Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Modern Great: Lynda La Plante
72 Plays3 hours ago
In today's episode, Brook and Sarah discuss modern great and award winning author Lynda La Plante.
Discussed and Mentioned
Widows (TV series 1983 and 1985) ITV
Prime Suspect (TV series 1991 to 2006) ITV
Above Suspicion (2004) Lynda La Plante
The Red Dahlia (2006) Lynda La Plante
Listening to the Dead (podcast 2020 to 2026)
The Circular Staircase (1908) Mary Roberts Reinhardt
For more information
Instagram: @cluedinmystery
Contact us: hello@cluedinmystery.com
Music: Signs To Nowhere by Shane Ivers – www.silvermansound.com
Sign up for our newsletter: https://cluedinmystery.com/clued-in-chronicle/
Order Life or Delft by Brook and Sarah
For a full episode transcript, visit https://cluedinmystery.com/lynda-la-plante
Recommended
![[Re-release] Anna Katharine Green image](https://media.zencastr.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=112,quality=85/image-files/61e1c276e3ec42007857cff9/7f7ed21f-6dd3-47b5-860c-a08344c5d1e7.jpg)
![[Re-release] G.K. Chesterton (part 2) image](https://media.zencastr.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=112,quality=85/image-files/61e1c276e3ec42007857cff9/babb09c1-7933-49cb-8213-3eb4b476116b.jpg)
![[Re-release] G.K. Chesterton (part 1) image](https://media.zencastr.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=112,quality=85/image-files/61e1c276e3ec42007857cff9/3f2e982d-f98d-4e9a-9424-bdf97b08d7db.jpg)
Transcript
Introduction to Linda LaPlante
00:00:13
Speaker
Welcome to Clued in Mystery. I'm Sarah. And I'm Brooke, and we both love mystery. Brooke. Hi, Sarah. I am so looking forward to this conversation today about another modern great.
00:00:29
Speaker
Me too. we will be speaking about Linda LaPlante, and i I think there's so much to say about her.
LaPlante's Career and Notable Works
00:00:41
Speaker
Born as Linda Titchmarsh in Liverpool in 1943, she is the second of three children from a working class household.
00:00:49
Speaker
As a young girl, she started writing plays and pursued acting as she grew up, ultimately attending the Royal Academy for Dramatic Arts and then joining the Royal Shakespeare Company. She appeared in several TV productions in the 1970s, and during the same decade, her first screenplay was produced.
00:01:05
Speaker
Her breakout, Widows, appeared on UK screens in the early 1980s and was very popular. The premise is that widows of a criminal gang finished the job in which their husbands failed and died.
00:01:17
Speaker
Several other productions followed through the 1980s and early 1990s, and she is perhaps best known for Prime Suspect, a series starring Helen Mirren that aired in six, two or three episode installments between 1993 and 2006.
00:01:33
Speaker
While she was writing for television, she was also writing crime novels and has authored several series, including a series that are based on Prime Suspect and Widows. In total, she has written over 150 hours of television and over 30 novels, earning her the moniker of Queen of Crime Drama.
00:01:51
Speaker
Her work has received several awards, including recognition from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, or BAFTA, an Emmy, a British Broadcasting Award, the Royal Television Society Writers Award, an Edgar Award, and a Women in Films Award.
Discovering LaPlante's Writing
00:02:07
Speaker
She was named a member of the Order of the British Empire, inducted as a Fellow of the Forensic Science Society, in which acknowledged the accuracy of the forensic detail in her writing, and And she is a recipient of the Crime Artists Association Diamond Dagger.
00:02:21
Speaker
So as I said, Brooke, I think there is a lot to say about Linda LaPlante and her contribution to mystery. There sure is. And you and I were texting as we were reading to prepare. And I said to you, where has Linda Laplante been my whole life? Because I definitely had that feeling of why have I not been reading her books? They are fantastic.
00:02:48
Speaker
They are so good. I've read from a couple of her series, one featuring um Detective Chief Inspector Anna Travis and a couple of books from her ah series that's based on Prime Suspect. And she's got a series actually that is before Prime Suspect as well. And those feature Jane Tennyson.
