Roanoke: The Mystery of the Lost Colony (review)

Tucked away in the social studies book between the chapters on Christopher Columbus and Jamestown lurks the tantalizing problem of an entire missing colony. Established by Great Britain in the late sixteenth century as a New World military outpost in the face-off with Spain, Roanoke staked its main claim to fame by promptly vanishing. Readers with a taste for historical conundrums may have pondered the mystery in Fritz's The Lost Colony of Roanoke (BCCB 6/04) or Yolen's Roanoke: The Lost Colony (BCCB 9/03), but here Miller offers fresh evidence in a child-friendly repackaging of her adult opus, Roanoke: Solving the Mystery of the Lost Colony. This is no tepidly balanced overview of possibilities but a full-blown conspiracy theory, based on Miller's rereading of primary source documents and indigenous lore. She points an accusatory finger at Queen Elizabeth's advisor, Sir Francis Walsingham, whose rivalry with Sir Walter Raleigh, financial embarrassment, and deft hand at patiently pulling off high-stakes political intrigues mark him as prime suspect in undermining the success—even the very existence—of Roanoke. No doubt a Walsingham defense team would note how much evidence is circumstantial; it would certainly be hard to prove that the ship's pilot was in Walsingham's pocket for past services rendered, or that the many tragedies that led to the colonists' abandonment in Roanoke rather than safe deliverance to Chesapeake Bay were all due to dastardly planning. However, Miller presents an argument that goes well beyond mere plausibility and, even more important for middle-school readers, a story that is clearly told and rife with suffering underdogs and villains in high places. Besides an index and specific source notes, welcome bonus material includes an annotated list of characters in order of introduction, a timeline of Roanoke events and rescue attempts, and a wealth of illustrations from expedition artists John White and photographs of the region as it appears today.