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The Brief and Tragic History of the Lost Colony of Roanoke
by James Horn
In 1587, John White and 117 men, women, and children landed off the coast of North Carolina on Roanoke Island, hoping to carve a colony from fearsome wilderness. A mere month later, facing quickly diminishing supplies and a fierce native population, White sailed back to England in desperation. He persuaded the wealthy Sir Walter Raleigh, the expedition’s sponsor, to rescue the imperiled colonists, but by the time White returned with aid the colonists of Roanoke were nowhere to be found. He never saw his friends or family again.
In this gripping account based on new archival material, colonial historian James Horn tells for the first time the complete story of what happened to the Roanoke colonists and their descendants. A compellingly original examination of one of the great unsolved mysteries of American history, A Kingdom Strange will be essential reading for anyone interested in our national origins.
"This will appeal to lay readers interested in a brief overview of the Roanoke story, but it is insufficient for academic readers despite its end notes." - Library Journal
"The author creates an engaging, you-are-there feel to the narrative ... A satisfying recounting of some of the earliest American history." - Kirkus Reviews
"Starred Review. He places it all in the context of the political and economic tumult of the time for an outstanding historical mystery/adventure tale with an ending perhaps less tragic than historians have long believed." - Publishers Weekly
This information about A Kingdom Strange was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
James Horn is Vice President of Research and Historical Interpretation and O’Neill Director of the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and lecturer at the College of William & Mary. He is author most recently ofA Land as God Made It. He lives in Williamsburg, Virginia.
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