The Lost Book of Eleanor Dare

Written by Kimberly Brock

Narrated by Brittany Pressley

The fate of the world is often driven by the curiosity of a girl.

What happened to the Lost Colony of Roanoke remains a mystery, but the women who descended from Eleanor Dare have long known that the truth lies in what she left behind: a message carved onto a large stone and the contents of her treasured commonplace book. Brought from England on Eleanor’s fateful voyage to the New World, her book was passed down through the fifteen generations of daughters who followed as they came of age. Thirteen-year-old Alice had been next in line to receive it, but her mother’s tragic death fractured the unbroken legacy and the Dare Stone and the shadowy history recorded in the book faded into memory. Or so Alice hoped.

In the waning days of World War II, Alice is a young widow and a mother herself when she is unexpectedly presented with her birthright: the deed to Evertell, her abandoned family home and the history she thought forgotten. Determined to sell the property and step into a future free of the past, Alice returns to Savannah with her own thirteen-year-old daughter, Penn, in tow. But when Penn’s curiosity over the lineage she never knew begins to unveil secrets from beneath every stone and bone and shell of the old house and Eleanor’s book is finally found, Alice is forced to reckon with the sacrifices made for love and the realities of their true inheritance as daughters of Eleanor Dare.

In this sweeping tale from award-winning author Kimberly Brock, the answers to a real-life mystery may be found in the pages of a story that was always waiting to be written.

Praise for The Lost Book of Eleanor Dare:

“From the haunting first line, The Lost Book of Eleanor Dare transports the reader to a mysterious land, time and family . . . the captivating women of the Dare legacy must find their true inheritance hiding behind the untold secrets.” —Patti Callahan, New York Times bestselling author

• Historical women’s fiction
• Stand-alone novel
• Book length: approximately 135,000 words

• Language: English
• Publisher: Harper Muse
• Release date: Apr 12, 2022
• ISBN: 9781400234240

Kimberly Brock

Kimberly Brock is the award-winning author of The Lost Book of Eleanor Dare and The River Witch. She is the founder of Tinderbox Writers Workshop and has served as a guest lecturer for many regional and national writing workshops including at the Pat Conroy Literary Center. She lives near Atlanta with her husband and three children. Visit her online at kimberlybrockbooks.com; Instagram: @kimberlydbrock; Facebook: @kimberlybrockauthor; Twitter: @kimberlydbrock.

Reviews for The Lost Book of Eleanor Dare

[Sarah · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Beautifully engaging story, and the narrator brings it to life.

[boundtogetherforgood · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Interesting in theory, but not in reality. The Story was too heavily based upon people not communicating effectively.

[thepageladies · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Lost Book of Eleanor Dare was a beautiful story! I didn't know that this story was inspired by the disappearance of the Roanoke Colony & that Eleanor Dare was a real person who lived during that time! So it was interesting to learn something new. Following along as each character deals with her own time and own ups and downs I couldn't help but feel drawn to them. The writing in this book is absolutely wonderful! The author has a way of capturing you & bringing this history back to life right before your eyes! I loved the mystery & suspense! The pace, the characters, the setting all of it flowed well together! A wonderful story!

Thank you Kate Rock Book Tours & Kimberly Brock for sharing this beautiful story with me!

[Chana Rivka Hersh · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Absolutely loved the author’s lovely writing throughout the book and the winding tale of a family legacy and lineage through a 13 year old’s eyes. Beautifully written and wrapped up. I highly recommend, as the author suggests, reading the author’s note first, although I did not. This is not a book to rush through but to slowly devour and gnaw on as it resonates with the reader’s life story, legacy, and lineage. Fabulous work Kimberly Brock; thank you for sharing yourself, your wandering and wondering through Eleanor Dare!

[Marsha Rafalski · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

(3.75 rounded to 4.0)

“The fate of the world is often driven by the curiosity of a girl.”
“Curses might be dismissed as superstition, but consequences are very real.”

Alice Young is a widow in the last days of WWII, left with a 13 year old daughter, Penn. When her father dies, Alice discovers that he has left her the deed to her deceased mother’s family estate just outside of Savannah. Alice is a descendent on her mother’s side from Eleanor White Dare, one of the survivors of the Lost Colony of Roanoke. The family legend is that all of the Dare female descendants will have a vision on their 13th birthday that will foretell their futures. The vision is passed in a ritual from mother to daughter along with Eleanor’s commonplace book holding all of the recipes, charms, knowledge and history of the women who have held the book throughout the centuries. But the vision tradition broke when Alice’s mother died before passing it on to her. A dual timeline alternates with the main story to tell Eleanor’s story and how the book makes it to Alice and Penn.

The characters are likable and well developed. The setting of the marshland is captivating. This story tells of a coming of age journey, finding your place in the world, the bond between mothers and daughters, forgiveness, prejudice, family, and women’s roles. The book is a novel crafted around the history of the Lost Colony of Roanoke—not a history of the Colony. There is speculation that a diary exists from an unnamed English woman found in a Spanish warship and found to match pages from Sir Walter Raleigh’s papers identified as written by Eleanor Dare. Although this hasn’t been fully documented, the “what if” is an interesting question. Recommended for readers of historical fiction, romance and mystery.

