In Search of a Kingdom: Francis Drake, Elizabeth I, and the Perilous Birth of th

<p><strong>"FASCINATING . . . Dramatic and timely." --<em>New York Times Book Review, </em>Editors' Choice</strong></p><p><strong>In this grand and thrilling narrative, the author of the 200,000-copy paperback bestseller <em>Over the Edge of the World</em> reveals the singular adventures of Sir Francis Drake, whose mastery of the seas during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I changed the course of history.</strong></p><p><strong>"Entrancing . . . Very good indeed." --<em>Wall Street Journal</em></strong></p><p>Before he was secretly dispatched by Queen Elizabeth to circumnavigate the globe, or was called upon to save England from the Spanish Armada, Francis Drake was perhaps the most wanted--and successful--pirate ever to sail. Nicknamed "El Draque" by the Spaniards who placed a bounty on his head, the notorious red-haired, hot-tempered Drake pillaged galleons laden with New World gold and silver, stealing a vast fortune for his queen--and himself. For Elizabeth, Drake made the impossible real, serving as a crucial and brilliantly adaptable instrument of her ambitions to transform England from a third-rate island kingdom into a global imperial power.</p><p>In 1580, sailing on Elizabeth's covert orders, Drake became the first captain to circumnavigate the earth successfully. (Ferdinand Magellan had died in his attempt.) Part exploring expedition, part raiding mission, Drake's audacious around-the-world journey in the <em>Golden Hind </em>reached Patagonia, the Pacific Coast of pr