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Roanoke: Solving the Mystery of the Lost Colony
by
Lee Miller
In November of 1587, a report reached London claiming Sir Walter Raleigh's expedition to land English settlers in America had foundered. The colony on Roanoke Island off of the coast of North Carolina-115 men, women, and children-had disappeared without a trace. For four hundred years, the question of what became of the doomed settlers has remained unanswered. Where did th...more
Paperback, 384 pages
Published
May 28th 2002
by Penguin Books
(first published 2000)
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This is a very odd & oddly funny history about the disappearance of a group of over 100 settlers on the North Carolina island of Roanoke in 1587. I wanted to read it because I love real-life historical mysteries. I would have gotten more out of it if it were not so badly written. Miller takes elements of a cliffhanger murder mystery, a history of Elizabethan political favoritism, and an anthropological examination of Native American languages, & tries to make a coherent book out of it. T...more
I read Roanoke: Solving the Mystery of the Lost Colony by Lee G. Miller and loved it. It’s the story of, (surprise surprise), the lost first colony of America at Roanoke Virginia. Because Lee Miller is an historian and a clever person she postulates very convincingly a political motivation for the colony’s demise, turning America’s first European adventure and tragedy into an historical whodunnit. It’s a wonderful book and led me to write three outlines for possible novels based on the ideas, c...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Vacation reading while in the Outer Banks. I picked it up in the Fort Raleigh national park visitor's center. I've been interested in the disappearance of the Roanoke colony since reading about it one of those sensational ghost story and mystery books as a kid. You've probably heard about it, at least. The English return to a colony of 115 that they left three years previously only to find them all missing, with mysterious words left carved into a tree.
That's largely the story you get a the vis...more
That's largely the story you get a the vis...more
Roanoke is book of history which is built on a single main thesis, but what is interesting about it is that instead of stating the thesis and then hammering home the items of support for that thesis, Miller lays out the supporting information piece by piece, building a case for her thesis and only revealing it towards the end of the book. She attempts to answer two questions: what happened to the Roanoke colony, why were they screwed over, and who screwed them over? (OK, that's three questions....more
As a lifelong student of North Carolina history, I have always been very interested in the fate of the Lost Colonists. None of the generally accepted theories have ever quite rung true to me.
On the positive side, I believe that Lee Miller's premises are the best case yet made on the Lost Colony. Her theory fits all the known facts. All of the other suppositions ignore or blithely explain away huge chunks of evidence that do not fit. Sometimes Miller stretches her evidence to the utmost extrem...more
On the positive side, I believe that Lee Miller's premises are the best case yet made on the Lost Colony. Her theory fits all the known facts. All of the other suppositions ignore or blithely explain away huge chunks of evidence that do not fit. Sometimes Miller stretches her evidence to the utmost extrem...more
Initially, I found this book intriguing. What really did happen to the Lost colony of Roanoke? The author immediately hooks the reader with a tale of conspiracy, power-seeking, and murder. Okay, yes, I was willing to go with the conspiracy stuff because it WAS interesting.
However...this book was a difficult read. The direct quotes in italics and in 1580's English, intermixed within paragraphs were meant to validate the author's theories but it was truly difficult to sift through. This means the...more
However...this book was a difficult read. The direct quotes in italics and in 1580's English, intermixed within paragraphs were meant to validate the author's theories but it was truly difficult to sift through. This means the...more
Most Americans are familiar with the legend surrounding the Lost Colony of Roanoke: a small group of English settlers attempts to create a colony in the New World only to vanish under mysterious circumstances. Unfortunately, most history books gloss over Roanoke in a paragraph and it's on to the next fact.
Lee Miller digs deeper and comes up with a complicated, yet interesting theory. She theorizes that the Roanoke colonists were a Separatist group seeking asylum and a fresh start in the New Worl...more
Lee Miller digs deeper and comes up with a complicated, yet interesting theory. She theorizes that the Roanoke colonists were a Separatist group seeking asylum and a fresh start in the New Worl...more
Growing up within an hour of Jamestown, I've always had a bit of a fascination with the early colonies. Imagine my surprise as a youngster to find out my beloved Jamestown wasn't the first! The teachers seemed to gloss over this, because obviously anything wonderful in the world happened within the confines of the great Commonwealth of Virginia. And Roanoke...well that was just poor planning.
