Helpful Score: 2
Tilghman's first novel. Tells the story of a family that's returned to its crumbling family estate on the Eastern Shore of Maryland on the eve of World War II. Edward Mason is determined to make a go as a gentleman farmer. Edith and her two sons feel at home and achieve a sense of belonging. Tilghman's a sensitive writer with a superb sense of place. His prose is immaculate. The book reminds me a little of "The Wapshot Chronicle" by John Cheever. An American family of WASPs, going to seed a little and the family bonds slipping.
