Cate of the Lost Colony

From the Queen's Court to America

I felt a part of the story from beginning to end. The only parts of the story that were boring, were the entries of Sir Walter Raleigh. But those entries are informative, so they mustn't be skipped. This book was an enjoyable read.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Lost colony--found?

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 Walter Raleigh, one of the queen's favorite courtiers, and is first sent to the Tower and then later to England's new American colony, Roanoke. Another part of the story is told through Sir Walter's personal papers--letters, journal antries, and poems, giving readers a glimpse into the man who was the driving force behind Elizabeth's colonial experiment. Still another perspective is given by Manteo, a young Croatoan man who befriends the English, travels to the British Isles, and acts as an embassary between the English and their neighbors back in America. The three narratives blend skillfully to give readers a more complete picture of England's first attempt at colony building.

Klein did a lot of research for this work, and it shows. I read Lee Miller's nonficton Roanoke: Mystery of the Lost Colony while reading Cate of the Lost Colony, just to compare it to the "real" story. Klein's attention to detail is amazing, and the conjectures she make seem realistic and plausible. If her story doesn't actually solve the mystery, I can safely say I wish it did! I definitely recommend this book to anyone who has wondered just what did happen to America's lost colony.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

One of my favorite recent YA historical novels.

When her father dies while fighting in the Netherlands in 1583, fourteen-year-old Catherine Archer is left orphaned and penniless. Her fortunes change, however, when in recognition of the fact that Cate's father died in her service, Queen Elizabeth invites her to come live at court and serve as one of her maids of honor. Cate finds life at court to be rather complicated as no one there is truly free, but rather subject to the will of the Queen. That becomes all too clear when Cate's secret romance with Sir Walter Ralegh, a handsome young courtier who is a favorite of the Queen's, is discovered. The furious and jealous Queen sentences Cate to banishment in the new world of Virginia, while Ralegh, who hoped to govern the colony, is forced to remain behind and serve the Queen in England.

As she sets out on the sea voyage with the other Roanoke colonists, Cate is filled with many conflicting feelings. After hearing Ralegh's tales of the wild and unsettled land of Virginia, and meeting the young Indian Manteo, brought back to England by a previous expedition, Cate had longed to travel to the new world and see it for herself. But she never expected so much hardship. The colonists are abandoned on Roanoke Island, and their governor must return to England to try and bring back supplies. The first years in the colony are filled with starvation, disease, and death. Seemingly abandoned by England, the colonists are on their own and must find a way to survive. Feeling abandoned by Walter Ralegh and now believing that he never truly loved her, Cate must set aside her memories of him, and her old life in England, so that she may survive and build a new life in this new world, perhaps even finding a new love along the way.

I have always been fascinated by the mystery of the Lost Colony of Roanoke, so having enjoyed Lisa Klein's previous books, I was very excited when I first learned about this book. I am happy to say it did not disappoint at all and is in fact one of my favorite books so far this year. Through Cate's story, which is filled with adventure and romance, the worlds of Elizabethan England and Roanoke Island in 1587 are brought to life, and the story ends with a plausible theory of what might have become of the lost colonists. I highly recommend this book to any reader who enjoys historical fiction or who read and enjoyed the author's previous novels.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Slow, but fascinating

The beginning of the book was sort of slow but when Catherine got to the New World, things became interesting. I would recommend this for readers who like to start of sort of slow.

WHAT!

This story is horrible it is so randome! I mean realy just STUPID!
:-P

Crossheart

Go to 123 result one... i typed there

Hardly a Satisfying Romance.

This story sounded like it had so much potential, being banished by the queen for loving a man, and then meeting a friendly Indian Mateo. the story was as close to historical detail it could get and had more of a documentary feel to it then a romance. Documentaries are fine if that is what one is looking for, but I feel the description leads the read to think of this as a historical romance.

True to history

This book caught my attention in the first chapter. Th author remained true to historical accounts and still managed to add a fictional story that was both interesting and heart wretching

Had High Expectations, Could Be Better

The only reason I bought this book was because I enjoyed Lisa Klein's Ophelia a lot. It was so emotional, captivating, and touching unlike this book.

This book is incredibly boring. Do not buy this book. I tried to read through this, but by the time I got halfway, I couldn't take it anymore. I just skipped to the end. It is not as interesting as Ophelia.

