Aronson, Marc. Sir Walter Ralegh and the Quest for El Dorado. Clarion Books, New York: 2000. 222 pages. Tr. $20.00 ISBN 039584827x
Annotation
Sir Walter Ralegh and the Quest for El Dorado is a well researched biography of a man few Americans know of beyond his failed attempt to colonize the island of Roanoke off the coast of Virginia.
Review
Most of us know Walter Ralegh simply as the explorer who set up the doomed Roanoke colony off the coast of Virginia. But Roanoke was only a footnote in Ralegh’s life of adventure on the high seas. Ralegh was born a commoner, but quickly made a name for himself as a fearless soldier and moved up in the court of Queen Elizabeth. It was not long before Ralegh was considered one of the Queen’s favorites and she rewarded him with wealth and position. Ralegh was an adventurer at heart and he longed to find fame and fortune in the new world, but his position at court allowed him few opportunities to explore himself, so he was forced to settle on backing enterprises to the new world. Ralegh finally was given the opportunity to launch an exploration to the mythical El Dorado after falling out of favor with the queen. Ralegh believed he would find the mythical city of gold and regain favor in Elizabeth’s eyes. Instead of locating El Dorado, Ralegh witnessed a beautiful and untamed land and realized that this was a place that Europeans were doomed to destroy. Unlike many explorers of his time, Ralegh did not see the rainforests of South America as a place to conquer and tame, but as a Garden of Eden, which should remain pure and untouched by humans. This did not stop Ralegh from launching yet another adventure to find El Dorado after Elizabeth’s death. This time Ralegh hoped to gain favor with the newly crowned King James, but instead Ralegh’s mission failed and led to his trial for treason against the king and eventual execution.
Awards/Honors
ALSC Notable Book 2001
Sibert Medal Winner 2001
Front and Back Matter
TOC, Acknowledgments, Note to Readers, Map of Voyages to the New World, Cast of Characters, Endnotes and Bibliography, Time Line, Index
Author’s Website
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