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David A Lupher, Misha Ewen. The Virginia Venture: American Colonization and English Society, 1580–1660., The American Historical Review, Volume 129, Issue 3, September 2024, Pages 1258–1259, https://doi.org/10.1093/ahr/rhae214
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Extract
While the beginnings of English colonization in Virginia and its impact upon the Indigenous population have stimulated considerable scholarly and popular interest, less attention has been paid to how that colonial venture entered the awareness and affected the lives of people in England itself. Misha Ewen’s The Virginia Venture is a vigorous challenge to the common assumption that awareness of and involvement in Virginia colonization was largely limited to a small group of merchant promoters (adventurers) and nautical folk. Adding to the depth and vividness of this endeavor is Ewen’s extensive use of much hitherto neglected archival material, not only in the metropolis but also in the towns and countryside of England. The result is a rich, though intentionally not exhaustive, account of how English men and women of all social ranks became aware of the colonial venture in Virginia and found themselves participating in it, sometimes against their will.
