Nightmare Alley

Nightmare Alley follows the exploits of Stanton Carlisle, a ruthless hustler who learns the tricks of the carny trade and uses them to prey on the wealthy and the weak. Carlisle's determined rise to power and inevitable plunge into depravity is more than great drama, it is an evisceration of the postwar American dream. An essay by Bret Wood explores the novelist's fascination with carnivals, magic, and spiritualism.