The Lost Book of Eleanor Dare

Kimberly Brock has tackled an engrossing and suspenseful subject—the lost colony of Roanoke—in her latest novel The Lost Book of Eleanor Dare. The story of the recovery of that book by Eleanor’s sole surviving descendent, Alice, takes readers back in time and forces them to confront whether they would want all the answers to their own histories, should they suddenly be made available.

Upon her father’s death, Alice and her daughter Penn return to the family estate, Evertell, that Alice tried to separate from years before. It is a place filled with mystery and fears Alice has tried to forget, but as a widow with little prospects, she must confront the place and the secrets it holds. Their arrival is greeted by Sonder, a man a few years Alice’s senior who has cared for the land ever since she and her father left when Alice was just a child. With his help, Alice learns how to use and trust the commonplace book Eleanor protected fifteen generations before.

At times the novel runs a bit into itself; the historical fiction aspects press up too tightly against the narrative of a young woman trying to heal from her own pain as she nurtures her daughter into young womanhood. The Lost Book of Eleanor Dare is worth the time, though, especially for people interested in the earliest days of colonists in America and the rich tradition of women passing down their stories over generations.