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Wrenn was part of one of the most powerful political machines in Southern history -- one that helped give rise to the current era of national Republican power -- and the amateur historian in him wanted to tell what it was really like.

"So much of what you see in politics is the tip of the iceberg," Wrenn said.

Wrenn said he hopes readers will draw two lessons from the novel -- that character matters and that backstage politics "is like watching civilization with its pants down."

Wrenn wrestled with whether to write a work of fiction or nonfiction. He said he was influenced by "The Killer Angels," the 1975 Michael Shaara novel about Gettysburg, and Robert Penn Warren's 1946 novel "All the King's Men," about Louisiana Gov. Huey Long. Writing a novel, he said, gave him greater freedom to deal with people's motivations and to put in his own opinions.

Plot closely follows '70s history

The pages of the novel, which Wrenn's agent is now shopping to publishers, are filled with characters who closely resemble leading North Carolina figures -- from Ellis to former Gov. Jim Holshouser. The plot in the book closely follows actual events in the 1970s.

In a few instances, names of actual politicians such as Reagan and President Gerald Ford are used.

The roman a clef -- a novel in which actual persons, places and events are depicted in fictional guise -- is called "The Trail of the Serpent." The novel is filled with backroom wheeling and dealing, back-stabbing, preening egos and even a few chaste sexual romps -- although it should be noted that the sex scenes involve young aides, not the Helms-like figure.

Wrenn hopes the novel will be the first in a trilogy charting the rise and fall of a powerful Raleigh-based political organization that dominated state politics for two decades and played a pivotal role in elevating Reagan to the presidency.

Wrenn, who gave a copy of the novel to The News & Observer, readily acknowledges that the novel is based on actual events and real people.

"A lot of the stories in there are based on real stories," he said. "But I fictionalized those characters and I changed some of the events."

It seems unlikely that Helms, 84, who is suffering from vascular dementia, will ever read the novel. His wife, Dot Helms, declined to comment.

Ellis, 85, expressed surprise that one of the novel's central figures seems based on him.

"This is the first time I heard he is doing a book that was even remotely connected with politics," Ellis said.

When told the book gives a mixed portrayal of both him and Helms, Ellis shrugged it off.

"I'm too old to worry about what anybody else is doing," Ellis said.

"I'm not surprised at most anything that happens. I hope it doesn't reflect on anybody to any degree that is negative."

'Based on Helms [but] not Helms'

Much of the interest in the novel will center on Jubal Kane.

"It's clearly related and to some degree based on Helms," Wrenn said. "But it's not Helms. I gave Jubal characteristics that Helms does not have. I put words in his mouth that Helms did not say."

In the book, Kane is the son of a tobacco farmer. Helms is the son of a small-town police chief.

Most of the novel takes place during the most consequential presidential primary in North Carolina history. In 1976, Ford had wracked up a series of primary wins and seemed on his way to winning the GOP nomination.

Reagan pulled a major upset in North Carolina when Helms' organization put its muscle behind him. Although Reagan did not win the nomination in 1976, the North Carolina primary revived his campaign and gave him the momentum he needed to win the presidency in 1980. The Reagan victory contributed to the national Republican conservative tide of the last generation.

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