Mason's Retreat - Softcover

Tilghman, Christopher

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0099732718 ISBN 13: 9780099732716

Publisher: Vintage, 1997

Synopsis

MASON'S RETREAT is a powerful, spellbindingly readable story about a family and a place. In 1936, Edward and Edith Mason return to America after a decade in England, with their two sons Simon and Sebastien. Their destination is an old family estate on the coast of Maryland, known as 'The Retreat'. They plan to revive it, and restore their own diminished fortune. But events take a very different turn, as the house, the beautiful watery landscape, and new and insidious pressures of class tension and sexual desire begin to exert a profound effect on the family and their world. Haunting, compelling, charged with subtle eroticism and a poignant sense of transience, this is a magnificent novel. It propels Tilghman into the ranks of the great American writers.

About this title

Review

"""Powerful...A work of surpassing thematic seriousness and fictive artistry. In all respects, "Mason's 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 Tilghman's 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"

Powerful...A work of surpassing thematic seriousness and fictive artistry. In all respects, "Mason's 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 Tilghman's 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""

"Powerful...A work of surpassing thematic seriousness and fictive artistry. In all respects, Mason's 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 Tilghman's 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

From the Back Cover

'Tilghman's elegantly sombre novel confirms his reputation as an American Chekhov'
-Esquire

'Brilliantly described...Tilghman writes about this family in collapse with a beautifully judged blend of candour and subtlety'
-Helen Dunmore, The Times

'A superb first novel. Echoes of The Great Gatsby, William Styron's Lie Down in Darkness, O'Neill and Faulkner add further resonance to a novel that stands as a stunning individual achievement'
-Kirkus

'The old and new worlds are intriguingly transposed... Tilghman writes elegantly in long, languid sentences which evoke the Maryland atmosphere in vivid elemental descriptions'
-Michael Arditti, Independent

'Tilghman's novel is distinguished by its strong sense of place and character, and there is a rare degree of warmth and wisdom in the telling'
-Andrew Biswell, Daily Telegraph

About this edition

• Publisher: Vintage
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0099732718
• ISBN 13: 9780099732716
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 304