Spotlight Profile
December 2001
Photo by Sigrid Estrada
Why is Linda Fairstein smiling? We can think of at least two reasons ... she's a successful prosecutor who has run the Sex Crimes Unit of the District Attorney's office in Manhattan for more than 20 years ... and she has just published another best-selling crime novel, The Deadhouse.
The beguiling closeup above is from a photograph by Sigrid Estrada, who posed Linda in front of the ruins of the old smallpox hospital -- or "deadhouse" -- on Roosevelt Island. The photo can be seen on the Deadhouse book jacket, and on Linda's website.
The Deadhouse is the fourth in Linda's Alexandra Cooper series, following Final Jeopardy, Likely to Die and Cold Hit. The Spotlight, if you please ... for Linda Fairstein!
IC
You were scheduled to speak at the Roosevelt
Island Library on Nov.13. With New York City still reeling from the American Airlines crash, so closely following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, were you able to hold the meeting as planned? If so, tell us about your audience, and the questions they asked.
LF
The event that was scheduled for Roosevelt Island on November 13th -- the day after the American Airlines crash -- did go off as planned.
The island is a wonderful little community, almost like a small city apart from NYC, set on a sliver of land in the middle of the East River (between Manhattan and Queens). The population includes a healthy mix of well-to-do co-op owners (who have about the world's most perfect view of the Manhattan skyline), low-income housing renters, and a huge number of United Nations employees from all over the world ... since the tip of the island sits right oppostite the U.N. and makes it such an easy commute.
So the event was held in the Roosevelt Island branch of the NYC Public Library. The head of the Historical Society, Judy Berdy, introduced me to the audience, which was especially nice since she was so helpful in finding original research documents for me, and gaining access for me to the "scene of the crime."
The crowd was quite large, very intelligent, and extremely enthusiastic -- proud to have their home turf highlighted in The Deadhouse. The questions they asked were about how I came to be interested in the rich history of their island, and then the "usual" mix of questions about writing, and my prosecutorial job.
IC
Roosevelt Island made a fascinating setting for
the crime in The Deadhouse. Why did you choose that setting? How did you research the history of the island?
LF
The reason I chose to write about the island was because of the very haunting setting it houses, which I have been drawn to for years. Every night on my way home from work in the District Attorney's Office in Lower Manhattan, I ride up the FDR (Franklin Delano Roosevelt) Drive to the Upper East Side. As I look off
into the river, there are the elegant remains of a magnificent structure.
It's quite a beautiful sight, floodlit at night with the water shimmering in front of it, and I long wondered what it had been. It seemed both quite romantic, and because of its decaying state, quite sinister. I thought it would be a great place to set some kind of criminal activity.
I began the research at the wonderful New York Historical Society, where I learned that the Gothic building was constructed more than 150 years ago, and owes its great bones to the fact that it was designed by James Renwick, who went on to become the architect of St. Patrick's Cathedral. The castle-like structure (you can see it on my website ... www.lindafairstein.com) was built to be a smallpox hospital, and all the contagious patients were sent off Manhattan to be treated there.
My research then took me onto the island itself, and down to the actual building. There is a fascinating history, back when the island was known as Blackwell's Island ... and housed a series of hospitals and the first NYC penitentiary. The history hooked me, and became a central part of my story.
IC
In an interview in 1997, you said that you were
the seventh woman to join the staff of 200 male lawyers in the New York D.A.'s office in 1972, but that at the time of the interview there were 600 lawyers in the office, half of them women. Can you tell us something about the experience of being a distinct minority back in 1972? Have attitudes changed and prejudices against women disappeared?
LF
The prosecutorial job -- as with many careers that were not open to women until a decade or two ago -- has undergone extraordinary change, and that's
one of the reasons I wanted to write about it in my crime fiction.
In mid-November, I began my 30th year in the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, which hardly seems possible. When I graduated from law school in 1972, very few women were in any law schools in great number. I was at the University of Virginia -- and I think we finished with 12 women in my class of 340 students, which was a very typical percentage. It was the mid-70's that law schools began to admit so many more women.
When I applied to the office, the legendary Frank Hogan was the D.A., and he was wonderful about everything except "women in the workplace." He told me he thought the work was too "tawdry" for a woman of my educational background, and he didn't allow the handful of women he had hired to try felony cases in the courtroom.
