The Alienist Quiz - Caleb Carr & The Alienist Books

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?

Doctors treating mental illness were "alienated" from the rest of the medical profession.
Persons suffering from mental illness were thought to be "alienated" from the rest of society and their true natures.
Persons suffering from mental illness were thought to be inhabited by demons, spirits, and "alien" forms of life.
Persons suffering from mental illness were kept "alienated" from the rest of society in lunatic asylums.

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

Edith Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Quentin Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt, Jr.

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

1894
1897
1919
1896

Why is John living with his grandmother throughout the novel?

In accordance with the custom of many wealthy young bachelors in the nineteenth century, he is living in the family home until he marries.
He doesn't live with his grandmother; he owns a bachelor flat at 34 Gramercy Park.
He can't afford a bachelor flat due to his gambling habits.
His engagement to Julia Pratt was broken off and he prefers his grandmother's company to living alone.

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

He wanted John to read a note he had left at the scene.
He wanted John to report the crime in The New York Times.
He wanted John to see what they would be dealing with.
He wanted John to pass a message onto Roosevelt.

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

His knowledge of New York crime.
His access to privileged information through his position at The New York Times.
His ability to handle a gun.
His friendship with Roosevelt.

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

The large cuts that crisscross the abdomens of the victims.
The removal of the right hands of the victims.
The removal of the eyes of the victims.
The removal of the hearts of the victims.

What is Sara Howard's profession during the novel?

Police secretary
Detective
Private detective
Nurse

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

Medicine and psychology
Law and medicine
Law and psychology
Medicine only

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

All of his employees
Cyrus Montrose
Stevie Taggert
Mary Palmer

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

Mr. and Mrs. Santorelli claim that they have no son.
Mrs. Santorelli has received a letter from the murderer.
A group of detectives and ex-cops threatened and attacked Mrs. Santorelli.
Two priests have attempted to pay off Mr. and Mrs. Santorelli.

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

Pagliacci
Faust
Rigoletto
Don Giovanni

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

They are able to determine the height of the murderer.
They find a hair belonging to the murderer.
They are able to determine what kind of knife the murderer used.
They find a fingerprint belonging to the murderer.

What happens to John when he visits Paresis Hall?

He is not allowed to enter Paresis Hall.
He is beaten and left for dead.
He is chased by two thugs who turn out to be ex-cops.
He is drugged.

What important information does John obtain at Paresis Hall?

He discovers that the murderer exited out of a window.
He discovers that the murderer was well-known at the establishment.
Nothing, he was not able to enter Paresis Hall.
He discovers that the murderer both exited out of a window and was well-known at the establishment.

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

5
3
4
6

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

Rope fibres indicating that the murderer was a mountain climber.
Another fingerprint confirming that it is the same murderer.
An absence of bruises on the body suggesting that the boy trusted the murderer.
Cuts to the forearms indicating that the boy tried to fend the murderer off.

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

Biff Ellison
Jack McManus
Razor Riley
Paul Kelly

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

The devil.
A demon.
An angel.
A saint.

What does the murderer send to Mrs. Santorelli?

A letter and one of her son's eyes.
A letter.
A letter and a newspaper clipping.
A letter and a bloodied piece of her son's clothing.

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

The murderer is a cannibal.
The murderer had a frontier upbringing.
The murderer spent time in the military.
The murderer is poorly educated.

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

Jesse also cut off the right hands of his victims.
Jesse's primary influence in childhood was his mother.
Dr. Kreizler wanted to prove Sara wrong.
Dr. Kreizler did not interview Jesse Pomeroy.

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

Mary
Ernst
Joseph
Josiah

What timetable is the murderer killing to?

Evenings of religious holidays.
Mornings of religious holidays.
The lunar cycle.
Evenings preceding religious holidays.

Which member of the team is attacked by the murderer?

Sara Howard
Stevie Taggert
Lucius Isaacson
Cyrus Montrose

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

He is bald.
He has a facial disfigurement.
He has a facial tick.
He is balding.

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

William James
Hobart Weaver
Franz Boas
Adolf Meyer

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

The murderer
Cornelius Vanderbilt II
John Jacob Astor IV
John Pierpont Morgan

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

To search Patent Office records for incidents between settlers and Sioux tribes.
To search Patent Office records for incidents between settlers and Lakota tribes.
To search hospital records for soldiers who fit the murderer's profile.
To search hospital records for stretcher bearers who fit the murderer's profile.

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

Fort Yates, North Dakota
New Paltz, New York
Deadwood, South Dakota
Newton, Massachusetts

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

John Dury; George Beecham
Japheth Dury; John Beecham
John Dury; John Beecham
Japheth Dury; George Beecham

What happened to Victor Dury?

He was murdered by a farmhand called George Beecham.
He was murdered by Japheth Dury.
He was murdered by a farmhand called John Beecham.
Nothing, he is alive and well.

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

The murderer
Anthony Comstock
Thomas Byrnes
Patrick Connor

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

The United States Bureau of Census
The Society for the Prevention of Crime
The City Marshal's Office
Bowery Mission

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?

A dead cat.
A box containing a cat's heart.
A box containing the hearts of his victims.
A box containing his mother's heart.

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

The Williamsburg Bridge; The Croton Reservoir
The Croton Reservoir; The High Bridge Tower
The Croton Reservoir; The Williamsburg Bridge
The High Bridge Tower; The Croton Reservoir

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

Jack McManus
Biff Ellison
Razor Riley
Patrick Connor

Who kills the murderer?

John Moore
Patrick Connor
Razor Riley
Sara Howard

Who does Sara kill?

Razor Riley
The murderer
Jack McManus
Patrick Connor

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

Degeneration in his medial temporal lobe.
Degeneration in his right frontal lobe.
Degeneration in his left frontal lobe.
None, his brain is normal.