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Nov 06, 2010

April rated it:

Catherine Archer, an orphan has been selected for the chance to be one of Queen Elizabeth’s maids in waiting. It is the chance of a lifetime, as working for the Queen reflects a potential positive change in fortune. Catherine finds love with one of the Queen’s favorites, Sir Walter Raleigh. However, this draws the Queen’s ire. I am sure you can infer from the title what will happen. Think Roanoke, the lost colony! When in Roanoke, Cate finds herself attracted to a native, Manteo. With her heart More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Oct 13, 2010

Sab H. rated it:

I'm stunned! This was ABSOLUTELY SPLENDID!!!! I normally quite enjoy Historical Fiction but this time... I mean, come on! This is probably the single one thing in history that I would die to read about, and Lisa Klein does a marvelous job with it. It will always be one of the greatest historical mystery, but now I have an alternate ending that completely satisfied me. I was truly amazed by the way the story flows naturally and provides the reader such vivid insight with the several POVs and lett More...

6 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 06, 2011

Emma rated it:

As a big fan of historical fiction, I had high expectations of this book. And I wasn't let down at all. The characters, plot, and the setting were all so well done and I enjoyed the conclusion very much.
The characters in this novel were amazing. It was a different characterization of Elizabeth I than I have ever seen before. While her role was fairly minimal, it was reminiscent of the way her father, Henry VIII, was portrayed. I also really liked Cate. I thought she was a strong young woma More...

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Jan 13, 2011

Arya rated it:

When Catherine Archer's father dies and despair descends on the orphaned girl a surprising letter arrives from the queen, asking her to become one of her ladies in waiting. Catherine is thrilled, but when she arrives at court she realizes how little she knows about what goes on within their walls. As courtly intrigue threatens to drown her the dashing Walter Ralegh--a favorite of the queen--may just be the one who pushes her head under water for good.

Catherine is banished to Virginia More...

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Nov 21, 2010

Vicki rated it:

I always forget about the lost colony of Roanoke. So much so that I didn't realize until the end of the book that that's what I was reading about. This book has a lot going for it -- it's set during the reign of QE1, it tells the story of forbidden romance, it deals with colonialism, and all its various good, if misguided, intentions and disastrous outcomes. And it tells the story of a strong girl whose life was never going to be easily changed, just based on her time and place. But somehow More...

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Oct 19, 2010

Natalie (Mindful Musings) rated it:

In a Sentence: Cate of the Lost Colony is a masterful coming-of-age tale that takes place in a vivid historical setting.

My Thoughts

When I was in high school, I picked up Lisa Klein's first novel, Ophelia, and absolutely loved it. As such, I was really excited to read Cate of the Lost Colony. Klein has written a few books between Ophelia and Cate, but this is only the second one that I've read.

Cate of the Lost Colony definitely lived up to the high standard set by More...

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Sep 01, 2010

Margo rated it:

Lisa Klein's absorbing fourth novel plunges the reader head-first into the mystery of the lost Roanoke Colony of Virginia. As Klein writes in an afterword, the fate of the 117 men, women, and children who landed on Roanoke Island in 1587 is "perhaps the greatest unsolved mystery in American history."

This new novel represents historical fiction at its best; Klein creates an appealing fictional character, young Cate Archer, and inserts her into the actual events of the time More...

3 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 17, 2010

Tiger Holland (All-Consuming Books) rated it:

Catherine Archer is the orphaned daughter of a nobleman, called to attend Queen Elizabeth when she's only fourteen. As one of Elizabeth's maids of honor, Cate stays in the maid's dormitory, runs small errands and tends to the queen needs, particularly caring for her wardrobe (ever wonder who prepared all those pleated and starched neck ruffs? The longsuffering ladies in waiting). The queen inspires devotion, and Cate all but worships her. That is, until Cate begins to fall for Sir Walter Raleigh More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 30, 2010

Heather rated it:

The lost colony of Roanoke was something that I always found quite interesting when studying history. What happened to those people? Where did they go? Cate of the Lost Colony provides an intriguing – and quite plausible – explanation: The people were absorbed into the Native American tribes nearby. I know that's not something that ever would have crossed my mind before reading this book, but I'm sure historians and/or scholars have considered this possible outcome. I loved that this story prese More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 24, 2011

Katie rated it:

Cate of the Lost Colony was a fascinating read. Despite being only (fillin the blank) pages, the story covers a lot of ground. The slower pacing and attention to detail meant that readers get a very full and well rounded story. Everything was very even and flowed nicely. Keeping a chunk of the story in England, especially in the Queen’s court served to give background and depth to the characters.

