Jump to content

The Emperor of Ocean Park

Add links
This is a good article. Click here for more information.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Legobot (talk | contribs) at 12:41, 23 October 2018 (Adding Good Article icon). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The Emperor of Ocean Park
The top half of the cover is black and features the title in white text. The bottom is white and features the author's name in black text. In the center, two chess pawns are shown bottom-to-bottom. A black pawn is on top, and a white pawn in on bottom (upside down).
Original 2002 hardback front cover
AuthorStephen L. Carter
Audio read byRichard Allen[1]
LanguageEnglish
SeriesElm Harbor
GenreThriller, Mystery
PublisherKnopf
Publication date
June 2, 2002
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (hardback & paperback)
Pages657[2]
ISBN0224062840
Followed byNew England White 
WebsiteThe Emperor of Ocean Park

The Emperor of Ocean Park is a 2002 novel by American author and law professor Stephen L. Carter. It is the first part of Carter's Elm Harbor series; two more novels in the series were published in 2007 and 2008.[3][4] The book was Carter's first work of fiction, and spent 11 weeks on The New York Times best-seller list following its publication. Described as a murder mystery, the novel tells the story of Talcott Garland, a law professor who uncovers a mystery surrounding his father, the titular 'Emperor of Ocean Park'.[5] Written from Tal's first person perspective, the book explores themes of privileged black identity, politics, and law,[6] and contains many allusions to chess.[7]

Because a number of publishing houses were interested in obtaining the rights to the book, Carter received an exceptionally large advance of $4.2 million. The size of the advance, for a debut novel from an African-American writer, contributed to an important shift for African-American literature, with the book marketed and received as a mainstream work of fiction, rather than one aimed at a specialized audience.[8] The novel was well-reviewed by most critics, with attention being drawn to its then-unusual setting for a murder mystery story, featuring an African-American protagonist and with most of the story taking place in wealthy, predominately African-American neighborhoods in Washington, D.C. and Martha's Vineyard.[2] It won the 2003 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award and BCALA Literary Award,[9] and was nominated for several more, including the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work, Fiction and the New Blood Dagger from the Crime Writer's Association.

Plot

Talcott 'Tal' Garland (known as Misha to his closest friends) is a black tenured law professor at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut. His wife, Kimberley Madison, known as Kimmer, is an attorney.[10] Tal's father, Oliver Garland, a federal judge, has just died. Years earlier, Judge Oliver Garland had to decline a nomination from President Ronald Reagan for a seat on the Supreme Court due to the release of embarrassing information about his past, and then resigned from the bench. Following some years of heavy drinking,[11] Oliver in his later life became a well-paid mascot for right-wing white political groups.[12] Judge Garland dies in suspicious circumstances, purportedly of a heart attack.[13] The death brings together the Judge's three living children – Tal, Addison, and Mariah – for the funeral. A fourth child, Abby, died some years previously, in a hit and run car accident.[11]

Talcott is named in Judge Garland's will as being responsible for the "final arrangements", which are not explained. Talcott's only clue is an obtuse note from his father telling him to search for "Angela's boyfriend", someone unknown to Talcott who apparently holds information that the Judge wants Talcott to have, and ending "Excelsior, my son! Excelsior! It begins!" – a reference to the Double Excelsior; the first of many chess references found within the trail of clues the Judge has left.[14] Unbeknownst to Tal, the Judge had hired a private investigator to investigate his daughter's death. The investigator had been recommended by Jack Ziegler, one of his college roommates[15] who later worked in espionage for the CIA, and in return, the Judge influenced some legislation to suit Ziegler. The investigator finds the car that killed Abby was driven by the son of a prominent US senator and his girlfriend, both of whom were subsequently killed in similar car accidents; it is later revealed at least one of these "accidents" was caused by the private investigator. The release of details of Judge Garland's relationship with Ziegler is what resulted in the Judge failing to gain a seat on the Supreme Court. Ziegler approaches Talcott at his father's funeral, demanding to know the details of the Judge's final arrangements.[16] Two other interlinking plot threads feature Kimmer's campaigning for a highly sought after seat on one of the thirteen Federal Courts of Appeal, and the often-parlous state of Talcott and Kimmer's marriage.[17] Kimmer, with whom Talcott first had an affair while she was married to one of Talcott's fellow law professors,[15] is suggested as being unfaithful, although this is never confirmed.[18]

