The Mystery Identity of J.T. Leroy
Posted on January 9, 2006
The New York Times investigates the mystery of the true identity of novelist J.T. Leroy:
Rescued as a young teenager by a couple named Laura Albert and Geoffrey Knoop and treated by a psychologist, he was able to turn his terrible youth into a thriving career as a writer. JT Leroy has published three critically acclaimed works of fiction noted for their stark portrayal of child prostitution and drug use.The Times treats the story as a kind of literary Watergate and comes to the conclusion that there is no J.T. Leroy at all: he's a character made up by Laura Albert and Geoffrey Knoop. They then had Koop's sister Savannah play the tragic author in public. New York magazine ran an article saying that the pair are failed rock musicians who concocted the scheme to meet celebrities and con people out of money who felt sorry for the young author who supposedly was HIV-positive. Only now no one is really sure who wrote the books and whether they will continue to sell. It's all quite bizarre.*****
But the young man in the wig and sunglasses, it turns out, is not a man at all. The public role of JT Leroy is played by Savannah Knoop, Geoffrey Knoop's half-sister, who is in her mid-20's.
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It is unclear what effect the unmasking of Ms. Knoop will have on JT Leroy's readers, who are now faced with the question of whether they have been responding to the books published under that name, or to the story behind them. The identification of Ms. Knoop may also have repercussions for the publishing world; JT Leroy is under contract with Viking for a new novel, and Mr. Silverberg, his agent, said his books were on sale in as many as 20 different countries. Carolyn Coleburn, the director of publicity at Viking, said simply, "We stand by our authors."