Why a Booktrail?
1890s: The daughter of a Spanish diplomat is kidnapped
Angel of Darkness
What you need to know before your trail
A year after the events narrated in The Alienist, the cast of characters from that novel are again brought together to investigate a crime committed in the heady days of New York in the 1890s, but this time narrated by the orphan Stevie Taggert. A young child, the daughter of Spanish diplomats, disappears. It seems she has been abducted but no ransom note is received and the detectives Isaacson quickly discover that a nurse, Elspeth Hunter, is probably the kidnapper. They also discover that Hunter has been a little too closely connected with the death of three other infants. But what are her motives? She married a fortune, and although she is connected to some fairly rough villains this crime does not fit their modus operandi. Is it something as ‘simple’ as psychological disturbance due to her own inability to bear children, or something more sinister unguessed at?
Locations
Reset- America/ USA - NY - New York City
- A: Met Museum
- B: E 17th St - Kreizler house
- C: 808 Broadway - Investigation offices
- D: Clarkson Street pier
- E: Spanish Consulate
- F: Bethune St
- G: Saratoga Springs,
Travel Guide
Travel BookTrail style to New York 1700s
This is a great way of seeing New York in its finery of the time, but also the city at its worst. The Alienist is at work once again, looking into the kidnapping of a young child. This child is the son of a Spanish diplomat. The
The city at its finest is well evoked and with style: Delmonico’s still serves up wondrous meals and the evening parlours are still full of colourful characters. This is Stevie’s New York however, seen through his eyes, so it is even more detailed and dark in many ways. Stevie’s New York is a place where poor street children turn to crime and drugs. He knows this world and can see both sides of the sorry story.
The Spanish situation
At the time the book is set, the US an dSpain were on the brink of war, and so the kidnap of a Spanish Diplomat’s child in New York (bad enough its own right) could have many far reaching consequences politically.
Many characters in the novel are taken from real life such as the suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton; painter Albert Pinkham Ryder. Clarence Darrow, is the frighting man who works in court during a trial where the sanctity of American motherhood itself is put on trial.
Saratoga
There’s even time for a visit to the elegant gambling parlors of Saratoga but this is no holiday. Clues on the trail are to be found here.
Streetview Maps
A) USA - NYC - East 17th Street - Kreizler's House
A) USA - NYC - 808 Broadway - Kreizler's Offices
BookTrail Boarding Pass: The Angel of Darkness
Destination: New York City Author/guide: Caleb Carr Departure Time: 1987
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