Talcott discovers that parties including the FBI and an unknown assassin – later revealed as one of Judge Garland's fellow judges – are prepared to kill in order to obtain the details of the arrangements. Talcott follows a series of cryptic clues left by his father, including working out that "Angela's boyfriend" referred to his Uncle Derek, a communist and admirer of Angela Davis. Talcott finally learns that "the arrangement" to which the Judge referred was a floppy disk containing details of the many trials and legal decisions which the Judge illegally fixed in return for favors and payment from prominent people. The disk was hidden in a toy bear which belonged to Abby – Tal's deceased sister.[2] The book ends with Talcott throwing the disk into a fire to start with a clean slate.[19]

Development history

Author Stephen L. Carter in 2015

Stephen L. Carter wrote The Emperor of Ocean Park while working as a Professor of Law at Yale.[20] In a 2002 interview, Carter, who had already written several non-fiction books in his career, said that the idea for a fiction novel had "always been in the back of [his] mind", and that the major characters of the novel had been ones he had tried to fit into various drafts and unpublished stories over the preceding years.[21] Carter started working on the book in the mid-1990s,[22] writing mostly at night while working at Yale during the day; it took him four years to complete in draft.[23]

He originally created an outline for the novel because that was how he wrote his scholarly arguments in non-fiction pieces, but soon found the outline restrictive as the story's content changed dramatically and discarded it. At one point, the draft manuscript grew to 1,300 pages long.[22] In December 2000, Carter and his wife decided that he should focus all his time on finishing the final version. He spent six weeks "polishing the draft into shape".[24]

Many of the legal and political topics addressed in the book, such as the workings of the FBI, the appointment process for the Supreme Court, and the political lobbying of judges were topics on which Carter had previously published non-fiction books and writings, making it possible for him to use this knowledge in writing the novel without requiring extensive research.[21] In particular, his scholarly works The Confirmation Mess, The Culture of Disbelief, Civility, and Reflections of an Affirmative Action Baby were all touchpoints in writing The Emperor of Ocean Park.[17]

Carter said his fiction writing was influenced by Go Tell It on the Mountain author James Baldwin and Langston Hughes, in particular how Hughes wrote dialogue.[25]

A fierce bidding war for publication and adaptation rights ensued in early 2001 among American publishers Knopf, sister publisher Random House, and others.[26] Carter was given $4.2 million, one of the largest advances ever received by a first-time author of fiction from Knopf for the rights to publish a book. The advance included the rights to Carter's second novel, New England White, which was published in 2008.[27] With the two publishing houses making bids of equal value, Carter chose Knopf because he remembered the support and encouragement he had been given from Knopf's editor-in chief, Sonny Mehta, who had read a few early draft chapters of the novel in 1998.[28] Carter received a further $1 million from Jonathan Cape for the British publishing rights.[29]

The size of the advance was discussed widely.[30] At the time of the novel's publication, The Economist described it as a "reckless gamble" by Knopf, noting Carter had never written a work of fiction before.[31] Writing for Newsweek, David Gates was also critical of the advance, which he suggested was "a way to make a Denzel Washington movie out of it", or that Knopf saw Carter as a black Tom Wolfe.[32] Discussing the reviews in a piece for The Weekly Standard, Arnold Beichman said that much of the criticism of the book was because of the large advance Carter received for his debut novel.[33]

Publication history

The Emperor of Ocean Park was first released in hardcover on June 2, 2002, published in the United States by Knopf. The paperback was released in the US on May 27, 2003.[34]

