Roanoke

by Margaret Lawrence

Book Overview

In the spring of 1585, seven English ships sailed around Cape Fear and up the windswept coast of Florida. Their mission was to gain a foothold in the Americas. But within 10 years, the vibrant new... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385342373
• ISBN13: 9780385342377
• Release Date: January 2009
• Publisher: Delacorte Press
• Length: 406 Pages
• Weight: 1.48 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.4" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Another first-rate novel by Margaret Lawrence

Let me start out by saying that I would read anything written by Margaret Lawrence: grocery lists, emails, greeting cards. Luckily she writes superbly textured historical novels. This latest concerns the mystery of what happened to the lost English colony of Roanoke. For the reviewer who complains that she fails to deliver 'a stunning reveal' about the colonists' fate, perhaps he/she should remember ROANOKE is a novel, not a home makeover show. Having researched all the available facts, Lawrence constructs just one possible scenario. You want another one, write your own novel. And although we love to be able to neatly categorize everything, dubbing ROANOKE a 'thriller' is misleading. People may expect some sort of literary version of a Michael Bay film and they'll be disappointed. The only thing that matters is that Lawrence is a wonderful writer who makes the past come alive as few novelists do today. In addition, she gets her historical facts straight; Elizabethan England unfolds before us in all its brutal violence and beauty. The two protagonists, Rob Mowbray and Gabriel North, are Elizabethan spies who begin to weary -- and question -- their life of deception. The England they serve is under threat by a foreign power, the long war with Spain has bankrupted the Treasury, and the middle class is slowly being destroyed. Investors in the new colony are desperate to believe the wild rumors of gold, and no matter how much evidence is presented to the contrary, they won't veer off their ruinous course. If innocent people die or are tortured to maintain the facade, so be it. The one thing they won't admit to is failure, and their part in it. Needless to say, there are obvious parallels with today's world. The characters are well-rounded and even in brief appearances make an impact: Rob's French mistress who pays a price for his deception, the guerrilla fighter Tesik who turns his violent hatred on everyone, even the people he once loved, and Peachum, the limp cobbler, who is heroic enough to warrant his own novel. Above all, the book examines the treacherous world of being a spy or, as the characters call themselves,'spiders'. Here indeed is where the thriller components come in. The danger to both Rob and Gabriel take center stage in the second half of the novel as they try to uncover the truth back in England. No one's hands are clean, and no one is safe. Lawrence even offers up a possible Roanoke connection for Christopher Marlowe's murder. Suffice it to say that people are betrayed, tortured, imprisoned, and murdered on the streets of London. And the last thing the people in power want -- or can even recognize any longer -- is the truth. I wasn't certain until the very end if Lawrence could wring any consolation for its main characters. You want a big reveal? Here it is: this is a damn fine novel.

Great novel about the time of Elizabeth

Fascinating book. Much insight about the time of Elizabeth. The clothes, the intrigue, the hidden passages in the palace, and two interesting lead characters. Definitely a read for fun and learning about the period.

Interesting Read

Very interesting and intriguing read. Good historical basis for what may have happened to the Lost Colony. Anyone interested in this period of American history will find this book fodder for more research.

engaging historical thriller

In 1585 in the twenty-seventh year of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, Gabriel North saves Her Highness from an assassination attempt. Her royal retinue, led by power seeking rogues like Raleigh, sees an opportunity with the handsome young man to bring needed money into the monarchy and subsequently not just keep their influence but increase it. They send Gabriel across the Atlantic to learn what happened to the Roanoke Colony and more to obtain a rumored significantly wealthy native ally in the cold and hot wars with Spain. North leads the expedition to the New World. His assignment is to seduce Secota Indian Queen Naia, whose wealth is fabled on both sides of the Atlantic. On Roanoke Island, Gabriel begins to fall in love with his honest beautiful target and realizes the duplicity of those who sent him on his mission. As he begins to learn the true fate of the English colonists, he returns home to confront a court filled with intrigue and out of control power willing to sacrifice innocent pawns for personal gain. Although disappointingly no incredible new theory about the Lost Colony surfaces, fans will enjoy this engaging historical thriller that brings to life the usually hidden woes of Elizabeth I in her third decade of rule. The story line is fun to follow as a strong cast including a zillion secondary players brings to life Margaret Lawrence's latest historical as Machiavellian maneuvers dominate the queen's court. Harriet Klausner

A complex, multi-layered novel and a great read

What happened to Roanoke, Virginia (now North Carolina), is one of history's unsolved mysteries. With lean, often lyrical, prose Margaret Lawrence takes a fresh look at the lost colony. She is totally immersed in late 16th-century England and America but also explores such timely topics as power, greed, violence, terrorism, torture, racism, and sexism. Every word and every character become threads in a tightly woven tapestry that depicts a once vibrant, now frozen, moment of time. In 1585 England and its queen, Elizabeth I, are grappling with economic woes, assassination attempts, and war with Spain. Soldiers and colonists are sent to Virginia in hopes of finding great wealth (gold, pearls) and building a fort against the Spanish (already entrenched in Florida). The Secota natives and their queen, Naia, offer food and expertise. But drought, starvation, gold fever, and hurricanes decimate the colony. British soldiers vent their frustration on the natives. The victims--like at My Lai and the Gaza--include women and children. Angry warriors exact revenge. When English supply ships finally return in 1590, the colony has vanished. Solving the mystery of Roanoke, as Lawrence views it, involves spies and traitors, the queen's closest advisors, Spanish prisons, survivors, strong women, a cross-cultural love, and a man (Gabriel North) who rises above his time with uncommon courage, compassion, and a quest for justice.. Lawrence personalizes the story, giving everyone a name--not to burden the reader with a cast of hundreds but to remind us that even Jem the drowned lute player or Airstalker the visionary or Emma Merrimoth the serving wench are human beings. As the narrator says, "'they weren't a puzzle, they were people. They were real. They still are'" (p.290). Roanoke is a complex, multi-layered novel but also a page-turner, a perfect read for a cold winter's night. Check out the author's website (www.margaretlawrence.net)