The eagerly awaited, electrifying new novel from the author of The Emperor of Ocean Park (βAmong the most remarkable fiction debuts in recent years . . . A rip-roaring entertainmentββTheBoston Globe).
When The Emperor of Ocean Park was published, Time Out declared: βCarter does for members of the contemporary black upper class what Henry James did for Washington Square society, taking us into their drawing rooms and laying their motives bare.β Now, with the same powers of observation, and the same richness of plot and character, Stephen L. Carter returns to the New England university town of Elm Harbor, where a murder begins to crack the veneer that has hidden the racial complications of the townβs past, the secrets of a prominent family, and the most hidden bastions of African-American political influence.
At the center: Lemaster Carlyle, the university president, and his wife, Julia Carlyle, a deputy dean at the divinity schoolβAfrican Americans living in βthe heart of whiteness.β Lemaster is an old friend of the president of the United States. Julia was the murdered manβs lover years ago. The meeting point of these connections forms the core of a mystery that deepens even as Julia closes in on the politically earth-shattering motive behind the murder.
Relentlessly suspenseful, galvanizing in its exploration of the profound difference between allegiance to ideas and to people, New England White is a resounding confirmation of Stephen Carterβs gifts as a writer of fiction.
Media Buzz
Studio 360 - May 18, 2008 Studio 360 - August 4, 2007 All Things Considered - July 12, 2007 Fresh Air - NPR - July 3, 2007
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