00:03:12
Speaker
So far, I've only read from the Anna Travis series. I started at the beginning because that's what I like to do. And I read Above Suspicion and immediately started in on book two, The Red Dahlia.
00:03:25
Speaker
Immediately from page one, I was just hooked and just drawn in.
LaPlante's Writing Style and Research
00:03:30
Speaker
And I think It says a lot about the way she writes when you take into account her experience in her acting career and her training as a professional actor, because I think that her stories are just so vivid and dramatic. Those two things just have to go hand in hand for the reason that you're just immediately drawn in, just like you're watching a television show.
00:03:59
Speaker
I agree, Brooke. I think she works very closely with experts. So not just forensic experts where, you know, I mentioned that she'd been recognized because I think she's very careful about making sure that she's accurate in terms of the way that that she talks about science. And so in Prime Suspect, that was that first aired when DNA was really emerging as a tool for police. And so, um you know, if you watch... that first series or early series um of of Prime Suspect, there's explanation of how DNA works and and how how the police can use it.
Insights from 'Talking to the Dead' Podcast
00:04:40
Speaker
But she's continued that as she's continued writing. so you know, using digital forensics, for example. i listened to an interview with her where she talks about that she makes it a point to go and speak to people who are similar to the people that she's writing about. So she's writing about a prisoner. She she tries and and speaks to someone who has experience in the prison system. if she's you know If a character is a prostitute, she she speaks to prostitutes to really understand
00:05:13
Speaker
what it is that um that that makes them work. and And as you say, you really see that reflected in her writing. It's so neat, Sarah, because she recognizes how important it is for writers to get that firsthand information that she's actually now doing a podcast ah called Talking to the Dead. And she said that it's a way for writers to be informed about or more informed about crime investigation. Maybe you're not as brave of ah of an author as she is to go to the prison or meet with the murderer, but she brings on cops and scientists and, you know, armed specialists and different ah people to help inform other writers. And I just thought that was such a neat idea for her to do because it is something, it's kind of a specialty of hers.
00:06:07
Speaker
Yeah, I agree. I think that that is a way for her to kind of give back to the writing community. um and also, I wonder if it it isn't born a little bit of frustration out of frustration with people who take some liberties with those facts. And I personally don't have an issue with people doing that because i think it's fiction and you know you've you've got a lot of creative license. But i I certainly can appreciate when someone has taken the time to do a lot of research and it's reflected in their work.
Transition from Acting to Writing
00:06:46
Speaker
And I will say um she does a great job of not overburdening the reader.
00:06:53
Speaker
with that research, right? Because I have read where someone clearly has spent hours and hours meticulously researching how something um mightte might work in terms of a crime. And then they pour that into their book, but it's pages and pages and pages. And you kind of get lost in the in this story. And she doesn't do that at all.
00:07:23
Speaker
Yeah, she finds such a great balance in providing the information, making it factual and realistic, but not not overburdening the reader.
00:07:35
Speaker
No, she keeps it very accessible. Mm-hmm. That's right. And I also listened to an interview with her where she speaks on on her research. And I found it interesting because another part of the discussion, she was explaining that she really only started writing because she was really tired of being pigeonholed in... um Speaking of prostitutes, she said she thinks she's had like 150 parts as the, you know,
00:08:04
Speaker
five seconds on screen television prostitute a role it was really cute the way she explained that she was having these throwaway roles and she was tired of it and so she thought well let me try and write something and this was her first stab at widows so i'm thinking like when you have uh ah When you have this change from being an actor into a writer, you might not expect this person who's really just trying to get some better roles for women on television to take it so seriously and become this very careful researcher. She didn't take
Commitment to Authenticity in Productions
00:08:47
Speaker
the job lightly. She sort of turned into a journalist in a way, or the the skills of a journalist, I should say.
00:08:55
Speaker
Yeah, I think that's ah that's a fair assessment. um And I think, you know, you mentioned, you know, she wanted to create roles for for women. um And Helen Mirren credits her career to prime suspect. Right. Right.
