"Lady Cop Makes Trouble" is the first in a series of books about Constance Kopp and her sisters.
When author Amy Stewart visited a Paterson library to find out more about the first woman who was a deputy sheriff in New Jersey, the Texas native was astonished to learn how much history was made in Paterson in the early 20th Century.
"I wanted to summon all writers: Quick, meet me in Paterson in one hour," Stewart said. "You're all going to have your next novel."
Stewart, 47, believes all those historical events -- the silk strike of 1913 is one notable example -- explain why the story of Constance Kopp, who in 1916 was named a Bergen County deputy sheriff, was forgotten until Stewart discovered Kopp in an old newspaper article and then partly fictionalized her story in last year's "Girl Waits with Gun." The book's sequel, "Lady Cop Makes Trouble," is out today from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
"On the first day I found Constance I thought, well somebody's written a book about her so I'm just going to order that book," Stewart told The Jersey Journal this morning. "No one had written a book on her. I thought, maybe a children's book, maybe a local history kind of small press thing -- nothing. She didn't have a Wikipedia page. They never heard of her at the historical society."
Stewart's books will no doubt help cement Kopp and her family as New Jersey legends. The author will appear at Jersey City bookstore Word on Thursday to discuss "Lady Cop Makes Trouble," which picks up essentially where its predecessor left off, with Kopp working for the Bergen County sheriff. The two are hunting a fugitive on the streets of New Jersey and New York City while the sheriff tries to avoid going to jail for allowing the fugitive to escape and the tough and fearless Kopp ... well, no spoilers, you'll have to read the book to find out.
Just like "Girl Waits with Gun," the sequel focuses on Kopp and her sisters, Norma and Fleurette.
Both books are a blend of fact and fiction. Stewart said she rarely fudged facts to suit the narrative -- the Kopp sisters' mother died in real life a little later than she does in the books -- and generally only fictionalized moments to connect real-life incidents documented by newspaper accounts.
"If it really happened, it stays in. I'm using fiction to fill in the gaps," she said. "You can almost visualize these newspaper clippings spread out like a timeline with physical gaps between them. And the assignment is, explain what happened. Explain how we got to these moments that made it into the papers."
The headline that inspired the title of Amy Stewart's "Girl Waits with Gun." The Kopp sisters made headlines starting in 1914 when their buggy collided in Paterson with a car driven by silk factory magnate Henry Kaufman. Constance Kopp sued Kaufman for damages, he began threatening her and the Bergen County sheriff enlisted the Kopps to put Kaufman and his crew behind bars.
Stewart discovered their story when she was researching a gin smuggler Henry Kaufman named for her 2013 nonfiction book, "The Drunken Botanist."
Stewart just signed to produce a fourth and fifth book about the Kopp sisters, who at one point ran their own private detective agency. The author said she envisions their story could stretch up to 10 books in total.
"Which sounds crazy to say," she said. "Every time I say that out loud I'm sort of terrified."
Stewart will appear at Word on Thursday, Sept. 8 at 7:30 p.m.
Terrence T. McDonald may be reached at tmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @terrencemcd. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.