Sara Howard

Miss Sara Howard is a young woman on a mission to become the first female police officer in New York. She plays a critical role in the investigative team as she is able to look at the crimes from a female perspective.

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Basic Information | Biography | Quotes | Character Testimonials

Character Testimonals

By John Moore

John has been a life-long friend of Sara Howard and the pair grew up in the same area of New York City. He even briefly, on a drunken occassion, declared his love for her and proposed. Needless to say, nothing came of it, but the pair are very close. The following quotes or statements were made by John in reference to Sara's character.

The Alienist, 54:

Back in the early seventies, when I was in my teens, her family moved into a house near ours on Gramercy Park, and I'd subsequently watched her spend her single-digit years turning that decorous neighborhood into her private rumpus room. Time had not changed her much, except to make her as thoughtful (and occasionally brooding) as she was excitable; and following the demise of my engagement to Julia Pratt I had one night gotten more than a little drunk, decided that all women held by society to be beauties were in fact demons, and asked Sara to marry me. Her answer was to take me in a cab to the Hudson River and throw me in.

The Alienist, 108:

There aren't many women who would have ventured into one of the worst parts of the Lower East Side with such relish. But Sara's adventurous spirit had never been much tempered by prudence.

By Laszlo Kreizler

Dr Kreizler first met Sara during the investigation found in The Alienist and so he didn't know her as well as John. Still, he seems to have her character summed up fairly adequately after only one meeting.

The Alienist, 128:

Kreizler nodded and pulled on his gloves, watching Sara all the while. "Women of such temperament," he said as we moved to the carriage, "do not seem fated for happiness in our society. But her capabilities are obvious."

By Stevie Taggert

Like Dr Kreizler, Stevie met Sara during The Alienist investigation but the pair bonded quickly and are close. He has a high respect for her, although he finds her a little comical at times. The following quotes or statements were made by Stevie in reference to Sara's character.

The Angel of Darkness, 436:

There probably wasn't another woman in the world who was a comfortable with guns - or, for that matter, with shooting people - as Miss Howard. She had some very personal reasons for being that way, and it isn't my place to recite those reasons here; she'll take care of that job one day herself, if she's so inclinded. All that mattered to me that particular night was that when she said she would've shot a man to protect me, she meant it, and that knowledge allowed my nervous system to grow ever more calm, and my mind ever more inquisitive, as we traveled along the moonlit river road.

The Angel of Darkness, 441:

"What I'm saying," I added in a hurry, knowing how fast her temper could flare, "is that none of that business really goes for you. You're not married, you don't have any kids, but you're -" I looked away, suddenly embarrassed. "Well - you're as much of a woman as any mother I ever knew. If you see what I mean."