inventory Number: 27230Sold -- Contact us