I picked up the book because it sounded like an interesting investigation into the Lost Colonists, who se...more
I picked up the book because it sounded like an interesting investigation into the Lost Colonists, who se...more
Overall, I thought the author presented a very well-researched and plausible explanation for what happened to the Roanoke Colony. It seemed like there wasn't much information available about the Colony, so I was surprised she was able to write an entire book about it. A few major complaints that almost prevented me from finishing the book:
- The first 2/3 of the book was pretty dry, and it finally picked up at the end.
- The author used italics to when quoting various sources, mostly in the midd...more
- The first 2/3 of the book was pretty dry, and it finally picked up at the end.
- The author used italics to when quoting various sources, mostly in the midd...more
I guess I was in junior high when I first read of the lost colony of Roanoke. The mystery immediately grabbed me. Little Virginia Dare, first English child born in the New World, left at this remote North Carolina settlement as her grandfather sailed to England to get help & supplies for the beleaguered colonists. But help was delayed not by months but years by a series of events that include the Spanish Armada. When the ship returned there was nothing & no one there. No settlement, no b...more
I am very interested in this topic, and I am looking forward to finding out what might have happened, but first I have to get past the author's love of sentence fragments. Seriously--what is wrong with sentences that have clauses? Commas are your FRIENDS.
This is a very interesting book filled with lots of historical information. It is true that the style and way of writing is unusual and throws you off at times, but if you get used to it and allow for it, it's not that bad. In fact, if you ignore or overlook it and focus on the facts, history, and ideas, it is an amazing story. Maybe it did not happen the exact same way her theory states, but it certainly makes you think. It is also defintely plausible and more likely true beyond a reasonable d...more
Miller's argument about what happened to the lost colony on Roanoke island is interesting and unusual. But her writing style is horrifying. Fragments aren't sentences. Small children know this. Are taught this. In school. Miller, however, doesn't seem to know this.
The entire 260-page book is written like that, I suppose, to add drama. Every now and then there are paragraphs written in complete sentences, and those paragraphs are like a breath of fresh air. Unfortunately, those paragraphs are ra...more
The entire 260-page book is written like that, I suppose, to add drama. Every now and then there are paragraphs written in complete sentences, and those paragraphs are like a breath of fresh air. Unfortunately, those paragraphs are ra...more
An exhaustive, meticulously detailed, exploration of what really happened to the Lost colonists of Roanoke island. This book read like a thesis or dissertation, rather dry, but surprising bits of humor throughout. I had a hard time keeping all the players straight, but the end result is way more information about the Lost Colony that I ever got in NC History class. It actually got rather exciting towards the end as the author was summing up her case. If you are a fan of history or anthropology a...more
I would have. Enjoyed this book more. If the author could write. In complete sentences.
It's possible that Miller has figured out what happened to the lost colonists of Roanoke, but it was impossible to really judge her reading of primary documents because of the terrible! writing. The book was filled with histrionic and overwrought language, too many exclamation points, and too many sentence fragments to count. She uses many direct quotations from primary documents, but places them in the text with italics rather that quotation marks, so that each page was littered with italics. I...more
This is one of my favorite books of all time. I agree that a lot of it is speculation and conjecture about how certain historical figures would feel and act. But that is part of the appeal for me. This book straddles the line between history and fiction, without being historical fiction. Sometimes history can be so antiseptic, because you never really know what people are thinking. This book gives you three possibilities for the lost colony based on facts and speculation about the emotional stat...more
A bit of a difficult read, given the inconsistencies in old english, varying translations of ancient native american tongues and the common "whitewashing" of history by those in power to tell the story they want told and the author's attempt to unravel a mystery. I would suppose, however, Miller's conclusion is apt and accurate. Long story short: they weren't lost, they were abandoned to the winds of political intrigue, decimated by disease and eventually "resettled" by various tribes throughout...more
Lee Miller's Roanoke seeks to offer a solution to America's oldest mystery: the fate of the Lost Colony of Roanoke Island, North Carolina. In 1590, a belated attempt to send relief to 115 English colonists on Roanoke Island found only a deserted settlement, with the word “Croatoan” carved on a tree. What happened to the Lost Colonists? Were they killed by the Spaniards, enslaved by hostile Native Americans, shipwrecked while trying to sail to nearby Hatteras Island (then called “Croatoan”)? Mill...more
The famous mystery of the lost colony of Roanoke has been solved in this highly engrossing book. It lays out all events leading up to the colonist’s disappearances, failed rescue attempts, the circumstances after the disappearance and upon the foundation of the Jamestown colony, and even the political and religious climate in England at the time. The author does a great job presenting why the colony was doomed from the start. I like the theory that the foundations for failure started at the cour...more
Fascinating overview of English politics and religion of the era, as well as obstacles and problems confronting the colonists.
