Caleb Carr discusses his novel, “The Alienist.” He begins by defining the word ‘alienist’ as a pre-20th century name for a psychiatrist. The novel is set in 1896 New York City, where young men are being forced into mafia-controlled prostitution. Carr talks about early police work and the birth of techniques such as fingerprint identification and 3rd degree interrogation. He includes real facts into the book to make this novel more historically sound. Carr discusses his decision to write a novel after making a name for himself as a non-fiction writer. He ends the interview by describing his catalyst for writing the book: how he wanted to tell a story of how a person can overcome an unhappy childhood.
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