Reviews

Willoughbyland: England's Lost Colony by Matthew Parker

tucholsky's review against another edition

3.0

An interesting enough book. The first part about the idea of eldorado was interesting. The machinations in the colony of various people in the 17th century a little less so, possibly due to the story have to switch time and place so much. It does jump around a bit in time and because the major decisions affecting its survival were made in other parts of the caribbean or in Europe it swaps location a lot and i didnt feel the book got to grips with the resulting confusion. Despite a couple of plates showing the plantations you get no picture of day to say life or the actual size and layout of the place

emesskay's review against another edition

4.0

Wow! This was a wonderful, eye-opening book. I will admit to knowing very little about the early history of any country in South America, and absolutely nothing about Suriname. It was fascinating to read about how this country came to be colonized by the British, and the efforts expended by Britain to maintain the colony. The book is exellently researched and written in a very engaging style. Athough this is a history book, the author manages to convey some of the drama and tensions that affected the colony. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in history of the Americas, or the British Empire, or anyone who is just curious. It really is an excellent read.

Full disclosure, I did receive a free copy of the book through Goodreads Giveaways. It isn't a book I would normally have considered, otherwise. I am glad I won it, because it was a really interesting book on a subject I did not know much about.

stephend81d5's review

3.0

interesting and detailed account of the lost English colony in what's now in present day Suriname which was settled and then lost to the Dutch in the wars of 1665-67 over economic trade and colonisation