The Palace Thief

The final story in Canin’s collection tells of history teacher Mr. Hundert’s dealings with a privileged troublesome pupil, Sedgewick Bell, over the course of four decades. The story opens in the 1980s with Hundert’s reflections that his career at St. Benedict’s private boarding-school for boys has ended in disgrace and disappointment, and his own self-regard has taken a nose-dive, following the acceptance of an invitation from Sedgewick Bell.

The narrative then casts back to November 1945, when Sedgewick, the son of powerful, populist Senator Sedgewick Hyram Bell, first turns up in Hundert’s classroom. Despite being a new boy, Sedgewick is defiant and rebellious, teasing the other boys in Hundert’s class for wearing togas. He is also a poor student, and when Hundert summons him to his office, Sedgewick remarks that Hundert makes the boys prance around in togas because he is unmarried. Hundert says he will make an appointment with Sedgewick’s father.

At the appointment, the senator flatters and intimidates Hundert into accepting the gift of one of Confederate general Robert E. Lee’s coachmen’s sidearms. When Hundert brings up the subject of Sedgewick’s performance, the senator questions the point of teaching the boys Roman history, then dismisses Hundert’s explanation. He makes clear what he believes Hundert’s purpose is: “I will mold him. You will merely teach him” (179). By the end of the meeting, Hundert finds himself warming to “young Sedgewick,” who has been raised by a “tyrant” father (179).

Back at school, Hundert encourages Sedgewick, and the latter begins to perform better academically.

At the school’s annual Mr. Julius Caesar competition—a tricky Roman history quiz prepared by Hundert, where the best three students have to compete—Hundert gets Sedgewick into the running by giving him an A on a quiz that only deserved a B. During the quiz, frontrunners Deepak Mehta and Fred Masoudi answer “without hesitation” (183), whereas underdog Sedgewick takes theatrical pauses while he comes up with his answers. When Masoudi makes an error and drops out, Hundert notices that Sedgewick has “attached the ‘Outline of Ancient Roman History’ to the inside of his toga” (184). Hundert points out to the headmaster, Mr. Woodbridge, that Sedgewick is cheating, but Woodbridge threatens to fire Hundert if he does not ignore it. Feeling conflicted, Hundert changes the quiz by asking a question about a topic that is not on the Outline, which he knows Mehta has studied privately. Mehta wins the competition.

When Hundert confronts Sedgewick, the latter asks why Hundert did nothing, even when he knew Sedgewick was cheating, and wonders whether it was to impress the senator, who was in the audience. As Hundert resolves to stand up to Sedgewick, the senator calls him and charges him with unfairness for asking a question that was not on the Outline, thereby privileging Mehta over his son. He then threatens that Sedgewick has told him about Hundert and that he must watch his footing. For the rest of Sedgewick’s school days, Hundert begins a “uneasy compact” with him, as Sedgewick gains dismal marks and fails college entry but nevertheless, due to his massive physique and charisma, gains “an impressive popularity amongst his schoolmates” (190).

In the intervening years, by the end of the 1980s, Sedgewick has become the chairman of EastAmerica Steel. Meanwhile, St. Benedict’s is long beyond its glory days. Although Hundert achieves the prestigious post of dean of academics, there is a debate about the relevance of history to the syllabus. Hundert finds himself defending Charles Ellerby, his longtime confidant at the school, for the position of dean of humanities, when the current one retires. When Ellerby succeeds, he and Hundert are united in their “commitment to classical education” (196). However, their collaboration is short lived because, following the death of Mr. Woodbridge, the two men compete to succeed him and become principal. Ellerby besmirches Hundert’s reputation and declares him outdated. When Ellerby wins the position, he forcibly invites Hundert to retire.

As Hundert prepares for his retirement, he receives a letter from Sedgewick, which asks to arrange a phone call between the two men. During the call, Sedgewick requests a rematch of the Mr. Julius Caesar contest with the exact same competitors. He offers “a good sum of money” (201) to Hundert for the role, and Hundert accepts because he is in financial need.

Hundert is helicoptered to a private island for “a privileged romp” featuring all the “boys” from Sedgewick’s class (207). Hundert enjoys catching up with his former students individually, but he does not attend the evening entertainment in the saloon, where he fully expects them to mock him. Sedgewick appears to be wearing a hearing aid; however, mid-contest, Hundert realizes that it is “a transmitter through which he was receiving the answers to my questions” (213). Hundert feels that he cannot “expose” this “significant man” on his “splendid estate” (214), so just like the last time, he asks Mehta a question that only he would know the answer to. As Mehta wins the contest, Hundert sees that “the corruption” in Sedgewick’s “character had always arisen from fear” (215). He blames himself for once trying to convince Sedgewick that he was stupid. However, Sedgewick has the last laugh, as he announces his intention to run for the United States Senate, like his father. Hundert then realizes that Sedgewick “contrived the entire rematch of ‘Mr. Julius Caesar’ for no reason other than to gather his classmates for donations” (217).

In his retirement, Hundert follows Sedgewick’s career and even goes to a campaign stop at a coal-miners’ union to watch him, wearing his St. Benedict’s blazer. When Sedgewick announces that Hundert should join him on stage, he lies, saying that he attended “Richmond Central High School” (224), which sounds like a public school, and not the elite St. Benedict’s. Hundert speaks into the microphone to contradict him and flashes the blazer, but one of Sedgewick’s aides silences the microphone. Hundert is nonetheless satisfied that he spoke, although Sedgewick, with his “populist magnetism” (225), wins the election.

Later, Hundert, who continues to live in Woodmere, the nearest town to St. Benedict’s, invites Mehta, a Columbia history professor, over for a drink. As students of history, neither is surprised by Sedgewick Bell’s ascendence.