00:09:13
Speaker
And I think that's often, you know, when you hear Helen Mirren's name, that's often what what people associate her with. ah But she had um several actors were cast early in their careers in in in productions that she had written. So Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan, Paul Bettany, Ralph Fiennes, Idris Elba.
00:09:37
Speaker
All of them have had roles in in her productions. And there's there's probably others as well. h Yeah, definitely kicked off some careers. And, you know, I learned she's very particular about who...
00:09:54
Speaker
got cast. and And then she ends up you know creating her own production company so that she can retain that control. But you know ah in the same interview I listened to, she was laughing because they said, we found this great actor to play such and such character. And when she got there, she's like, if he can carry me over his shoulder down the stairs, then he can play this guy. But Because they were just like, you know, he's he's handsome. He looks good on screen. He'll be great for this role. And she was wanted to make sure that, like, no, in this particular story, the man would have been capable to do what the character actually
Emotional Depth in LaPlante's Fiction
00:10:34
Speaker
does in the story. And I thought that was really interesting.
00:10:37
Speaker
But speaking of realism, Sarah, um it can be uncomfortable at times, right? These are not cozy mysteries. Not at all.
00:10:49
Speaker
I don't know if I would say they're gritty, but they're certainly not. They're not light. And um I don't know if you've watched any of of Prime Suspect, but um even the way that it's filmed, it's dark.
00:11:04
Speaker
right the the the lighting um treatment is so that it's it's darker you know if if you think about something that is a uh lighter cozier mystery on television the colors are a little bit more vibrant it's a little you know there's more day shots you don't get that in prime suspect it's dark Exactly. So to kind of portray that feeling of this very realistic storytelling, her books don't minimize the brutality of murder. um
00:11:38
Speaker
She's going to write about crime scenes and autopsies um and, like as we've mentioned, very specific forensic details. So I think that's important for readers to know. like These stories are fantastic and but they are much more realistic.
00:11:58
Speaker
I don't think she does this for any shock value though, because she's really talking about the cost and the, you know, the emotional weight that these crimes create, not just for the victim and the victim's family, but, you know, you see it in the police officers of what they have to go through.
00:12:21
Speaker
I agree, Brooke. it It's not gratuitous, right? Like there is ah ah a place and a purpose for all of the detail that she provides. And as you say, there's a lot of time spent on what is the what is the impact
LaPlante's Legacy and Influence
00:12:41
Speaker
on all of the people around the crime.
00:12:44
Speaker
When I was researching her, um I drew a parallel to Mary Roberts Reinhardt and the way that Reinhardt had you know used and reused her IP. I think ah Linda LaPlante has done the same thing because you know she's that books the first book in the Prime Suspect series, the same time as the the television production,
00:13:10
Speaker
um And I think, I don't know if she wrote Widows first and then started writing books in that world. ah And for Widows, there's an American version that was produced in the early 2000s and there was a film 2018. So she's
00:13:29
Speaker
so she's reimagining some of that work and with Prime Suspect there's a series that takes place before ah she becomes DCI ah so you get the to see the early parts of Jane Tennyson's career um and I just think it's really interesting that she hasn't limited herself to the the first story that she's thought of in in the various characters that she's created Oh, that's such a cool parallel with a Golden Age author who did something really, really similar, Sarah. that's
00:14:07
Speaker
That's a great point that I hadn't thought of. um But it does tie in to this idea that I've been thinking about that she really... takes writing as her job, right? And not in a, she talks about discipline and structure and deadlines. She really looks at it as a job and a business. And so there, she uses her IP in great ways to generate income. i mean, she even says the reason she started writing crime was because that's what she was commissioned to do. It paid the bills. And so um she doesn't shirk away from that at all, even though I feel like
00:14:48
Speaker
it also doesn't detract that attitude doesn't detract from the fact that these become very um artistic stories. ahha Yeah. She, she has struck a balance between that commercial success, but also craft, right? The, the, the stories are very, very good. um You know, I think there are people who are commercially successful, but they just churn out, you know,
00:15:18
Speaker
we talk about kind of reusing IP. I do feel like there are people who really don't make that much of a variation from one story to the next. And I would say that that's not the case with Linda LaPlante. Like her, i i haven't read all of her works, but I also haven't read something and thought, this is very, very similar to the last book that I read. Whereas with Mary Roberts Reinhardt,
00:15:47
Speaker
There was that element, right? She this is true wrote the the circular staircase and then the bat and then there was ah something else with the bat and like it it They were all very, very similar. um So she was reusing, but also not reinterpreting her, her IP where I think what, what Linda LaPlante is doing is building her IP.