[mzonderm · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

If this book had just stuck to the story of Alice, and her daughter, Penn, it would have been much stronger. Instead, Brock chose to make it more convoluted by throwing in their family history: they are descended from Eleanor Dare, the only survivor of the lost colony of Roanoake. And supposedly, Eleanor left behind a book that has been passed down through all the generations of female Dare descendents since 1585 through to 1945, when the book takes place. Or maybe the book was just the invention of Eleanor's mother? And there's a stone that she carved soemthing on, that was lost, but then found, but then lost again? This is where a started to get bogged down, and ultimately, I found that I just didn't care enough about this part of the story.I liked Penn and Alice as characters, though, and was interested enough to want to know what happened to them. Did Alice ever come to terms with her mother's mental illness and death? Was Penn able to get a fresh start and make friends? Were they able to come to terms with each other in the wake of Penn's father's death? There's more than enough there for a good story without the intrigue.FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for this review.

[anniik_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

TW/CW: Mental illness, family death, violent death of children, mild sexualityRATING: 3/5REVIEW: The Lost Book of Eleanor Dare is about a mother and daughter who - in a will - are left a plantation in Savannah, Georgia. It is the home where the mother grew up, and while she has many reasons she doesn't wish to return, she does so for her daughter. Although they plan to sell the house and move on, being there draws them back into the past and into their relationships with each other, and the other women of their ancestry.This book didn't do much for me. I liked it a lot at the beginning, but then...well...nothing happened? Basically we were told the same stories over and over and there wasn't really anything interesting that happened. The book was nicely written, and there was some very nice use of words. I did like how the book concentrated a great deal on the female perspective. However, in the other vein, enslaved people and Native Americans were barely mentioned when they definitely should have been - this is a very white book.All in all, this wasn't a bad book, but I wouldn't recommend it - there are many better books out there.

[kathl33n-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was an interesting read of the Lost Colony of Roanoke in it's substance. For me the execution was a bit off. I would have liked to have had the story of Eleanor Dare up front, maybe even driving the story, to create some mystery/suspense. The historical side of this story felt like it showed up so late that it felt disconnected from the rest. Although I think true fans of historical fiction will find much to like and may even be happily satisfied. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

[tamidale · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This has all the makings of a great story. Alice Young, a woman who inherits her family estate near Savannah and is a presumed to be the descendant of a woman who survived the Roanoke colony in the sixteenth century, visits the estate and during her time there manages to discover things about herself and her heritage. . The survivor, Eleanor Dare, passed down a book and a copper plate to her daughters. The book is still in their possession, but it seems as if it’s a puzzle to figure out.I thought I would really like this story, but it seemed bogged down with side stories and Alice’s grief over losing her husband and her father. I was annoyed by Alice’s reluctance to acknowledge her feelings and by her sharp manner with other people.The first part of the book was really difficult and I considered not finishing the story. My hope for the second part of it kept me going and I did like the last few chapters better, but in all this still fell short for me. I would have liked more focus on the history and less on the troubled relationships Alice seemed to have with just about everyone. Because I struggled so with reading this, I am giving it 2.5 stars rounded to 3 just because of the history it was based on.Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Muse for allowing me to read an advance copy and give my honest review.

[susan0316 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This beautifully written historical fiction novel is about making your home wherever you are. It's a story about love and family and about the strong women in a family over the generations. It's dual time line novel with several points of view.1585- After her mother died, her father began to ignore his daughter Eleanor. When he offered her a chance to sail to a far off country and start the first colony she agreed to go hoping that he would start paying attention to her. After a long trip, they arrived in what they called Roanoke. The small colony had troubles with farming and her father left for England to get more supplies and when he returned the small colony of people were gone. Eleanor stayed with the colony and got married. Her first daughter, Virginia, was born in 1587 and was the first English child born in a New World English colony. The settlement was never found again and the mystery involving The Lost Colony has lasted for generations. Eleanor kept a book and wrote down observations about her life. The book was passed to the oldest daughter in each generation for thirteen generations before Alice found it.1945 - As the war is getting near it's end, Alice finds out that her father has left Evertell to her.Her husband was killed during the war and money is tight, so she and her daughter, Penn, travel to the house she grew up in with plans to sell the house and land so that she has money for Penn's education. When they find Eleanor's book, Penn wants to read it to find out more about her family over the generations and becomes enthralled with Evertell because she sees it as part of her history. Alice is forced to decide if she wants to sell or remain in the house that was passed down to her and holds so many memories.This book has family, mystery and a bit of romance. It's an intriguing story of the women in a family who are strong and resilient through the generations. Ultimately it's a story about mothers and daughters learning to make a home built on love.Thanks to the author for a copy of this book to read and review.