Every now and then I have to remind Coop (protagonist Alex Cooper) that no women had ever prosecuted a murder case in New York State (and, I daresay, most states) at the time I joined the legal staff.
I wrote about a lot of this in my first book, which is a non-fiction history of the reforms in the field of sex crimes. I'm NOT trying to sell it here (it was published in 1993 and is out of print) ... but it does have a lot of background of what it was like to work in this field just a few short decades ago.
IC
Has the work of the Sex Crimes Unit changed in the 20 years you've been in charge? Has there been a "breakthrough" in public perception of what the unit does? What has been your most satisfying achievement as head of that unit? What has been your biggest disappointment?
LF
The short answer to your first question is an
enthusiastic "YES!" -- and things have really changed for the better. When I
first became a prosecutor, the laws were so, so bad in some states -- like my own -- that women who had been victims of rape could not testify in court
unless there was independent evidence to corroborate the occurrence of the crime (it was the only crime that had this additional burden). Very few cases
even got as far as the courtroom. And when they did, the victim had an
awfully hard time on the stand.
My three favorite letters of the alphabet -- DNA -- had not yet been sequenced by Crick and Watson, and what that scientific technique has given to us is a revolution in the prosecutorial and investigative procedures, taking much of the burden off the victim of the crime.
Perhaps what satisfies me the most is that our unit started, the first of its kind in the country, in 1974, with two lawyers. We now have 40 senior attorneys specially trained to handle these cases, as well as parallel Domestic Violence and Child Abuse Units. In addition, this model has been used all over the country.
Victims not only get their day in court with far greater frequency and ease, but they triumph more and more regularly, and that makes all the battles worthwhile.
My biggest disappointment is that there are still a lot of people with very archaic attitudes, who would rather blame the victim than the offender. It has been slow to change those prejudices.
I would have to say that beyond the success of the unit, my greatest professional achievement was being considered for the nomination to be Attorney General (on the short list which resulted in Janet Reno's selection, in 1993), which was a thrilling moment and a fascinating procedure.
IC
Tell us about your work routine as part of the D.A.'s office. Describe a day in the life of Linda Fairstein.
LF
I'd say that if you read crime novels, and if you've read any of the four in the Alex Cooper series, then you know a bit about what my professional (NOT the personal!) life is. My books are procedurals, and they are meant to show the way we actually work the cases in real life.
Part of what I love about the job is that there is nothing "routine" about it ... it's quite unpredictable. All of my staff wear beepers 24 hours a day. When a sexual assault occurs in Manhattan, the head of the NYPD's Sexual Violence Unit beeps me to let me know about it, whatever time of the day or night. From the outset, we become involved in the investigations with the detectives, doing everything from going to the scene, to the hospital, to the precinct to interview witnesses or interrogate the perps, and eventually try the cases.
It is endlessly fascinating, challenging and rewarding, which is what has kept me in place there for all these years. When you read about a day in the life of Alex Cooper -- on the job -- it's pretty much what my professional day is like.
IC
How do you juggle your work as a prosecutor with your work as a novelist? How do you arrange the time for book tours? Has your success as a novelist created any problems with your colleagues? (Envy comes to mind.)
LF
The juggling is the most difficult part of my life, I can assure you. Many of us who write have two jobs, as you all know, but it is the unpredictability of the prosecutorial job that is so
demanding, as well as the fact that once a major case breaks, the writing
must take a back seat.
I think it's my husband who suffers most, because the writing gets done on "his" time. I take a month in the summer, which we spend at our home on Martha's Vineyard, and for every day in that month I write for as many hours a day as I possibly can.
I try to schedule some time off for book tours, working around long holiday weekends, when I can, for out of town travel. I'm fortunate because there are so many opportunities for media and book events in NYC and in the tri-State area. This year, I did Bouchercon in DC on a weekend, hooked into media events; and the Miami Book Fair, too.
Are there problems with my colleagues? The office is quite large, and I know who my friends are. A lot of them are great fans of this genre and have been very generous with their support of my writing -- many of them enjoy being characters in the books. I steer clear of the ones who don't like it, and keep my book business out of the office.
IC
Your first book was non-fiction. Sexual Violence:Our War Against Rape covered some of the unusual cases handled by the Sex Crimes Unit. What inspired or compelled you to put those experiences into a book?