Good historical YA, some problems with the characters, but very enlightening

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, a handsome courtier who the queen wants to keep to herself. Poor Cate gets caught up in a storm of trouble that leads her to settle in the legendary "lost" colony of Roanoke in Virginia where she finds love with an English-speaking native man, Manteo.

For historical fiction, the novel works very nicely. There's a wonderfully handy guide in the front the book which lists which characters are historical and which are fictional, and whether they appear in England, Virginia, or both. Tidbits of court life at Whitehall Palace seem right in keeping with the times, and the portrayal of Queen Elizabeth's grandness and capriciousness is spot-on. Historical fans won't be disappointed in the level of realism in the action and dialogue.

I had some trouble connecting with the characters. Walter Raleigh doesn't get a POV, but several chapters consist of his letters, journal, and poems, all of which make him seem to be an absolutely dreadful person. He's fawning over the aging queen at one moment, then complaining about her in the next, because he doesn't like how she shows him favor but fails to give him money. This leads to him getting into debt by living the high life he expects he'll eventually be able to afford. And even while he's buttering the queen up like a bread roll, he's sighing over Cate, though he's really just falling for her lovely appearance and her general demeanor of sweetness--he never mentions love. Also, he's desperate for riches, which is the impetus that leads him to start a colony in the New World where gold is rumored to be abundant.

Raleigh's character bothered me so much that it affected my opinion of Cate, who is a gentle soul but always seems to make the worst decisions. She's about sixteen when she starts falling for Raleigh and she hasn't yet been jaded by court life, so her preference for him could be chalked up to inexperience, but when he has no virtues except good looks and a gift for flattery, it kind of cheapens her love, though she's sincere.

We get some Manteo POV, but I didn't get a real feel for his personality, except that he's sensible, peace-making, and wants to be a great and powerful man. He's a much better choice for Cate than Raleigh, but I didn't quite feel the love growing between them, though their story is compelling. Cate of the Lost Colony is well researched and well executed, even if the characters themselves didn't entirely appeal to me. Pick it up if you're interested in this period in history, or are looking for a nice example of historical YA.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Disappointing

I was sorely disappointed by this book. The blurb makes it seem like the story is all about Cate and her journey. The first few chapters were right on the money and I had high hopes for it because I loved those chapters.

Then it goes into letters from Ralegh and we miss the whole of their meeting and falling in love, like 6 months worth of character development. When the author gets back to Cate, she's besotted and we have no idea why. It makes for a disjointed and disappointing read.

Then we start getting the Native American's POV too, and we nearly lose Cate for the entire middle third of the book.

In the end, Cate is more worried about keeping her dead friends' baby than anything else.

I don't think this is the type of story that teens will want to read. Maybe this would go better with adult historical fiction.

review taken from One Book At A Time http://onebooktime.blogspot.com

I had high hopes for this book. A pretty cover, Elizabethan England, the lost colony of Roanoke, romance, and danger makes for a pretty fantastic build up. I was not disappointed. It's a little slow to start, and one charcter annoyed me, but overall I truly loved this book.

The setting was marvelous. I tend to love anything set during Tudor England (particularly King Henry VIII or Elizabeth I). I think the author did a fantastic job with the royal setting and what it might have been like to serve Queen Elizabeth I. I first had the impression that the book was set more in the colonies, but it's actually about half and half. I was impressed with the descriptions of Roanoke. I confess I don't know any more details than the few provided by the history books. I felt this did an accurate job of portraying the life of early colonists.

I loved Cate. She's a head strong character, which is perhaps why Queen Elizabeth banished her. She never seems to know when to hold her tongue. But, in the end, this character flaw is perhaps what saved them all. I confess to never really liking Sir Walter Raleigh. But, I've learned it seems to be a character flaw of the men Queen Elizabeth loved and controlled. I also like Manteo. His contribution both to the fictional story and in real history greatly intrigue me. He's role in the events make the story that much more real knowing he's a real character in the history books.

The story itself is wonderful. I loved the first half set in England. I think it gives a good account of England during that time period. I don't think any characters (including the Queen's) actions differ from any other fiction or nonfiction work set in the same time period. If I thought I loved this first half of the book, it possible I loved the second half even more. I loved watching Cate charge and make friends with the Indian women. I thought it was great that she didn't sit and wait for Sir Walter to come for her. I also thought the ending gave a highly plausible cause and reasoning to what happened to the lost colony of Roanoke. I can't recommend this one enough, and will be looking for the author's other works!

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