Included here is basic information about Miss Sara Howard from the Alienist books. For Sara Howard’s character analysis, quotes made by Sara Howard, or character testimonials about Sara Howard, please use the menu.
Sara Howard Basic Information
Essentials
Name: Miss Sara Howard
Birth Date: Estimated the mid-to-late 1860s
Birth Place: Rhinecliff, NY
Personality: Strong, capable, highly-strung, loyal, high principled, fiery, opinionated, determined, energetic
Appearance: The Alienist, 40-1:
Sara’s taste in dresses ran toward simple designs in shades of green that matched her eyes, and the one she wore that day, with only a minimal bustle and not much petticoat business, showed off her tall, athletic body to advantage. Her face was by no means striking but handsomely plain; it was the play of eyes and mouth, back and forth between mischievous and sad, that made it such a delight to watch her.
Parents & Siblings
Father: Sara was close to her father but he died in a “hunting accident” in 1893. Most believe it was suicide but Sara does not.
Mother: Was an invalid.
Siblings: None.
Working Life
Education: Went to college. (To learn more, see the history blog: The Education of Sara Howard.)
Occupation and Places of Work: Sara spent the summer after she graduated from college assisting a visiting nurse in the Tenth ward. She went on to become a police secretary in the Police Department Headquarters on Mulberry Street. Following the team’s investigation in 1896, she leaves the force to become a private investigator and founds The Howard Agency: Research Services for Women located at 808 Broadway.
Private Life
Status: Single.
Home: Sara resides in a home on Gramercy Park. The Howard estate is located at Rhinecliff.
Transportation: No known private transportation. She walks or uses cabs (hansoms) instead.
Past/Present Servants: Unknown.
Friends/Associates: Emily Cort, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Cecilia Beaux, John Moore, Marcus and Lucius Isaacson, Theodore Roosevelt, Laszlo Kreizler, Stevie Taggert.
Past/Present Love Interests: Unknown, although Stevie mentions that “despite all her talk about men’s defects, she’s actually taken the time to get herself mixed up with one or two of them along the way” (AoD 622).