City Readers Digital Historic Collections at the New York Society Library

The Alienist has provided two of the great thrills of my reading life. First, it was one of those rare books I read in one sitting, through a whole day and on into the night, pausing only for fridge raids. This is not because its whodunit element is such a gripper; the mystery itself is garden-variety.
 

But its mix of fanatically detailed period science and setting with a colorful gallery of historical and believable characters grabbed me by the throat. Carr makes a tangible, smellable thing of the year 1896, when the outlines of modern psychology were just becoming discernable, detective work was embracing scientific and pseudo-scientific methods, and New York City was crashing toward the incorporation of the outer boroughs and the next century’s upheavals.

My second big thrill was when I re-read the book a few years later and realized, at a crucial plot twist, that I was at that moment directly below the scene of the action I was reading about—on the 7 train! I hear that the current TV adaptation of Carr’s work is well worth seeing. But I guarantee you the book is better.