Roanoke Colonies Research Newsletter
Volume 2.2 (May 1995)

From the Editor ...

We have received several calls for papers, queries for information, and so forth, since the last edition of the Roanoke Colonies Research Newsletter. These can be found in the “Notes and Queries” section on the back page. We are always happy to hear from our readers and look forward to hearing from many more of you. Please fill out the sheet on the bottom of the back page to let us know what you are doing.

Two recently published works should be noted by people doing Roanoke colonization related research. First, as mentioned in the last issue of the Roanoke Colonies Research Newsletter, Thomas C. Parramore’s Norfolk: The First Four Centuries (Charlottesville: U of Virginia P, 1994), written with Peter C. Stewart and Tommy L. Bogger, discusses the fate of the “Lost Colony” of 1587 in its second chapter, “The Chesapeians.” Parramore gives a brief history of the various Roanoke Island expeditions and then explains his reasons for not agreeing with David B. Quinn’s theory that the 1587 colonists moved from Roanoke Island to the vicinity of present-day Norfolk, Virginia. Instead, Parramore forwards his own theory that the 1587 colonists ended up along the Albermarle Sound.

The other book of note is America in European Consciousness, 1493-1750, edited by Karen Ordahl Kupperman (Williamsburg, VA: Institute of Early American History and Culture; Chapel Hill: U of North Carolina P, 1995). While there is very little specific mention of the Roanoke colonization efforts in the volume, the entire collection treats issues that apply to these studies. In particular, Kupperman’s own addition to the collection, “The Beehive as a Model for Colonial Design,” does briefly discuss the Roanoke colonization attempts in connection with her topic. Also, David Armitage’s essay, “The New World and British Historical Thought: From Richard Hakluyt to William Robertson,” discusses Hakluyt’s work at some length.

Historically Speaking, run by Douglas L. Barger and Nicholas E. Hodson, is a Manteo, North Carolina, based organization that does presentations of Elizabethan music, poetry, costume, etc., as well as consulting and workshops on various aspects of Elizabethan culture appropriate for everyone from kindergarten age and up. They have worked on projects such as writing and designing the Public Broadcasting System’s quadracentennial special Roanoke Voyages, designing the costumes for the sixteenth-century scenes in the recent Lovejoy episode (see “1994 Checklist”), and producing the orientation slide show at the Elizabeth II State Historic Site. They also produce the Elizabethan Dinner Theater presented at the Elizabethan Inn each summer. If you are interested in their travelling productions or workshops, they can be contacted at Historically Speaking, P.O. Box 1742, Manteo, NC, 27954; their phone and fax number is (919) 473-5783.

The 1995 season for Paul Green’s The Lost Colony, the play’s 55th production season, begins on June 9th and runs until August 25th. The Lost Colony is produced by the Roanoke Island Historical Association. For ticket information, call the box office at (919) 473-3414.

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