Mason's Retreat

"Stately, absorbing . . . Mr. Tilghman's 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

"Rich . . .Unforgettably rendered . . . The pieces in Tilghman's kaleidoscope . . . are sharp, faceted, and gleaming . . . Scene after scene has a magical rightness."—Richard Eder, Los Angeles Times/Newsday

"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

"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

"Rich with character and sweet with the scent of a Maryland farm in America's mid-century summer . . . The moral center of this novel is larger than all its sorrows, which have about them the inevitable arc of a star falling from a darkening sky."—Gail Caldwell, The Boston Sunday Globe