In 2002, it became the first book featured on the Today Show's book club, where it was selected by writer John Grisham, who is known for his own legal mysteries.[35] It was featured on the cover of The New York Times Book Review on June 16.[36] The interest generated by a national print and television advertising campaign plus a twelve-city promotional tour,[23] along with positive reviews and media attention, led Knopf to claim to have been required to print an additional 250,000 hardcover copies within the first month of the book's release to meet demand beyond the initial print run of 275,000.[27].[27] The Observer reported that this claim was an exaggeration on the publisher's part to drum up additional publicity, and the actual print run in total was around 300,000 copies, with the total sales in hardcover being around 350,000 copies.[37] The Emperor of Ocean Park immediately went to number one on Amazon.com[38] and spent 11 weeks on the New York Times best-seller list.[39][40] Carter said that "the enthusiasm and even affection that has greeted the novel and the characters has overwhelmed me".[41]

An audiobook version, narrated by Richard Allen, was released on July 21, 2003.[1][42] The Emperor of Ocean Park forms part one of Carter's Elm Harbor series; the second book (New England White) was released in 2007[3], and the third (Palace Council) in 2008.[4] Neither New England White nor Palace Council feature Talcott Garland as a character: New England White promotes two minor characters from The Emperor of Ocean Park – Lemaster and Julia Carlyle – to the main protagonists,[43] and Palace Council is set from 1952–1974, with the main character, Eddie Wesley, being related to the Garland family by marriage.[44]

Major themes

abcdefgh
8
a8 black knight
c8 black rook
d8 black bishop
b7 black pawn
f7 black pawn
h7 black pawn
b6 black pawn
b5 white rook
h5 white king
a3 black pawn
e3 black pawn
g3 white pawn
h3 white knight
b2 white pawn
c2 white pawn
e2 white rook
a1 white knight
h1 black king
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
An example of an Excelsior chess problem, by Sam Loyd. White to move and mate in five with "the least likely piece or pawn".[45]

The Emperor of Ocean Park was noted by many critics to bring together two themes – the "lowbrow" genre fiction style, in particular using the principles and thematic elements of a pulp thriller or murder mystery, and the "highbrow" literary fiction style, in which Carter reflects on black America – what Carter (as Talcott Garland) refers to as the "darker nation" – from a black perspective.[46][13] Ocean Park is an area of Oak Bluffs, a summer colony on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.[2] Until the 1960s, Oak Bluffs was the only town on Martha's Vineyard that welcomed black tourists, as other towns on the island did not allow black guests to stay in inns and hotels.[47] Carter summers there, and noted the enduring appeal of Martha's Vineyard to middle and upper-class African-American families.[48]

Racial themes and expository sections on upper-class black culture form a large part of the narrative of The Emperor of Ocean Park, with the lead character being described as highly self-conscious of his race and how that influences his life.[19] Carter said in an online interview with MSNBC that he was "quite aware that very little in literature or in the media ever focuses on middle class and upper middle class Black Americans. If the success of this book means that publishers or film makers will be more interested in this class, that’s a good thing. On the other hand, I wouldn’t want the book’s focus on that group to mean we should stop thinking about those who are being left behind."[49]

Professor Ben Barton of the California Law Review said the novel was "unmistakably a product by a legal academic"; Carter delves into great detail around a number of legal issues throughout the novel, calling upon his legal experience and research.[17] Judge Oliver Garland is described as an amalgam of Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas;[50] Carter noted that he was inspired to write about Judge Garland's travails during his confirmation hearing by his having watched the hearings of Clarence Thomas.[51] Carter wanted to ensure that his character's lives were fully rounded and, particularly as a Christian, he wanted the novel to reflect that many of his characters had religious beliefs. In one interview, he drew a comparison between those beliefs and the seemingly strictly secular world of the modern college campus.[24]

