Caleb Carr

Caleb Carr was an American military historian and writer. He was the author of 11 books, including The Italian Secretary (2005), a Sherlock Holmes mystery commissioned by the estate of Arthur Conan Doyle; Surrender, New York (2016), and Lessons of Terror: A History of Warfare Against Civilians (2002), which he wrote in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Caleb Carr was born in Manhattan to Lucien Carr and Francesca von Hartz. His father's tumultuous history, including a manslaughter conviction, influenced Caleb's life and work.

Lucien Carr was involved with prominent Beat Generation figures like Jack Kerouac, William S. Burroughs, and Allen Ginsberg. This bohemian lifestyle, combined with his father's abusive behavior, left a lasting impact on Caleb. He attended Friends Seminary, a Quaker school, and later studied military and diplomatic history at New York University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in 1977.

Carr's fascination with violence and its roots found a creative outlet in his writing. His most famous work, The Alienist (1994), is set in 19th-century New York City and follows a child psychiatrist investigating a series of murders of boy prostitutes. The novel's detailed historical research and gripping narrative earned it critical acclaim and commercial success. It was a bestseller and later adapted into a television series.

In 1997, Carr published The Angel of Darkness, a sequel to The Alienist, featuring many of the same characters in another historical thriller. This novel also received praise and solidified Carr's reputation as a master of historical fiction.

Before his success with The Alienist, Carr had a career in military history and journalism. He co-authored America Invulnerable: The Quest for Absolute Security from 1812 to Star Wars (1988) with James Chace, exploring America's approach to national security. His biography The Devil Soldier: The Story of Frederick Townsend Ward (1991) was well-received for its adventurous narrative and historical depth.

Carr continued to write on military and political subjects, contributing to various publications and engaging in public debates. His book The Lessons of Terror: A History of Warfare Against Civilians (2002) examined the history of terrorism and its impact on warfare, drawing mixed but thought-provoking reviews.

In 2005, Carr ventured into the world of Sherlock Holmes with The Italian Secretary, a mystery novel commissioned by the Arthur Conan Doyle estate. His 2012 novel, The Legend of Broken, delved into speculative history set in the Dark Ages, blending adventure with serious research.

Carr's most recent novel, Surrender, New York (2016), applied the principles of Dr. Laszlo Kreizler from The Alienist to modern criminal behavior, particularly crimes against children. Though it received positive reviews, it did not achieve the same commercial success as his earlier works.

Caleb Carr once said: "Part of it was a desire to find violence that was directed to a purposeful end and governed by a definable code of ethics."