A Kingdom Strange

“Magnificent...Horn’s winning account is a gripping adventure story about global ambition, individual hardship, and an unsolved historical mystery.”

“The fate of the Lost Colony is a mystery at the heart of the nation’s founding, chock full of odd characters, conspiracy theories, strange turns of events    even enigmatic carvings left behind on trees. James Horn...has written a lucid and readable account of the Roanoke colony and the forces that created it. He makes a persuasive case for what must have happened to the settlers.”

“Exhaustively researched, Horn’s book sheds new light on the colony’s purpose and the social backgrounds of the settlers and offers a new theory or two about where they went....It’s worth getting lost in.”

“[A] fast paced tale of greed, adventure, and tragedy that distills pretty much all that is known and most of what is surmised about the Lost Colony.”

“Horn’s book can be approached in one of two primary ways: As a saga of the indomitable human will attempting to conquer sometimes balky nature, or as a saga of poorly prepared dreamers about to place themselves in the path of death....For already existing enthusiasts of colonial history, Horn’s research is quite likely to fascinate. For readers who have never paid close attention to colonial history, Horn’s narrative might result in converts.”

“Horn’s skill as a historian is amplified by his ability to craft a story....By the time you finish the prologue, you will not want to stop reading, and as you read, you will discover some of the cultural roots that gave birth to a quirky nation. You will also become aware of the challenges of expanding an economy on a global scale without the support of satellite communication and instant messaging.”

“James Horn offers a nuanced, lively narrative of England’s earlier failure at Roanoke....It is a credit to Horn’s skill as a writer and his capacious understanding of English America that he produced from this evidence a confident, character driven, compelling story.”

“This beautifully written book is recommended for history buffs.”

“Fascinating....Horn’s theory is well researched and compelling, but A Kingdom Strange isn’t a narrowly focused work aimed solely at specialists. He has done yeoman’s work describing the political and economic reasons for creating an English colony in the New World, as well as exploring the Indian communities into which the colonists stepped....Forget toting James Patterson’s thrillers to the Outer Banks this summer. Pack a copy of A Kingdom Strange instead. It’s far more enthralling than what passes for standard beach reading material.”

“This is a fast moving account, agreeably focused on the personalities of Raleigh and White.”

“Highly recommended.”

“A story of overweening ambition, heartbreak, greed, and repeated failure that...stamped Britain’s culture and power on North America.”

“A leading historian of early Virginia, Horn relates the convoluted, fascinating story of the failed 1598 venture on Roanoke Island....Horn teases from the record as no one before the ‘Lost Colony of 1587,’ which had not even been intended to settle on the island....He places it all in the context of the political and economic tumult of the time for an outstanding historical mystery/adventure tale with an ending perhaps less tragic than historians have long believed.”

“A lucid and accessible narrative....Horn discusses Britain’s sundry motivations for colonizing America, touches on the Roanoke colonists’ mercurial relations with various Native tribes, and theorizes on what may have happened to the settlers after they abandoned the colony.”

“Horn creates an engaging, you are there feel to the narrative, with rich descriptions of European politics, colonists’ daily struggles and the vagaries of relations between Native American tribes.”

“With deep research and precise prose, James Horn has come closer to finding the ‘lost’ English colonists of Roanoke than any previous historian. A Kingdom Strange, a superb reconstruction of grand dreams and dashes hopes, overflows with new insights about the very real human consequences of the encounter between Europeans and Native Americans.”

“With impressive research and nuanced understanding of early Virginia, James Horn has crafted a vivid and lucid account of the mysterious history of the lost colony of Roanoke. A Kingdom Strange delivers the definitive treatment of a fascinating story from England’s earliest explorations in the New World—a story long on speculation and intrigue, but until now, short on evidence and historical truth.”