The introductory epigraph ("Two fools always win, but three fools, never!") at the start of the book is a quote attributed by Carter to Siegbert Tarrasch, a chess writer of the late 19th and early 20th century. Chess plays a major part in The Emperor of Ocean Park; a member of the United States Chess Federation, Carter included a great number of allegories to chess within the novel, equating white characters with the white pieces, and black characters with the black.[21] Early in the book, two pawns – one white, one black – go missing from the chessboard in Tal's father's study. The book is divided into three main sections, each named after an element of chess theory, again as allegories to the themes within the book; Nowotny Interference, in which two black pieces obstruct one another; Turton Doubling, when one white piece withdraws to enable a second white piece to move in front of it and jointly attack the black king; and Unprovided Flight, where only one move is available to the black king, and checkmate is imminent.[18] The final chapter is entitled "Double Excelsior", in reference to the Excelsior problem, linking back to the Judge's original note for Talcott,[14] and suggesting the one remaining black pawn (Tal) and the last white pawn (Ziegler) had been slowly moving toward one another, to be promoted to knights, with the only apparent ending being for the two pieces to collude (known as a "helpmate"), and the only possible result being that the black side must lose.[52][19]

In a lengthy author's note at the end of the novel, Carter says that the book was decidedly not a roman à clef.[53] While superficially, Stephen Carter and Talcott Garland shared a number of characteristics – they were both middle-aged professors of law at Yale, both summered at Martha's Vineyard as part of the wealthy black community there, both were chess fans, both were married to other lawyers, and so on – Carter considered that the resemblance ended there. He says that Garland is an original literary creation, as are all the other characters.[29] This was gently mocked by some critics.[19][54] Political scientist Michael Nelson said the "similarities between creator and creature are just too numerous and important to ignore".[29] Carter acknowledged the author's note was "absurdly long", justifying it a reaction to not being able to put footnotes throughout the book, unlike in his non-fiction writing. Instead, he appended them to the end of the novel, saying "I don’t think I could have written a novel, as a scholar, without making sure I got my facts right and making sure the reader knew."[24]

Literary significance and reception

The Ocean Park gazebo in Oak Bluffs.

In an early review, Publishers Weekly forecast that The Emperor of Ocean Park would bring Carter wide recognition as a novelist.[50] The novel received a broadly positive reception upon release, although some responses were mixed.[55] In a review for the New York Times, writer Ward Just discussed at length the preoccupation of the book with describing the world of the black bourgeoisie, and suggested that "in Stephen Carter, the black upper class has found its Dreiser" – referring to the influential naturalist author Theodore Dreiser.[11] It was described as an "expansively, constantly interesting book" by the The Detroit Free Press, which suggested it would be popular summer reading material.[15] Like others, Jelani Cobb of The Crisis noted that the book features aspects of both genre and literary fiction, describing Carter's attempt to bring the two together as sprawling and sublime. He drew attention to the unusual protagonist, describing the Talcott Garland character as "jaded, overweight, and profoundly insecure".[13] Historian Elizabeth Fox-Genovese considered the book to be "gripping", and noted that Carter had over a decade of experience in writing non-fiction about politics, law, and religion. She suggested that he may have used fiction to allow him more freedom to explore these topics, away from the didactic requirements of non-fiction.[18]

In an episode of the Newsnight Review for the BBC, novelist Ian Rankin said he thought the book was "very well written but badly constructed" due to the conflation of a number of thriller cliches, and that the over-complicated plot obscured a great story.[7] The A.V. Club suggested Carter had a tendency to overwrite, and too often strayed away from a "spellbinding" plot in the novel's exposition.[10] Carter's writing style was noted for being at times dispassionate, and 'chilly', particularly when straying away from the more esoteric topics the novel covers and into the personal, with criticism of some descriptions (such as of a young child being "childlike").[46] The density of the book was discussed, with some reviewers suggesting that the multitude of references to chess required a certain knowledge of the game in order to appreciate the allusions and clues contained through the book.[17] Others said that the writing was at times clunky, and the extensive social commentary detracted from the narrative flow.[14]