Miller has done a lot of original research on the topic, but her attempts at luxuriant prose just muddy and confuse what is actually a very exciting story.
I would still recommend the book, however; the answers she finds are worth the hassle, and the book did become more readable again at the end.
Miller has done a lot of original research on the topic, but her attempts at luxuriant prose just muddy and confuse what is actually a very exciting story.
I would still recommend the book, however; the answers she finds are worth the hassle, and the book did become more readable again at the end.
In November of 1587, a report reached London claiming Sir Walter Raleigh's expedition to land English settlers in America had foundered. The colony on Roanoke Island off of the coast of North Carolina-115 men, women, and children-had disappeared without a trace. For four hundred years, the question of what became of the doomed settlers has remained unanswered. Where did they go? What really happened? Why were they on Roanoke Island in the first place, as that was not their destination? Using her...more
This is a subject I've been interested in for such a long time but this book is so poorly written, I am sad to say I can't even bring myself to finish reading it. This has never happened in my entire life; I've never met a book I couldn't muddle through, but this one has bested me. The author's interspersing of source material in italics in the middle of a sentence was so frustrating, not to mention the fact that the author's own interpretation of said material is sometimes confusing as to how t...more
An exploration of what really happened to the lost colony on Roanoke Island in 1586. It is a story of court intrigue and betrayal. It is an interesting topic, but it is written as though it is a bad History Channel documentary. To be fair, it is actually about history, unlike most current History Channel documentaries.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Lee Miller offers a convincing explanation of the disappearance of the Roanoke colony in this fascinating book. I probably would have rated it higher, but Miller's writing style drove me up the freaking wall, especially in the first few chapters. She has a great love. For random sentence fragments. I wanted to go through it with a red pen and add commas.
On the other hand, she's definitely done a lot of research, and she does a great job of unfolding her solution to the mystery slowly, so that yo...more
On the other hand, she's definitely done a lot of research, and she does a great job of unfolding her solution to the mystery slowly, so that yo...more
Fascinating history about the lost colony of Roanoke. The author examines so many original sources: ships' logs, letters, etc. And, she evaluates the historical time frame in England and Europe so well, one easily understands her premise. Great history. Occasionally, there's a bit of repetition of facts in the writing but it's not problematic. The author seems to feel the reader needs to be reminded of why she's writing the book. For anyone who enjoys American History and is interested in the re...more
A difficult read but an interesting look at this country's beginnings as the English made contact with the native peoples. Also brought out how those native nations interacted; not always on friendly terms.
This is the strangest history book I've ever read, in its set up. This book attempts to solve the mystery of the Lost Colony by approaching the subject like a murder mystery which needs to be solved. I was skeptical at first, but I think that it works and helps to keep the book grounded for those of less historically inclined but interested in the topic. Would I have continued to read the book if it weren't about Roanoke and the Lost Colony, I'm not sure.
But as it is, Miller treks back through h...more
But as it is, Miller treks back through h...more
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Jun 02, 2008 09:17am
Sep 01, 2011 11:02am