Paradise of the Damned: The True Story of an Obsessive Quest for El Dorado, the Legendary City of Gold

by Keith Thomson Narrated by Timothy Andrés Pabon

Overview

The transporting account of an obsessive quest to find El Dorado, set against*the backdrop of Elizabethan political intrigue and a competition with*Spanish conquistadors for the legendary city's treasure

As early as 1530, reports of El Dorado, a city of gold in the South American interior, beckoned to European explorers. Whether there was any truth to the stories remained to be seen, but the allure of unimaginable riches was enough to ensnare dozens of would-be heroes and glory hounds in the desperate hunt. Among them was Sir Walter Raleigh: ambitious courtier, confidant to Queen Elizabeth, and, before long, El Dorado fanatic.
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Entering the Elizabethan court as an upstart from a family whose days of nobility were far behind them, Raleigh used his military acumen, good looks, and sheer audacity to scramble into the limelight. Yet that same swagger proved to be his undoing, as his secret marriage to a lady-in-waiting enraged Queen Elizabeth and landed him in the Tower of London. Between his ensuing grim prospects at court and his underlying lust for adventure, the legend of El Dorado became an unwavering siren song that hypnotized Raleigh.
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On securing his release, he journeyed across an ocean to find the fabled city, gambling his painstakingly acquired wealth, hard-won domestic bliss, and his very life. What awaited him in the so-called New World were endless miles of hot, dense jungle packed with deadly flora and fauna, warring Spanish conquistadors and Indigenous civilizations, and other unforeseen dangers. Meanwhile, back at home, his multitude of rivals plotted his demise.
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Paradise of the Damned, like Keith Thomson's critically acclaimed Born to Be Hanged, brings this story to life in lush and captivating detail. The book charts Raleigh's obsessive search for El Dorado-as well as the many doomed expeditions that preceded and accompanied his-providing not only an invaluable history but also a gripping narrative of traveling to the ends of the earth only to realize, too late, that what lies at home is the greatest treasure of all.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

03/11/2024

Elizabethan-era English explorer Walter Raleigh’s quest for the mythical gold-filled city of El Dorado is vividly recreated in this rollicking account from bestseller Thomson (Born to Be Hanged). Shifting between Raleigh’s South American expeditions and his futile attempts to protect his interests at court as the Tudor dynasty gave way to the Stuarts, Thomson depicts the quick-witted Raleigh as surprisingly more effective in the former endeavor. Raleigh’s jungle treks reveal his strength as a diplomat and his personal integrity; he convinced multiple Indigenous communities that England wanted to protect them from their common enemy, Spain, and followed through on his promises, establishing long-lasting, comradely relationships that rewarded him with the location of a “secret” gold mine (somewhere in modern-day Venezuela) and key military alliances. Back in England, Raleigh’s political acumen crumbled as he was sidelined by courtiers who outcompeted him for royal favor, resulting in a long imprisonment. However, the never-idle prisoner’s popularity was propelled to new heights by the 1614 publication of his Historie of the World and his constant output of medicinal recipes concocted in his jail-cell chemistry lab. Thomson’s breezy and puckish narration makes the historical subject matter sizzle (“On ships... the confines... could give undue prominence to something as picayune as the way a man cleared his throat”). Readers will relish this enticing romp through the Age of Exploration. Illus. (May)

From the Publisher

An engaging chronicle . . . A breezy adventure tale starring an audacious hero.”—Wall Street Journal

“Elizabethan-era English explorer Walter Raleigh’s quest for the mythical gold-filled city of El Dorado is vividly recreated in this rollicking account from bestseller Thomson . . . Thomson’s breezy and puckish narration makes the historical subject matter sizzle. Readers will relish this enticing romp through the Age of Exploration.”—Publishers Weekly

"Thomson does a beautiful job of instilling terror into the reader in prose that is authoritative, smooth and effortless to read."—Alabama Public Radio

"This absorbing account focuses on several attempts by Sir Walter Raleigh to locate a hidden city of gold in uncharted Guyana."—AFAR Magazine

“A wonderful character study of people who think they are just one more mile from that last big score. The score they can retire on. The score which will make them immortal… Thomson has a hysterical way of infusing this dark story with witty asides which are always welcome.”—History Nerds United

Praise for Born to Be Hanged:

"Thomson does a fine job mining the historical record for all this swash and buckle . . . A larger-than-life tale . . . It reads, quite literally, like a pirate novel."—New York Times Book Review

“Unleashes an epic history of a band of ‘gentlemen pirates.’”—Washington Post

“This swashbuckling history recounts a two-yearlong pirate raid in the 17th century along the Pacific coastline, with over 300 dastardly buccaneers in search of Spanish gold.”—USA Today

“Thomson is an engaging and enthusiastic writer.”—The Economist

“It’s hard to believe that serious maritime history could be quite so fascinating and outrageously readable. Born to Be Hanged is one of those books you simply can’t put down, a true history of a band of buccaneers who embark on a two-year rampage along the Pacific coasts of Central and South America, undertaking a series of daring, insane, and bloody raids that are at times so improbable as to defy belief. This is a truly marvelous read and I highly recommend it.”—Douglas Preston, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Lost City of the Monkey God

Kirkus Reviews

2024-01-30
An account of a famous explorer’s quixotic quest for an infamous “golden city.”

The lure of gold has driven many men crazy, never more so than in connection with the quest for El Dorado, the legendary Incan city that many believed was literally constructed from the precious metal. The Spanish launched scores of expeditions to find it as part of their conquest of the New World. Thomson, author of Born To Be Hanged, chronicles the less-well-known efforts of the British, led by Sir Walter Raleigh (1552-1618). He was a junior court figure who won attention by laying his cloak down so Queen Elizabeth could cross a muddy puddle. He parlayed this chivalrous act into a fleet of ships, which he took to South America (although he was supposed to go to Virginia), with the aim of searching for the golden city. Readers will be unsurprised that the jungle adventure was plagued by crocodiles, snakes, mosquitos, vampire bats, and mutterings of mutiny; Raleigh was forced to turn back and return to England. However, he fell victim to the labyrinthine intrigues of the royal court and landed in prison, charged with treason. He ultimately lost his head. Though El Dorado has been a fascinating topic for centuries, it has already been covered in numerous books about Raleigh and the Age of Exploration, and Thomson adds only moderately to the historical record. The section at the heart of the book—Raleigh’s search for El Dorado—is a mildly interesting account of a meandering, misguided failure. Ultimately, this book may interest aficionados of this period of history, as well as those unfamiliar with the life of Raleigh, but others will not find much that is worth the effort.

A middling exploration of the turbulent life of Walter Raleigh, including his futile search for gold.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940159584861
Publisher:	Hachette Audio
Publication date:	05/21/2024
Edition description:	Unabridged
Sales rank:	920,973

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