The Alienist (58 page)

C.C.

Cherry Plain, New York

April 2006

Acknowledgments

While doing the preliminary research for this book, it occurred to me that the phenomenon we now call serial killing has been with us for as long as humans have gathered together into societies. This amateur opinion was confirmed, and paths of deeper research were indicated, by Dr. David Abrahamsen, one of America’s foremost experts on violence in general and serial killing in particular. Dr. Abrahamsen passed away in 2002, leaving behind a daunting legacy of fearless and pioneering work; and as I have had no chance to properly acknowledge my debt to and affection for him, I have elected to dedicate this edition, in part, to his memory. Along with the loyalty of its readers,
The Alienist
ultimately owed its success to his intellectual guidance. He was truly a man who understood how to maintain the vigor of youth through the rigors of age.

The staffs of the Harvard Archives, the New York Public Library, the New-York Historical Society, the American Museum of Natural History, and the New York Society Library all lent invaluable assistance.

John Coston suggested several important avenues of research early on, and took the time to trade ideas. I am grateful.

Many authors contributed unknowingly to this story through their nonfiction accounts of serial killing and killers, and out of these many I cannot fail to offer thanks to: Colin Wilson, for his encyclopedic histories of crime; Janet Colaizzi, for her brilliant study of homicidal insanity since 1800; Harold Schechter, for his examination of the infamous Albert Fish (whose notorious note to Grace Budd’s mother inspired John Beecham’s similar document); Joel Norris, for his justly famous treatise on serial killers; Robert K. Ressler, for his memoir of a life spent chasing such characters; and again, Dr. Abrahamsen, for his unparalleled studies of David Berkowitz and Jack the Ripper.

Tim Haldeman gave the manuscript the benefit of his seasoned eye. I have valued his incisive comments almost as much as his friendship.

As always, Suzanne Gluck and Ann Godoff guided me from wild idea to completed project with grace, skill, and affection. All writers should have such agents and editors. Susan Jensen’s skill, speed, and good humor often helped keep the wolf from the door, and I thank her.

Through his own psychological insight, Tom Pivinski helped turn nightmares into prose. He has been a rock.

In the years since this book was first published, the world and I have lost James Chace, whose advice and friendship were so important to all my work. He is still missed terribly.

David Fromkin, Rob Cowley, and Ezequiel Viñao have continued to provide unflagging comradeship. I am in their debt.

Special gratitude goes to my fellow members of the Core Four at La Tourette: Martin Signore, Debbie Deuble, and Yong Yoon.

I would also like to thank my family, in particular my cousins, Maria and William von Hartz.

A personal note to those who found the quote from John Ray in the original dedication to this book either arcane or, apparently, untenable: Its “secret” (not so very secret after all) was and remains
loyalty.
It’s been my luck to know so many people, some of whom are listed above, who could grasp this essential notion; and it has saddened me beyond measure to have encountered others who found it a puzzle too complex to unravel.

Finally, for their thoughtfulness in publishing this edition, with its clarifications and afterword, I would like to thank Gina Centrello, Jennifer Hershey, Laura Ford, Caitlin Newman, and Evan Camfield.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bestselling and critically acclaimed author Caleb Carr’s books include
The Angel of Darkness, The Lessons of Terror, Killing Time, The Devil Soldier,
and
The Italian Secretary.
His titles have been translated into twenty languages worldwide. A contributing editor to
MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History
and the series editor of the Modern Library War Series, he lives in upstate New York and teaches at Bard College.

ALSO BY CALEB CARR

The Italian Secretary

The Lessons of Terror

Killing Time

The Angel of Darkness

The Devil Soldier

America Invulnerable
(with James Chace)

Casing the Promised Land

Praise for

The Alienist

“Keeps readers turning pages well past their bedtime.”

—San Francisco Chronicle

“Harrowing, fascinating…will please fans of
Ragtime
and
The Silence of the Lambs.
”

—The Flint Journal

“Caleb Carr’s rich period thriller takes us back to the moment in history when the modern idea of the serial killer became available to us…[and] tracks the efforts of a team of farsighted investigators working frantically to solve a string of hideous murders…. Absorbing…suspenseful…gratifying.”

—The Detroit News

“Engrossing.”

—Newsweek

“A ripsnorter of a plot…a fine dark ride.”

—The Arizona Daily Star

“[A] delicious premise…Its settings and characterizations are much more sophisticated than the run-of-the-mill thrillers that line the shelves in bookstores.”

—The Washington Post Book World

“The method of the hunt and the disparate team of hunters lift the tale beyond the level of a good thriller—way beyond…. A remarkable combination of historical novel and psychological thriller.”

—The Buffalo News

“Mesmerizing.”

—Detroit Free Press

“Remarkable…The reader is taken on a whirlwind tour of the Gilded Age metropolis, climbing up tenement stairs, scrambling across rooftops, and witnessing midnight autopsies…. A breathtaking, finely crafted mystery.”

—Richmond Times-Dispatch

This is a work of historical fiction. Apart from the well-known actual people, events, and locales that figure in the narrative, all names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to current events or locales, or to living persons, is entirely coincidental.

2006 Random House Trade Paperback Edition

Copyright © 1994 by Caleb Carr
Afterword copyright © 2006 by Caleb Carr

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Random House Trade Paperbacks, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

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ANDOM
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RADE
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APERBACKS
and colophon are trademarks of Random House, Inc.

Originally published in hardcover and in slightly different form in the United States by Random House, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., in 1994.

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eISBN: 978-1-58836-540-8

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