It’s been more than a decade since Christopher Tilghman burst onto the scene with his critically acclaimed national bestseller, Mason’s Retreat. In that stunning debut novel, Tilghman told the captivating story of a family’s attempt to reclaim their wrecked ancestral estate on the eve of World War II. Now Tilghman returns to the lush Maryland landscape of the Retreat, enchanting us once again with his evocative storytelling and deeply felt explorations of the complex ties that bind us to our families and to the land. In The Right-Hand Shore, Tilghman traces the rich history of the Masons from their slaveholding past up to 1920 and the moment when Miss Mary Bayly learns she is dying and seeks a suitable heir for the land that has left her feeling both doomed and blessed.

Responding to Miss Mary’s invitation to meet, Edward Mason, the closest relation Miss Mary can find, is unprepared for the stories that will forever bind him to ancestors he never knew and to beautiful acres he has never seen before. He hears of Miss Mary’s grandfather brutally selling all his slaves in 1857 in order to avoid possible reprisals after Emancipation. He hears of the doomed efforts by her father, Wyatt Bayly, to establish a vast peach orchard. He learns of Abel Terrell, son of free blacks, who became head orchardist. And he hears of a fractured, warring household torn apart by race and class --- all because of innocent young forbidden love. His visit concludes with revelations that will haunt him with self-doubt, laying the path for a homecoming nearly twenty years later.

The questions and discussion topics that follow are designed to enhance your reading of The Right-Hand Shore. We hope they will enrich your experience as you explore this masterly novel about the hold of family, the devastating legacy of slavery, and, ultimately, the possibility of redemption.