LF
I was actually invited to write Sexual Violence by a publisher (back in the late 80's). Some high-profile murder trials intervened, and I didn't get around to finishing it until 1993. I had never planned to write until I left the office, but there was a lot of interest in the changes we had implemented and the pioneering work of our unit, so when I was asked to do a book about it,I jumped at the chance.
It was not nearly as much fun as writing crime fiction, but the book was well-received in the legal and academic communities. That success gave me all the encouragement to get started with my fiction.
IC
What prompted you to switch from non-fiction to fiction? And getting down to basics -- how did you learn to write a novel, more specifically, a best-selling novel? You keep repeating that success so nobody can say the first one was a fluke!
LF
Once I had finished the non-fiction book and
launched it, I began to think more and more about my dream (which started
when I majored in English literature as a college student at Vassar) of
writing novels. I knew it would be easier to get a publisher's attention
because of the success of the non-fiction book.
How I learned to write is a good question. I have always loved the process of putting words on paper and telling a story. I wrote loads of stories as an undergraduate, and I also think that a good trial lawyer must be a good writer (that's why I'm not surprised that Turow, Grisham, Scottoline and so many other lawyers make the transition so well).
And then, I've read this genre seriously (and for pleasure) since my adolescence. I've studied all the great writers, and all my favorites. I just figured I would sit down and try to tell my story, and if it worked ... great. Like most of us, I can go on for hours about the process of writing the first book, but that's the short version.
IC
Tell us something about your background. What books did you read as you were growing up? What were your early writing experiences? What were your hobbies, special interests, best subjects in school? What led you to the law as a profession?
IC
You'd make a good cross-examiner, Pat. About my background ... I came from a wonderfully loving family (like Alex, my father was a doctor ... but never invented any device and never left me a trust fund). My mother is alive and well, vibrant and healthy. Books were a part of our lives from my earliest memory ... being read to at night and learning to read from a very early age.
There must have been a genetic link between my father and me that passed on the love of mysteries. I started with the Hardy Boys (because I have an older brother) and then found Nancy Drew. Soon after, Poe and Conan Doyle. I'm a voracious reader and a very fast reader. I collect books and love to surround myself with them -- crime novels, 18th and 19th century British novels ("literary" fiction of that period), and historical biography (now reading the new Jenkins' Churchill to be backed up by Morris' Theodore Rex).
Also, I've always loved to write. My best friend and I wrote mystery stories in elementary school ... moving on to more "sophisticated" things by college, where I majored in English literature at Vassar, which had a spectacular English department.
I didn't decide on the law as a career until my senior year of college. I wanted to do a few years (or so I thought at the time) of public service, very much a result of the President Kennedy inaugural "ask not what your country can do for you" era ... and I thought a legal education would help me fulfill that goal. I never envisioned the career that has developed as a specialty for me in the law.
IC
Who are some of the members of the legal profession that you most admire, and why?
LF
I think the two lawyers I admire most are the two who have had the most profound effects on my life -- my husband, Justin Feldman, and my boss, Bob Morgenthau.
Justin (who has a cameo appearance in each of the novels, as a lawyer) is a brilliant litigator who has a thoroughly engaging mind and boundless curiousity. He has really caused me to expand my professional horizons and explore avenues of the law about which I knew nothing. Morgenthau has been the District Attorney since 1976 (in fiction, he's Paul Battaglia). He has more integrity than any public servant I've ever encountered, and he has instilled that quality in his staff. What an honor it has been to work for him for a quarter of a century.
Then there are the historical greats -- like Clarence Darrow and Oliver Wendell Holmes -- whose words never fail to move me.
IC
Your years as a prosecutor have come during times of great change. What are some of the best changes, in your opinion? Are there changes that trouble you?
LF
There have been enormous changes throughout my 30-year career at the bar. Some of the best have been legislative reform, whether in my field or civil rights or reproductive rights. Some have been technology -- like DNA techniques and cyber-related advances.
I suppose what troubles me is the profoundly saddening condition we find ourselves in, nationally, that led to the events of September 11th, and how this will change so many of our legal concepts in the future.
IC
For better or worse, many people get their knowledge of the law from newspapers and television. What do you see as some of the worst misconceptions picked up in this way?
