Caleb Carr, the renowned author of ‘The Alienist’ and a respected military historian, passed away at 68 due to cancer. His bestselling novel captivated readers with its historical thriller set in 1890s Manhattan.
Caleb Carr, a military historian and author of the bestselling novel “The Alienist,” has died at the age of 68. Carr passed away on Thursday due to cancer, as announced by his publisher, Little, Brown and Company.
Born in Manhattan, Carr was the son of Lucien Carr, a founding member of the Beat movement alongside Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg. Despite his traumatic childhood characterized by abuse from his father, Carr emerged as a significant literary figure.
Carr’s most notable work, “The Alienist,” published in 1994, is a historical thriller set in 1890s Manhattan, where a New York Times police reporter and a child psychiatrist investigate a string of brutal murders. The novel combines historical facts with fiction and includes figures like Theodore Roosevelt. It sold millions of copies and was adapted into a TNT miniseries featuring Daniel Brühl, Luke Evans, and Dakota Fanning.
In addition to “The Alienist,” Carr wrote other works, including “Angel of Darkness” and the Sherlock Holmes novel “The Italian Secretary.” He also published “My Beloved Monster,” a 2024 memoir about his cat, Masha.
Carr taught military history at Bard College, contributed to the Quarterly Journal of Military History, and co-wrote “America Invulnerable: The Quest for Absolute Security from 1812 to Star Wars” with James Chace. His book “The Lessons of Terror,” published post-9/11, explored military campaigns against civilian populations.
Carr spent much of his later years in upstate New York, residing in a large stone house on a 1,400-acre property near Misery Mountain, where he lived with his cat, Masha, until its death.
Caleb Carr is survived by his brothers Simon and Ethan, stepsisters Hilda, Jennifer, and Christine Speicher, and his mother, Francesca Cote.
