Emperor of Ocean Park
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And, indeed, some of the characters do make embarrassing mistakes. Misha Garland incorrectly states the law regarding cooperation with federal investigators in his argument with Agents Foreman and McDermott, but the reader should remember that criminal law is not his area of expertise. Marc Hadley, in his enthusiasm for his own ideas, misstates both the facts and the holding of the Supreme Court’s decision in Griswold v. Connecticut, which had nothing to do with physicians or unmarried women. (He may be thinking of Eisenstadt v. Baird, or he may, as so often, be making it up as he goes along.) Lionel “Sweet Nellie” Eldridge always inflates his career scoring average from the National Basketball Association, rounding his points per game upward, from 18.6 to 19. Still, as Pony Eldridge, his wife and statistician, likes to say, this is permissible license, because his career scoring average would have been 19.5, had he not come back bravely after his injury for that last disastrous season—this is Pony talking—trying to reach ten thousand career points before retiring.
Most chess writers attribute the quotation used as the epigraph to this book to Siegbert Tarrasch, but it is sometimes said to have originated with the former world champion Alexander Alekhine. Different sources provide various renderings of the line from Felix Frankfurter quoted by Wallace Wainwright. I have chosen what seems to me the most authoritative, the late Bernard Schwartz’s influential 1996 book Decision: How the Supreme Court Decides Cases. Professor Schwartz confirmed the quotation with a law clerk who was present when the statement was made.
Finally, I must confess that not every line in this book is my own creation. The precise wording of Bentley’s announcement that he is riding on a boat was actually devised not by Misha Garland’s son but by my own. Rob Saltpeter’s bon mot about the United States as a Christian nation I first heard from the thoughtful David Bleich, who is both a rabbi and a law professor. The rules to the courtroom polka are not my own invention, nor are they Misha Garland’s; they draw on a dim memory from my childhood, a joke about President Lyndon Johnson dancing the “press-conference polka.” (I would be grateful to any reader who might direct me to the original source.) And Dana Worth’s zinger about Bonnie Ziffren was actually coined, in a similar context, by my late Yale colleague Leon Lipson, whose subtlety, wit, and sheer joy in knowledge will always inspire but can never be replaced.
I must acknowledge my gratitude to my literary agent, Lynn Nesbit, who waited many patient years for me to finish the manuscript I kept promising next month. Lynn encouraged me through my frequent blocks and never tried to make me rush. The novel has benefitted immeasurably from the graceful and sympathetic editing of Robin Desser at Knopf, and from the thoughtful comments of the small circle of intimates who read the manuscript prior to publication.
Finally, as always, I have no adequate words to express my gratitude to my family: my children, Leah and Andrew, with whom I missed many a Saturday afternoon of fun because “Daddy has to write”; their great-aunt Maria Reid, who put up with my ignoring her for hours as I sat, chained to my computer, in my study; and, most of all, to my wife, Enola Ard, without whose steadfast love, clear-eyed readings, gentle cajoling, and spiritual guidance this novel could never have been completed. May God bless you all.
May 2001
A NOTE ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Stephen L. Carter is the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law at Yale University, where he has taught since 1982. He is the author of seven acclaimed nonfiction books, including The Culture of Disbelief: How American Law and Politics Trivialize Religious Devotion and Civility: Manners, Morals, and the Etiquette of Democracy. He and his family live near New Haven, Connecticut.
THIS IS A BORZOI BOOK
PUBLISHED BY ALFRED A. KNOPF
Copyright © 2002 by Stephen L. Carter
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
www.aaknopf.com
Knopf, Borzoi Books, and the colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Carter, Stephen L., [date]
The emperor of Ocean Park / Stephen L. Carter—1st ed.
p. cm.
eISBN: 978-1-4000-4010-0
1. African American college teachers—Fiction. 2. Martha’s Vineyard (Mass.)—Fiction. 3. African American families—Fiction. 4. African American judges—Fiction. 5. Fathers and sons—Fiction. 6. Fathers—Death—Fiction. 7. Law teachers—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3603.A78 E4 2002
813’.6—dc21
2001038227
v3.0
Table of Contents
Cover
Other Books by This Author
Title Page
Dedication
Prologue: The Vineyard House
Part 1 - Nowotny Interference
Chapter 1 - The Latest News by Phone
Chapter 2 - A Visit to the Coast
Chapter 3 - The White Kitchen
Chapter 4 - The Charmer
Chapter 5 - A Graveside Encounter
Chapter 6 - The Problemist
Chapter 7 - The Roller Woman
Chapter 8 - More News by Phone
Chapter 9 - A Pedagogical Disagreement
Chapter 10 - A Tragic Coincidence
Chapter 11 - A Modest Proposal
Chapter 12 - A Special Delivery
Chapter 13 - A Familiar Face
Chapter 14 - Various Freedoms of Speech
Chapter 15 - Two Encounters
Chapter 16 - The Three Fools
Chapter 17 - The Brass Ring
Part 2 - Turton Doubling
Chapter 18 - More News by Phone
Chapter 19 - Two Tales are Told
Chapter 20 - The Halls of Justice
Chapter 21 - A Trip Around the Circle
Chapter 22 - Conversation with a Colonel
Chapter 23 - The Ambiguous Figure
Chapter 24 - The Diagnosis
Chapter 25 - A Modest Request
Chapter 26 - Sam Loyd’s Challenge
Chapter 27 - A Painful Encounter
Chapter 28 - Two News Flashes
Chapter 29 - An Enjoyable Evening
Chapter 30 - The Usual Suspects
Chapter 31 - Brown Week
Chapter 32 - A Piece of the Answer
Chapter 33 - A Helpful Chat
Chapter 34 - A Story Unravels
Chapter 35 - The Skeleton
Chapter 36 - A Brothers Tale
Chapter 37 - Some Historical Notes
Part 3 - Unprovided Flight
Chapter 38 - A Domestic Interlude
Chapter 39 - Unexpected Visitors
Chapter 40 - Another Discovery
Chapter 41 - Confrontation
Chapter 42 - Deadline
Chapter 43 - A Choice is Made
Chapter 44 - Stormy Weather
Chapter 45 - A Call to Arms
Chapter 46 - Resting Places
Chapter 47 - A Decision at Post
Chapter 48 - Zwischenzug
Chapter 49 - A Plan is Carried Out
Chapter 50 - Again Old Town
Chapter 51 - An Old Friend Returns
Chapter 52 - Old Friends Visit
Chapter 53 - Another Old Friend Arrives
Chapter 54 - An Unsteady Return
Chapter 55 - The Elm Harbor Connection
Chapter 56 - A Summer Stroll
Chapter 57 - Some Pieces are Traded Off
Chapter 58 - A Plausible Account
Chapter 59 - On the Other Hand …
Chapter 60 - Endgame
Chapter 61 - Angela’s Boyfriend
Chapter 62 - The Battle for George
Chapter 63 - The Water Baby
Chapter 64 - Double Excelsior
Author’s Note
A Note About the Author
Copyright
L. Carter, Emperor of Ocean Park