Virginia , Daughters of the Lost Colony by Shannon McNear ~ a book review.

 

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.