William Lindsay Gresham (/ˈɡrɛʃəm/; August 20, 1909 – September 14, 1962) was an American novelist and non-fiction author particularly well-regarded among readers of noir.

His own first marriage also ended in divorce, as well as his second to a New Jersey socialite, which fell apart after nine years when he returned to the United States, embittered by his experiences in Spain.

[2] In 1937, Gresham had served as a volunteer medic for the Abraham Lincoln Brigade forces during the Spanish Civil War.

There, he befriended a former sideshow employee, Joseph Daniel "Doc" Halliday, and their long conversations inspired much of his work,[1][2] particularly Gresham's two books about the American carnival, the nonfiction Monster Midway and the fictional Nightmare Alley.

Returning to the United States in 1939, after a troubling period that involved a stay in a tuberculosis ward and a suicide attempt, Gresham found work editing true crime magazines.

[3] Davidman, an ethnically Jewish atheist, became a fan of the writings of C. S. Lewis, which led eventually to her conversion to Christianity.

At this time Gresham became interested in Dianetics, the 1950 self-help book by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard.

Twenty-four of his articles and stories on fairgrounds, spook shows, and hucksters were republished in 2013 as Grindshow: the Selected Writings of William Lindsay Gresham.