Synopses & Reviews
A New York Times Book Review Notable BookThe year is 1936, and the world is on the brink of war. American expatriot Edward Mason, owner of a failing machine factory, is fighting more private battles. In the face of defeat, he abandons his adopted home in England in order to reclaim his inheritance on Marylands Eastern Shore---a ruinous, thousand-acre estate known ominously as Masons Retreat. Edward, his wife, Edith, and their two young sons struggle to adjust to life in this strange and storied place. But with war drawing closer, Englands hasty rearmament offers Edward a chance to revive the factory, and he returns alone to lead his company. Meanwhile, his wife and sons are left to make their own fortunes. When an unsigned letter informs Edward of where those fortunes have led, he hastens back, an ill-fated move that will have devastating consequences for everyone involved. Haunted, moving, and masterfully written, "Christopher Tilghmans deeply remembered novel is a loyal testament to history---to the lure and bind of family, to the earth that spat us out and receives us unquestionably again" (Gail Caldwell, The Boston Sunday Globe).
Review
"Powerful...A work of surpassing thematic seriousness and fictive artistry. In all respects, Masons Retreat is exemplary."---The Washington Post Book World "Stately, absorbing...Mr. Tilghman writes [with] authoritative elegance….His book, so rooted in the idea of coming home, makes one realize all over again that here on Earth there is no such place."---Thomas Mallon, The New York Times Book Review"Comes close to pure, exhilarating perfection...Tilghman gives us richly drawn characters, shimmering detail, and an irresistibly moving theme---all presented in a graceful and powerful style."---San Francisco Chronicle "Rich...bewitching...unforgettably rendered...The pieces in Tilghmans kaleidoscope [are] sharp, faceted, and gleaming."---Richard Eder, Los Angeles Times"Beautifully written...fully imagined...Few first novels are narrated with the clarity, economy, and masterful assurance Tilghman brings to this remarkably moving and persuasive tale."---Entertainment Weekly
Synopsis
This superb novel by the author of In a Father's Place confirms Tilghman as one of America's finest writers. Set on the Eastern shore of Maryland, on the eve of World War II, the story concerns the decline of the once-grand Mason family.
From the Hardcover edition.
Synopsis
Unfolding with grandeur and suspenseful inevitability,
Mason's Retreat tells the story of a family on the shore of Maryland on the eve of World War II. After many years of extravagant expatriate living in England, Edith and Edward Mason and their two sons sail back to America to take up residence at the Retreat, a crumbling family estate on the Chesapeake Bay. Although Edward fails as a gentleman farmer, his wife and sons-unnoticed by him-begin to flourish in America, making unbreakable alliances with both land and people. Yet with the coming war, the family's drift toward destruction inexorably quickens, exposing the corrosive effect of silence on love.
About the Author
Christopher Tilghman's stories, collected in
In a Father's Place (Picador), have appeared in
The New Yorker and many other publications, and several have been selected for
The Best American Short Stories anthology. He lives in Massachusetts with his family.