Searching for Virginia Dare: A Fool's Errand by Marjorie Hudson; 2002. Hardcover. (CO-NC)

Four centuries of powerful myth surround the infant Virginia Dare. Abandoned by England in 1587 and left to fend for themselves in the Carolina wilderness, Virginia and more than a hundred other colonists disappeared, leaving behind only scattered clues about their fate. Some say the Lost Colony survived by joining local Native American tribes. Some say Virginia Dare’s descendants still walk among us. Will we ever really know? Following back roads and cold trails, author Marjorie Hudson stands toe to toe with the bones of English settlers and joins generations of historians, archeologists, and obsessed amateurs in seeking an answer to the mystery: What became of Virginia Dare and her family?

An unconventional look at history, Searching for Virginia Dare moves from research to reflection, and brings the author face to face with her own life’s journey—the painful loss of a child, and family stories that, as an adult, she is only now beginning to understand. From laughter, to grief, to revelation, Searching for Virginia Dare is a unique narrative about the things that haunt us all. In the tradition of William Least Heat Moon’s Blue Highways, Hudson’s story is a spellbinding journey, an invitation into a deeper understanding of America and ourselves.