PositiveWashington Independent Review of BooksI found its historical context about events leading up to the conflict far more interesting than its chronicling of battles and military leaders ... Covers an entire century and spotlights countless people, places, and events. At times, it was difficult to keep track of all the different actors, especially as political factions and religious sects adapted and re-created themselves during volatile periods. Even so, the march of progress — in the form of more elaborate economies and a decline in violent crime and equally violent punishment — runs through the book like a thread of hope.
Laurence Bergreen
PositiveWashington Independent Review of BooksThe narrative jumps back and forth between accounts of Drake’s career and discoveries and the background of his and Elizabeth’s lives. Far from being jarring, this juxtaposition highlights motive and context for their actions and creates a cliffhanger-style pace that keeps the reader turning the page. Still, there are few new revelations about Elizabeth I that haven’t already been covered in other biographies, and readers can find a more complete examination of her court politics and intelligence services in the work of Stephen Alford. The great pleasure of In Search of a Kingdom is the revelation of Drake as a man of apparent contradictions that helped rather than hindered his ambitions. Readers in search of a story of how a clergyman’s son gained the support of a queen and helped found the British Empire will not be disappointed.
