In 1585, Queen Elizabeth and Sir Walter Raleigh supported an English settlement on Roanoke Island, between Cape Hatteras and Virginia. Every country wanted a piece of America, for the riches it contained. But this settlement vanished, and it has been a 400-year-old mystery as to why it disappeared and what happened to the colonists. It’s a “hole right at the very beginning” of American history. Fritz doesn’t pretend to solve the mystery, but she ably presents the history behind the failed attempt at establishing an English colony in the New World. The bibliography is small, but the maps are helpful. Lively storytelling, attractive watercolor illustrations, archaeological details, and a survey of theories make this a fascinating volume and an important resource on this period of early colonization. The history-as-mystery format will appeal to young historians. (Nonfiction. 8+)