Cate was a perfect character. She was strong and adventurous, but not oblivious to the r More...

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Jan 07, 2011

Deborah rated it:

Strong-willed Catherine is a ward of Queen Elizabeth. Cate meets Elizabeth's new pet, Sir Walter Ralegh, and falls in love with him. When Elizabeth catches wind of the romantic feelings between the two, she imprisons Cate in the Tower. Ralegh talks Elizabeth into sending Cate to his colony Virginia because he knows Cate wants to visit the New World and find adventure. When Cate and other colonists arrive on Roanoke Island with Manteo, an "Indian" escort who has become a liege of th More...

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Mar 20, 2011

Tami rated it:

So I did like this book, it was a simple and easy read. I would recommend this book to history readers and those girls who like to see woman rise to thier great potential. I do warn that some references in this book may be a bit much for some. It's got great characters and has multiple point of views.

Cate is a girl who looses her father while serving the queen, so queen Elizabeth invites Cate to be her lady in waiting. Cate soon falls in love with sir Ralegh, an explorer of the new w More...

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Mar 14, 2011

Becky rated it:

Having visited Roanoke Island on a family trip many years ago, I've always been fascinated by the story of the "lost" colony. I was very excited to see that Lisa Klein, a historical fiction author I've read and enjoyed in the past, had decided to put her own spin on the tale.

Klein tells her story from three very differnt points of view. Acting as the main narrator, Lady Catherine Archer is a young handmaiden to Queen Elizabeth. She angers Elizabeth by flirting with Sir Wal More...

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Aug 03, 2010

Christina (Reading Extensively) rated it:

I have been fascinated by the story of the lost colony of Roanoke since I was a teen so I was excited when I heard about this novel. The story starts out at the court of Queen Elizabeth but I felt that this part of the story moved much more slowly than the part that takes place in Roanoke. Once Cate is banished, the story became more interesting to me even though I enjoy Tudor history. Cate's life in Roanoke is vastly different from the life she enjoyed as a courtier even with all the gossip and More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 16, 2011

Nielson rated it:

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Nov 17, 2011

Victoria rated it:

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Feb 23, 2011

Kim rated it:

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Oct 05, 2010

Megan rated it:

Cate of the Lost Colony is a rare jewel in the historical fiction world. With fresh prose, an intriguing historical mystery and a sprinkle of romance, this novel can do no wrong. The story takes off at a clip from the very first page, and the pace only increases as Cate navigates her way through the stormy waters of Queen Elizabeth's court. Never fear, before all the noble's mind games become too tiresome, Cate sets sail for Virginia with a heart full of courage and hope.
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0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 07, 2011

Karen rated it:

Wow, what an interesting book. I knew next to nothing about the lost colony of Roanoke island (the colony sent to settle what is now an island off of North Carolina by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1587) but this story, told in a fascinating way through three different characters, gives a theory of what might have happened to the settlers. Though much of it is fictional (obviously, as no one knows what happened to the colonists who disappeared within three years of living there) a great deal of it is ba More...

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Apr 08, 2011

Anna rated it:

This book was absolutely wonderful and one of the best I've read so far this year! Cate is such a wonderfully relatable and fiercely abiding heroine that no matter what she did, I loved her always. I loved the romance, adventure, mystery and history attached to this book. It was very well-written and Lisa Klein's explanation for what happened to the lost colony of Roanoke is very plausible and interesting. I especially enjoyed Cate's acceptance of Manteo before she had even met him. To her h More...

