The Alienist Quiz

Test your knowledge on the content of The Alienist by completing The Alienist quiz. The Alienist quiz contains 40 questions with varying levels of difficulty. Once you have selected an answer for every question, click on the “Answer Quiz” button at the bottom of the page. For a summary of The Alienist along with selected critical reception, or a timeline and complete series of events of The Alienist, please use the side menu.

Why were psychiatrists known as "alienists" prior to the twentieth century?





Whose funeral does John Moore attend in the opening of the novel?





In which year are the main events of the novel centered?





Why is John living with his grandmother throughout the novel?





Why did Dr. Kreizler want John to view the body of Giorgio Santorelli?





Why does Dr. Kreizler want John to be a principle member of the investigative team?





What key aspect of the victims' mutilations indicates that a single serial killer is responsible?





What is Sara Howard's profession during the novel?





What training did the Detective Sergeants Marcus and Lucius Isaacson originally receive, either individually or as a pair?





Which of Dr. Kreizler's employees have a criminal background?





What do John and Sara Howard discover upon visiting the Santorelli's tenement flat?





What is the first opera John and Dr. Kreizler attend in the novel?





What is not one of the important findings made by Marcus and Lucius Isaacson in their post-mortem of the Zweig children?





What happens to John when he visits Paresis Hall?





What important information does John obtain at Paresis Hall?





How many murders does the serial killer commit during the novel?





What does Lucius discover when conducting the post-mortem on Ali ibn-Ghazi?





Who is stirring up trouble among immigrant communities over the murders?





What did Joseph, Ali ibn-Ghazi's friend, say that Ali had called the murderer?





What does the murderer send to Mrs. Santorelli?





What is one of the key pieces of information the team learn from the murderer's letter?





Why did Dr. Kreizler travel to Sing Sing Prison to interview Jesse Pomeroy?





What is the name of the third person the murderer kills during the novel?





What timetable is the murderer killing to?





Which member of the team is attacked by the murderer?





What do the team discover when they first catch a glimpse of the murderer?





Who do John and Dr. Kreizler visit at the Museum of Natural History?





Who is the principal figure behind the priests paying out the families of the victims?





Why does Dr. Kreizler travel to Washington D.C.?





After visiting Washington D.C., where do John and Dr. Kreizler go to make further investigations?





What do John and Dr. Kreizler discover the murderer's name and alias are?





What happened to Victor Dury?





Who kills Mary Palmer while John and Dr. Kreizler were away?





Where do the team discover that the murderer has worked in the past?





In addition to a jar of eye balls and a map of the New York water system, what do the team find in the murderer's flat?





Where do the team believe the next murder will take place and where does Dr. Kreizler select instead?





Who does Dr. Kreizler hire to protect John and himself when they ambush the murderer alone?





Who kills the murderer?





Who does Sara kill?





What brain degeneration do Dr. Kreizler and Lucius find when they perform a post-mortem on the murderer?