The publication of The Emperor of Ocean Park was described as part of a major shift for African-American literature. Instead of being marketed as a niche novel, the record-breaking advance, the publicity around its release, and the jacket art placed it firmly in the mainstream, as a "blockbusting, best-selling legal thriller".[8] It was noted by John Kevin Young, though, that despite the marketing for the novel being "color-blind", the reviews and press attention to the book still drew attention to the race of the author and the characters within the novel, suggesting that the world of African Americans had been previously "hidden" to the white reader. While such commentary was outside of Knopf's control, it reinforced the pattern of how the mainstream media responded to African-American literature.[56]

Awards and nominations

Awards:

Nominations:

Adaptations

As part of the significant advance Carter obtained with Knopf in 2001, Knopf received the rights to any subsequent screen adaptations of The Emperor of Ocean Park.[41] Variety reported that, after reading an early version of the manuscript, a number of production companies were interested in acquiring the rights to create a movie adaptation of the novel. The rights were preemptively optioned by Warner Brothers, John Wells Productions, and Gaylord Films prior to the novel being published.[62] Stephen Schiff completed a script adaptation in 2003 which was attached to director Carl Franklin,[63][64] and Attica Locke, novelist, screenwriter and producer for the series Empire, completed another script in 2009.[65] Actor Wendell Pierce said in early 2015 that a movie adaptation of The Emperor of Ocean Park would be his dream project.[66] It was also reported in 2015 that writer Katori Hall was working with John Wells on a television pilot of The Emperor of Ocean Park for Fox Network.[67] Later that year writer Frank Bergon said that "last heard, the script was "under rewrite", maybe in "turnaround"."[68]

