ROANOKE the lost colony by Angela Elwell Hunt

This was an intriguing story that was very well written, about a time in history that sadly I knew very little about until reading Angela Hunt's version of the "Lost Colonies" at Roanoke, Virginia.  The story will begin in England in 1587 and span more than 20 years as you become a part of the brave people who set sail to make a new start in the Americas.  How factual was this story?  Let me quote from the author at the back of her book, "My readers often want to know how much of a book is fiction and how much is fact.  Be assured that I have tried my best not to contradict the extensive historical record.  And while no one knows exactly what happened to the lost  colonists of Roanoke - at one time or another, their disappearance has been attributed to . . . . . . there is strong anecdotal and historical evidence to support the premise and conclusion of the story as presented in these pages.  The people of this book are a very real part of American history."  And so the story begins.

Jocelyn White finds herself, again her will, leaving for America aboard a ship with her Uncle, John White, and cousin Eleanor and her husband, leaving her father behind who is ready to die.  She is a stubborn, rebellious, independent and beautiful young lady who will be severely tested throughout her life.  She will make a hasty marriage to Thomas Coleman, a minister fleeing England for reasons you will not find out till later in the book.  As Jocelyn is told, "love is a decision and today you have both made it.  Trust God to do the rest",  Jocelyn will have to do A LOT of trusting and leaning on the Lord, because at times I wanted to scream at her husband.  He was SO messed up in his mind about love, marriage and pretty much everything in between, that I didn't think I could ever come to like this man.  It was a story of endurance for all the colonists and I found myself caught up in their lives and wanting to know more about them.  An excellent book on a part of history that we will never know for sure what exactly did happened.

There are more stories in this series and I definitely think they also would be worth reading.  This story left off at a place that I can see and hope the next book picks up with.  If you are interested in history and don't mind a little fiction thrown in, you will enjoy this book a great deal.