Lady Catherine is one of Queen Elizabeth’s favorite court maidens-until her forbidden romance with Sir Walter Ralegh is discovered. In a bitter twist of irony, the jealous queen banishes Cate to Ralegh’s colony of Roanoke, in the New World. Ralegh pledges to come for Cate, but as the months stretch out, Cate begins to doubt his promise and his love. Instead it is Manteo, a Croatoan Indian, whom the colonists-and Cate-increasingly turn to. Yet just as Cate’s longings for England and Ralegh fade and she discovers a new love in Manteo, Ralegh will finally set sail for the New World.
Seamlessly weaving together fact with fiction, Lisa Klein’s newest historical drama is an engrossing tale of adventure and forbidden love-kindled by one of the most famous mysteries in American history: the fate of the settlers at Roanoke, who disappeared without a trace forty years before the Pilgrims would set foot in Plymouth.
-
Sexual Content - 1/5
1/5
-
Violence - 1/5
1/5
-
Language - 0/5
0/5
-
Drugs and Alcohol - 0/5
0/5
Summary
Overall When her father dies while fighting in the Netherlands in 1583, fourteenyearold Catherine Archer is left orphaned and penniless. Her fortunes change, however, when in recognition of the fact that Cate’s father died in her service, Queen Elizabeth invites her to come live at court and serve as one of her maids of honor. Cate
finds life at court to be rather complicated as no one there is truly free, but rather subject to the will of the Queen. That becomes all too clear when Cate’s secret romance with Sir Walter Ralegh, a handsome young courtier who is a favorite of the Queen’s, is discovered. The furious and jealous Queen sentences Cate to banishment in the new world of Virginia, while Ralegh, who hoped to govern the colony, is forced to remain behind and serve the Queen in England. As she sets out on the sea voyage with the other Roanoke colonists, Cate is filled with many conflicting feelings. After hearing Ralegh’s tales of the wild and unsettled land of Virginia, and meeting the young Indian Manteo, brought back to England by a previous expedition, Cate had longed to travel to the new world and see it for herself. But she never expected so much hardship. The colonists are abandoned on Roanoke Island, and their governor must return to England to try and bring back supplies. The first years in the colony are filled with starvation, disease, and death. Seemingly abandoned by England, the colonists are on their own and must find a way to survive. Feeling abandoned by Walter Ralegh and now believing that he never truly loved her, Cate must set aside her memories of him, and her old life in England, so that she may survive and build a new life in this new world, perhaps even finding a new love along the way. I have always been fascinated by the mystery of the Lost Colony of Roanoke, so having enjoyed Lisa Klein’s previous books, I was very excited when I first learned about this book. I am happy to say it did not disappoint at all and is in fact one of my favorite books so far
this year. Through Cate’s story, which is filled with adventure and romance, the worlds of Elizabethan England and Roanoke Island in 1587 are brought to life, and the story ends with a plausible theory of what might have become of the lost colonists. I highly recommend this book to any reader who enjoys historical fiction or who read and enjoyed the author’s previous novels. originally posted at http://rebeccasbookblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/bookreviewcateoflostcolonybylisa.
Violence A few mentions of Indian attacks and such
Language
Sexual Very sweet romance, goes no further than kissing
Review by Rebecca Herman