References

  1. ^ a b "Listen to Emperor of Ocean Park". Audiobooks. July 2003. Archived from the original on February 22, 2018. Retrieved February 21, 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ a b c d Stein, Lorin (August 8, 2002). "Huffing Along". London Review of Books. 24 (15): 17–18. OCLC 5655695. Archived from the original on February 22, 2018. Retrieved February 15, 2018. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ a b "New England White". Publisher's Weekly. May 7, 2007. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
  4. ^ a b Mallon, Thomas (July 20, 2008). "A Conspiracy So Immense". The New York Times. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
  5. ^ Taylor, D. J. (June 1, 2002). "The loner in his labyrinth". The Guardian. Archived from the original on February 22, 2018. Retrieved February 15, 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ McWhorter, John (September 9, 2002). "The Arrangements". The New Republic. Archived from the original on February 22, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ a b "Newsnight Review (transcript)". BBC News. June 6, 2002. Archived from the original on June 17, 2004. Retrieved February 19, 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ a b Ween, Lori (January 2003). "This Is Your Book: Marketing America to Itself". PMLA. 118 (1). Modern Language Association of America: 90–102. doi:10.1632/003081203X59856. ISSN 0030-8129. JSTOR 823202.
  9. ^ a b "Anisfield-Wolf award winners by year". The Cleveland Foundation. 2017. Archived from the original on December 9, 2014. Retrieved February 13, 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ a b Rabin, Nathan (July 22, 2002). "Stephen L. Carter: The Emperor Of Ocean Park". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on February 24, 2018. Retrieved February 20, 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ a b c Just, Ward (June 9, 2002). "How the Other Half Lives". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 21, 2018. Retrieved February 20, 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ Muchnick, Laurie (July 7, 2002). "A debut novel of suspense and social observation". The Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on February 24, 2018. Retrieved February 15, 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ a b c Cobb, William Jelani (2002). "A Cautionary Tale for the Afrostocracy". The Crisis. 109 (4): 60–61. Archived from the original on February 24, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2018. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ a b c Caban, Ana (June 16, 2002). "Legal Thriller Tackles Racial Divide". The Honolulu Advertiser. p. 49. Archived from the original on February 24, 2018. Retrieved February 23, 2018. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  15. ^ a b c Lannon, Linnea (June 16, 2002). "The Emperor of Summer". The Detroit Free Press. p. 54. Archived from the original on February 24, 2018. Retrieved February 23, 2018. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  16. ^ Hansen, Suzy (June 24, 2002). "The Emperor of Ocean Park by Stephen L. Carter". Salon. Archived from the original on February 23, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  17. ^ a b c d Barton, Benjamin (March 2004). "Review: "The Emperor of Ocean Park": The Quintessence of Legal Academia". California Law Review. 92 (2). UC Berkeley: 585–608. doi:10.2307/3481432. Archived from the original on February 22, 2018. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  18. ^ a b c Fox-Genovese, Elizabeth (July 2002). "The way it was before: Stephen Carter's first novel offers a compelling mystery". Books & Culture. 8 (4). General OneFile: 30+. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  19. ^ a b c d Wu, Frank H. (May 2003). "The Emperor of Ocean Park". Michigan Law Review. General OneFile. pp. 2209+. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  20. ^ "Stephen L. Carter". Yale University. January 25, 2018. Archived from the original on May 17, 2017. Retrieved February 15, 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  21. ^ a b c "Interview With Stephen L. Carter". Writers Write. 2002. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
  22. ^ a b Birnbaum, Robert (July 14, 2002). "Stephen Carter interview". Identity Theory. Retrieved September 21, 2018.
  23. ^ a b Owen, David (June 3, 2002). "From Race to Chase". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on February 21, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  24. ^ a b c Staub, Dick (October 27, 2003). "Steven Carter, Emperor of Ocean Park (Interview)". dickstaub.com. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  25. ^ Boyd, Herb (2007). "A Law Professor Who Tells Tales". Neworld Review. 1 (2). Archived from the original on February 22, 2018. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  26. ^ EW Staff (March 2, 2001). "Between The Lines". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on February 21, 2018. Retrieved February 21, 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  27. ^ a b c Thomson, Margie (July 3, 2002). "Stephen L. Carter: The Emperor of Ocean Park". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  28. ^ Kirkpatrick, David D. (February 20, 2001). "Knopf Pays a $4 Million Advance to a First-Time Novelist". The New York Times. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
  29. ^ a b c Nelson, Michael (2003). "Stephen L. Carter: the Christian As Contrarian". Virginia Quarterly Review. University of Virginia. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
  30. ^ "Prepare for a summer of doorstops". The Guardian. June 8, 2002. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  31. ^ "Visible man - New fiction". The Economist. June 13, 2002. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  32. ^ Gates, David (June 10, 2002). "Is It a Long Good Buy? Yale professor Stephen Carter got $4.2 million for his epic novel of suspense. The true mystery is why". Newsweek: 56. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  33. ^ Beichman, Arnold (June 17, 2002). "The Standard Reader". The Weekly Standard. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  34. ^ "The Emperor of Ocean Park". Penguin Random House. Archived from the original on February 22, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  35. ^ Robertson, Deb (September 2002). "Oprah and out: libraries keep book clubs flourishing; reading enthusiasts come and go, but book clubs party on at your library". American Libraries. Gale: 52+. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  36. ^ "On the Cover of the Book Review". The New York Times. August 24, 2002. Archived from the original on February 22, 2018. Retrieved February 21, 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  37. ^ Nelson, Sara (March 21, 2013). "Publishers, Open Your Books! We Know the Numbers Lie". New York Observer. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