Impact on Women in Mystery Fiction
00:16:13
Speaker
Yeah. There's with the prequels and the spinoffs, there's this large world of, of that she's created.
00:16:25
Speaker
And I think that it's fantastic that she's still going strong into her, is she's in her 80s now, I believe. And the the interview that I listened to, she was in her late 70s. And she was still publishing a book a year. And she mentioned how...
00:16:44
Speaker
by the time one book comes out, she's basically got the next one ready. So she definitely has, there's that disciplined system and structure to her production. And, you know, I am someone who didn't start publishing until my forties. And so this gives me a lot of hope. Like there is a lot of time to continue writing Yeah, absolutely. um She has a book that came out this year. So it's 2026.
00:17:14
Speaker
She's got another book that's already on pre-order for 2027. So yeah, she is still working very hard. As you say, she's in her 80s. And that's Doesn't seem to be slowing down. um In the interview that I listened to, she talks about that she spends a lot of time working out the plot.
00:17:37
Speaker
So I think she's a plotter rather than a ah discovery writer. But she also said, and I think this speaks to the discipline that that you were mentioning, Brooke, she will write for hours, like sit in her chair for 10 hours writing. So I think once she gets started, she like the story just pours out of her, ah which is pretty impressive.
00:18:06
Speaker
That's fascinating. We have also covered ah two other modern greats, Sue Grafton and Ruth Rendell. And I was thinking about how LaPlante, along with those two women, were growing their author careers at about the same time, but in different parts of the world. and how during that time period of mystery fiction, they really helped reshape
00:18:38
Speaker
the role of women. And it was during this time in the history of mystery fiction that modern crime fiction became more realistic. You know, we'd had come out of the golden age and, and things were a little more sanitized, but so they were helping make this change. There's more realism, a lot more emotional complexity, I think.
00:19:01
Speaker
And then we have these fully realized female investigators. They, the the women in their stories aren't like a quirky side character or the beautiful femme fatale. They are the drivers of the stories. And i I just think it's so neat that this was happening. You know, you see like a movement and that that's kind of what was going on in the eighties and nineties in mystery fiction, that these female authors were then like ah making, help make these change in the, in the genre. Yeah.
00:19:35
Speaker
Yeah, I think that's a great observation, Brooke, and a a great connection to draw between those authors. And they've all heavily influenced the genre. um As you say, with these strong female characters that they that they wrote about.
00:19:58
Speaker
even though their fiction is very different, like they, uh, they, uh, all had their own spin clearly, and their own brand. But I think it, all three of them kind of took mystery fiction in that direction.
Conclusion and Listener Engagement
00:20:14
Speaker
Well, Brooke, it has been so much fun to learn a little bit more about Linda LaPlante and her incredible career and the legacy that she continues to be leaving for this genre.
00:20:30
Speaker
It has been great, and I look forward to reading many more of her books. But before we go, here's your question of the week, listeners. Do you enjoy learning about real investigative techniques and forensic work in crime fiction, such as Linda LaPlante's books?
00:20:48
Speaker
We'd love to hear your thoughts. Send us an email or come find us on Instagram and Facebook. But until next time, thank you for joining us on Clued in Mystery.
00:20:59
Speaker
I'm Brooke. And I'm Sarah, and we both love mystery.
00:21:06
Speaker
Clued in Mystery is written and produced by Brooke Peterson and Sarah M. Stephen. Music is by Shane Ivers. If you liked what you heard, please consider telling a friend, leaving a review, or subscribing with your favorite podcast listening app.
00:21:20
Speaker
Visit our website to sign up for our newsletter, The Clued in Chronicle, and get mystery news, podcast updates, and bonus episodes. We're on social media at Clued in Mystery.