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In April 1586, Queen Elizabeth I acquired a new and exotic title. A tribe of North American Indians had made her their weroanza – ‘big chief’.
The news was received with great joy, both by the Queen and her favourite, Sir Walter Ralegh. His first American expedition had brought back a captive, Manteo, whose tattooed face had enthralled Elizabethan London. Now Manteo was returned to his homeland as Lord and Governor. Ralegh’s gamble would result in the first English settlement in the New World, but it would also lead to a riddle whose solution lay hidden in the forests of Virginia.
A tale of heroism and mystery, BIG CHIEF ELIZABETH is illuminated by first-hand accounts to reveal a remarkable and long-forgotten story.
The news was received with great joy, both by the Queen and her favourite, Sir Walter Ralegh. His first American expedition had brought back a captive, Manteo, whose tattooed face had enthralled Elizabethan London. Now Manteo was returned to his homeland as Lord and Governor. Ralegh’s gamble would result in the first English settlement in the New World, but it would also lead to a riddle whose solution lay hidden in the forests of Virginia.
A tale of heroism and mystery, BIG CHIEF ELIZABETH is illuminated by first-hand accounts to reveal a remarkable and long-forgotten story.
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Reviews
Like Giles Milton's previous book, ... Big Chief Elizabeth is a cracking read, a successful attempt at popular history
'It's almost impossible to summarise Milton's book, from which marvellous, vivid stories spill out like swagsack booty. ... Milton is a very contemporary historian' Guardian
'The story of the first Virginia colonies, now told in pacy style in Big Chief Elizabeth, is stirring and fitfully tragic...This is a marvellous story well retold' Sunday Times
Milton is a great storyteller ... he sets about filling in the historical gaps with relish, using his considerable imagination to conjure mood from dry parchment
Grippingly told true adventure story
Milton ... draws a vivid picture of the terrible hardships the settlers endured
'Milton knits together the most vivid anecdotes and descriptions from a very colourful literature of exploration and colonization, and anyone wanting easy access to them has it here'.
Milton has a terrific eye for the kind of detail that can bring the past vividly to life off the page
Splendid stuff ... fascinatingly told ... An excellent book
A wonderfully colourful story told with pace and verve