  38. ^ Offman, Craig (June 20, 2002). "TV book battle a page-turner". Variety. Archived from the original on February 22, 2018. Retrieved February 21, 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  39. ^ Schlack, Julie Wittes (July 17, 2008). "Mystery, politics in historical context". Boston Globe. Boston.com. Archived from the original on September 21, 2017. Retrieved September 18, 2017. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  40. ^ Wells, Julia (July 4, 2002). "Blockbuster First Novel Surprises Modest Author Stephen Carter". The Vineyard Gazette. Archived from the original on September 21, 2017. Retrieved September 18, 2017. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  41. ^ a b Hamilton, Kendra (July 18, 2002). "Writing for pleasure and profit: law professor spins a tale of mystery, sex and intrigue to the tune of a $4.2 million book deal". Black Issues in Higher Education. General OneFile. pp. 30+. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
  42. ^ "The Emperor of Ocean Park". Penguin Random House. Archived from the original on February 22, 2018. Retrieved February 21, 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  43. ^ Bernard, Emily (June 19, 2007). "Race and Power". Slate.com. Archived from the original on February 21, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  44. ^ Lawson, Mark (August 16, 2008). "Review: Palace Council". The Guardian. Archived from the original on February 21, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  45. ^ White, Alain Campbell (1913). Sam Loyd and His Chess Problems. New York Public Library: Dover Publications (1962 reprint). p. 396. ISBN 9780486209289. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  46. ^ a b Harris, Mark (June 14, 2002). "The Emperor of Ocean Park". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on February 22, 2018. Retrieved February 20, 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  47. ^ Brown, DeNeen L. (August 19, 2009). "Oak Bluffs, Mass.: A Place in the Sun". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 12, 2017. Retrieved September 11, 2017. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  48. ^ Carter, Stephen L. (April 8, 2009). "The Obamas' Summer Hideaway". The Daily Beast. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
  49. ^ Femia, Will (July 2002). "Author Stephen Carter on The Emperor of Ocean Park". MSNBC. Retrieved September 21, 2018.
  50. ^ a b "Fiction Book Review: The Emperor of Ocean Park". Publishers Weekly. April 22, 2002. Archived from the original on February 21, 2018. Retrieved February 21, 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  51. ^ Wyndham, Susan (June 8, 2002). "The thrill of the case - smh.com.au". The Sydney Morning Herald. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
  52. ^ "The Emperor of Ocean Park (Fiction)". Kirkus Reviews. General OneFile. April 1, 2002. p. 438. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
  53. ^ Guttridge, Peter (June 16, 2002). "Supreme Emperor". The Observer. Archived from the original on February 21, 2018. Retrieved February 21, 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  54. ^ Appiah, Kwame Anthony (June 27, 2002). "What Garland Knew". The New York Review of Books. Archived from the original on February 22, 2018. Retrieved February 21, 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  55. ^ Vitale, Tom (June 23, 2002). "The Emperor of Ocean Park". NPR. Archived from the original on February 22, 2018. Retrieved February 20, 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  56. ^ Young, John Kevin (2006). Black Writers, White Publishers: Marketplace Politics in Twentieth-century African American Literature (1st ed.). University Press of Mississippi. p. 21. ISBN 9781604735499. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
  57. ^ "BCALA announces 2003 literary awards winners". American Library Association. January 13, 2003. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
  58. ^ "Stephen L. Carter: Book Fest 07". Library of Congress. 2007. Archived from the original on July 20, 2015. Retrieved February 13, 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  59. ^ "John Creasey (New Blood) 2002". Crime Writer's Association. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
  60. ^ "LA Times Book Award nominees". Archived from the original on July 10, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  61. ^ "2004 Longlist". International Dublin Literary Award. Dublin City Public Libraries and Archive. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  62. ^ Bing, Jonathan (February 21, 2001). "Prof's 'Ocean' makes waves". Variety. Archived from the original on February 22, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  63. ^ Fleming, Michael (August 7, 2003). "Ex-Journo turns the page as screenwriter". Variety. Archived from the original on February 22, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  64. ^ Pierce, Nev (July 16, 2003). "Reel Life". BBC Online. Archived from the original on October 30, 2003. Retrieved February 19, 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  65. ^ Corrigan, Maureen (June 22, 2009). "Book Review: Maureen Corrigan on 'Black Water Rising' by Attica Locke". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 22, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  66. ^ Lewis, Andy (September 17, 2015). "Wendell Pierce Talks About His New Katrina Memoir, 'The Wind in the Reeds'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 22, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  67. ^ Beete, Paulette (May 28, 2015). "Art Talk with Playwright Katori Hall". National Endowment for the Arts. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
  68. ^ Bergon, Frank (June 2015). "Hollywood Calling". Arts & Ideas. Retrieved September 21, 2018.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Emperor_of_Ocean_Park&oldid=865357251"