LF
I could give you hours on this one! The media is a great learning tool when it's accurate, but when it isn't ... watch out! Some people get their information from the New York Times and the Washington Post, or other good local papers. But many get it from tabloids -- especially crime
stories -- and then it can be pure garbage, and sensationalized
misinformation. So when we say we read it in the paper, we've got to make
clear just which paper we're talking about.
And television? As long as it's clear that the TV shows are fiction, not fact, it's a fine way to be entertained.
IC
You responded recently to a question on the SinC-IC newslist about fingerprints. For the benefit of those who may have missed it, we'll repeat the information here.
"OUTDOOR crimes are very difficult for most kinds of forensic evidence. There are very few surfaces outdoors which retain the oils from which fingerprint IDs are made -- and rain/dew/moisture/humidity affects all those surfaces, too. Many of my high-profile cases have occurred in Central Park, or public places, or rooftops -- and you're rarely going to find any useful fingerprint evidence.
On the other hand, surfaces like glass (panels in doors, windows, drinking glasses, medicine cabinet mirrors, etc.) and other things INDOORS are perfect surfaces."
When you read crime fiction, what common mistakes, if any, do you find in the depiction of the law and its enforcement? Do you ever think, "I wish someone had asked me about that!"
LF
Of course, I love reading crime fiction. And yes, I especially like it when the writer has taken the time to do enough basic research, or ask enough questions, to get the procedure right. For me, the
accuracy of the process is important (and probably more so than to people
who aren't professionally familiar with the system).
The fact is that so many of my colleagues all over the country -- like people in law enforcement -- are happy to answer questions and be part of the process of helping writers, rather than seeing the wrong information in a book. I love it when other writers call and ask how something works or gets done -- it's fun to participate.
Whenever I see someone online with Sisters in Crime or any other site, I'm happy to offer my expertise. USE me!
IC
If you could have only one of all the tools you use in the work of the Sex Crimes Unit, what would it be? DNA?
LF
Yes, I think if I could only have one tool,
today, to do sex crimes work, it would undoubtedly be DNA. It's a still
evolving science and it is continuing to turn the criminal justice world on its head -- we're even using it now to investigate and solve non-violent crimes. It's astounding technology.
IC
When do you do your writing, and where? Do you begin in longhand or go straight to the computer? Do you work from an outline?
LF
I started to write my non-fiction book longhand -- it was a very romantic concept that I wanted to try -- but I gave up rather quickly. Nothing compares to the speed and efficiency of the word processor. Some day, with more time, I'll go back to a fountain pen and legal pad.
I write a lot whenever we go to the country house on Martha's Vineyard. I find the beauty of the island, and the peacefulness of the setting, an easy place in which to work. By necessity, I do the rest of the writing in our city apartment. I write on weekends and early in the morning. Never, never at the end of a day in the office -- I'm whipped, and that's when I socialize with family and friends.
I don't do a terrifically structured outline. I begin a novel with a firm grasp of the early chapters, and a general outline of the rest of the book. Then as I move along, I restructure it and amend the outline, as the story takes shape and events I hadn't expected begin to occur. I love storytelling.
IC
If you could give a beginning novelist one piece of advice, what would it be?
LF
My advice would be to read everything you can get your hands on in whatever genre you plan to write -- the classics, the great names, the newcomers -- just read constantly to see what you like and what kind of voice appeals to you and how the stories are told. And to write, constantly, as well.
IC
Can you tell us what’s next for Alex Cooper? Any chance of romance with her partner, Mike Chapman?
LF
Alex Cooper is well on her way into her next
caper with Chapman and Wallace. The book due out in late 2002 is called
The Bone Vault ... and it goes behind the scenes in several NYC museums, when a young woman curator is killed.
It's not that Alex hasn't thought about Mike as a romantic dalliance or partner, but most of us know that once we cross that line with someone in the office, you never get the same note back into the working relationship. So I think the sexual tension is likely to build for a few more cases before ... well, sometimes you just don't know what's going to happen.
IC
Your turn. Any additional comments? Have we overlooked something you’d like to talk about?
LF
At the moment, Pat, I can't think of anything
you didn't give me a chance to talk about.
IC
That's a lovely way of saying that she was grilled without mercy! Our thanks to Linda for a fascinating look at her life and work.
This interview was conducted during the month of November 2001 for SinC-IC
by Pat Browning.
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E-mail Linda
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Read an earlier Spotlight Profile