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Jul 07, 2011

Kailia rated it:

I love historical fiction so when I heard about this book, I decided to pick it up. I’m glad I did because I really, liked this book but I didn’t really love it. Lisa Klein’s Cate of the Lost Colony is the story of Lady Cate and how she ends up at Roanoke Island and what happened to the people of that colony.

The historical time was great. What really happened to the people on Roanoke Island is a mystery that has yet to be solved in American History. I really liked that Klien wanted t More...

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Feb 28, 2011

Lisa Delaine rated it:

This fast-moving story that is indeed hard to put down. The spunky heroine Lady Catherine faces multiple changes of fortune as she grows from a much pampered child of a court favorite, to the unwelcome orphan living with an overworked aunt, to a Lady of Queen Elizabeth's court, to the outcast struggling to survive in the mysterious New World town of Roanoke.

Though Cate and much of her specific adventures are fictionalized, a large amount of the details in the book are historically ac More...

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Oct 23, 2010

Lillie rated it:

My Review
My interest in CATE OF THE LOST COLONY was piqued immediately by the idea that Lisa Klein had created a fictionalized account of the events leading up to the disappearance of the missing colony of Roanoake. Obviously, because the history was indisputed, I knew that she would have done a great amount of research to get the details right; the British involvement with the native peoples of America, the royal court and the background of the Queen, and even the people that lived in her More...

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Jun 30, 2010

Dani marked it as to-read

No way I fricken love the stories of what happened on Roanoke! Cant wait! :)

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 11, 2011

Amy rated it:

This story is a beautiful piece of literature about the time of Queen Elizabeth and the colonizing of the New World. Catherine, a maid of the queen, loses her favor when she falls for Sir Walter Raleigh, who the queen favors. Catherine seems to find love in all the wrong places and gets herself into more and more trouble as she does so. This tale is a version of what may have happened to the lost colony. The writing is wonderful to read and the journal entries of Sir Walter give the reader a More...

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Apr 05, 2011

Kim rated it:

cate is a maid for queen elizabeth and one of her majesty's favorites, that is until she enters into a secret relationship with sir walter ralegh. the queen banishes her to the newly discovered america. ralegh promises to join her so they can be together but years pass before he actually does. while she is in america she makes a new friend in an indian man named Manteo.
i absolutely loved this book. it was very interesting as far as history but it had a lot of emotion in it. it took you to s More...

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Jan 25, 2011

Jenny rated it:

This is the story of Catherine, a lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth who falls out of favor and is sent to America in one of the original (failed) attempts England made at colonizing America. From her point of view you get a close up of Elizabeth and Sir Walter Raleigh in the English court of her time. It contrasts interestingly with the politics of a self-ruled colony and the Native Americans. I very much enjoyed this book. I liked the main character, the writing is good, and the story kept a n More...

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Jul 06, 2010

Christie rated it:

Catherine Archer is an orphan who is thrilled to have the opportunity to serve as one of Queen Elizabeth’s ladies. Initially in the Queen’s good graces, Lady Catherine finds herself shunned because she acts upon a forbidden attraction. Cate is fascinated by the “new world” and longs for a life of travel and adventure. Exile to Virginia doesn’t seem like much of a punishment. Faced with difficult challenges in her new home on Roanoke Island, Cate must either give up or persevere.

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Jul 15, 2011

Rebecca rated it:

Fictional Cate, handmaiden to Elizabeth I, falls in love with Sir Walter Raleigh and as punishment is sent to Roanoke (at 42%). The narrator voice alternates between Cate, Sir Walter Raleigh, and Mateo (a Native American who has lived in England that Raleigh sends with the settlers). Cate is of course a fully fictional character, and everything that happens to the settlers is made up (although if you know you history of other settlements, fully reflective of what happened with those). Klein ulti More...

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Jan 27, 2011

Small Review rated it:

I often speak of books that I refer to as “historical fiction lite” where the location and time period happen to be in the past, but everything else about the story feels fairly modern. These books are good for people who don’t necessarily like historical fiction, but may still enjoy the story. Cate of the Lost Colony is definitely not “lite” historical fiction. Instead, this is a story that is positively saturated in the time period and will appeal to adult readers as well as YA readers.

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