Hal Lorin

The Autocrat Hal Lorin

The Autocrat The book follows the lives, in alternating chapters, of Dexter Gordon and King Dexter I, Dexter's alter-ego. King Dexter wakes as Absolute Monarch of Erehwemos. He is uncertain whether he is in an asylum or an hallucination. His goal is to transform his realm into a Heavenly City. Over time Erehwemos achieves a 'democratization' that, he realizes, makes his realm much like 20th century New Jersey. Losing faith in his own efforts he installs a parliamentary government limiting his duties. The radical Left detest his 'bourgeois' reforms and struggle to achieve a Marxist revolution. Among them is Greta who tries to kill him for the cause. He refuses to execute her and appoints her his Chief of Staff. After many years of a 'platonic' relationship she becomes the Kings Mistress. He sees the corruption of his reforms and comes to believe there is no power so complete it can overcome the darkness of the human heart. One morning Greta finds him absent from their bed. He has recovered his sanity or the Gods have taken him away. Dexter Gordon shares memories and DNA with the King, remaining in our world as a cynical intellectual with good intentions. He has a troubled but comfortable boyhood. He is expelled by one posh private school but flourishes at another. He is accepted at Harvard. He meets Dotty from Scottsbluff who remains in the background until later in life. At Harvard Dexter develops a passion for Medieval History. During winter break his dad dies in his arms. His mother, like Dotty, a Scottsbluff native, returns home and remarries. Dexter earns his Doctorate at Columbia and joins the faculty. Professor Gordon experiences a series of 'unfortunate events'. He has an affair with an Italian Graduate student whose heart he breaks. He meets a Chinese Professor who won't marry outside of her ethnicity. He is with Dotty's sister, Jessica, when she dies during an abortion. His Grandma commits suicide by luring a bear to attack her in Scottsbluff's Monument Park. A more agreeable interval is traveling with a Philosophy major who considers sex an Olympic event. At the 'end' Dexter can not abide students, multimedia concerts, or faculty colleagues. He asks Dotty if she has a spare room. After negotiating domestic issues they live happily ever after. Despite his years in Cambridge and Scottsbluff, Dexter's heart is loyal to the Yankees.