Ted Swenson

Theodore Swenson, Ted to his closer associates, is a creative writing professor at Euston College, located in Vermont. The school has a reputation for paying homage to troubled rich children who've been dismissed from other colleges. At the time the story opens, Ted has been teaching for about 20 years, and during that time he has slowly become quite bitter about the lack of academic prowess of each successive generation of students.

Ted is also burned out and disillusioned by the campus politics and the political correctness that hampers the educational process. On top of that, in his middle years, he feels as if his creativity and creative years, have been sacrificed to a career and an institution that does not appreciate him.

He is happily married, and has been for many years, without even a hint of trouble. It is after he attends a mandatory seminar about...