What if the lost colony of Roanoke was not really lost?
This book is a fictional rendering of what might have
happened to the lost colony of Roanoke and Virginia Dare. Historical fact tells us that Elinor Dare
gave birth to Virginia, the first white child born in the new world. That’s as
much as we know, according to history. There is no further account of the
colony beyond that point. They simply disappeared. Shannon McNear gives us a possible theory in
the form of a fictional story. The
hypothetical story begins when Virginia would have been a young teenager.
She and two of her friends are taken captive by a band of
Tuscarora Indians. The author goes back
and forth between their experiences as captives and the reaction of the colony
and her family.
In this story, Elinor has remarried a native man who
“adopts” Virginia and lives with the colonists. Apparently, in this story,
Elinor was also at one time a captive but fell in love with her captor and
married him. I don’t know if this is factual or fiction. McNear tells us her story in her book,
Elinor.
It is obvious that the author has done extensive research in
the customs and actual history of the time period. Her descriptions of the landscape, food, flora
and fauna and clothing makes the reader feel part of the story.
The cast of characters is long and somewhat confusing to
keep track of. Fortunately, there is a list in the back of the book. There is also a glossary which is very
helpful because the author uses a lot of native words. I found it distracting to have to keep
referring to the glossary but that is my personal preference.
McNear is careful to not dwell on the brutalities that
undoubtedly occurred to the captives but there is one instance that was very
uncomfortable to read.
The story gets easier to read and less confusing when
Virginia finds her way home with the help of her captor, Phillipe, as her mother
did. The blossoming romance between the two is portrayed in a sweet respectful
manner. The rest of the story focuses on
her relationship with Phillipe, who himself was taken captive as a child and
adopted into the tribe. Christian faith plays an important part of this story.
This is from the publisher’s website:
“The White
Doe of the Outer Banks Grows into Womanhood
Return to the “what if” questions surrounding the Lost Colony and explore the possible
fate of Virginia Dare--the first English child born in the New World. What
happened to her after her grandfather John White returned to England and the
colony he established disappeared into the mists of time? Legends abound, but
she was indeed a real girl who, if she survived to adulthood, must have also
become part of the legacy that is the people of the Outer Banks. In the spring
of 1602 by English reckoning, "Ginny," as she is called by family and
friends, is fourteen and firmly considered a grown woman by the standards of
the People. For her entire life she has watched the beautiful give-and-take of
the Kurawoten and other native peoples with the English who came from across
the ocean. She's enjoyed being the darling of both English and Kurawoten
alike--but a stirring deep inside her will not be put to rest.
One careless decision lands her and fellow “first baby” Henry Harvie, along
with their Croatoan friend Redbud, in enemy hands. Carried away into Mangoac
territory, out of the reach of Manteo and the others, she must learn who she
truly is—not only the daughter of Elinor and Ananias Dare but also a child of
the One True God, who gives her courage to go wherever the path of her life
might lead.
Author Shannon McNear portrays history with vivid authenticity gained from
extensive research. “
This is not a quick read. Depending on your level of
concentration it may take several days to read, as it did me.
Go HERE to read an excerpt.
This is an interesting theory of what might have happened. I
hope someday we will find proof that it happened as McNear has written it.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the
Barbour Publishing through their book review program. I was not required to
write a positive review. The opinions expressed
are my own.
