Evan James

"The inimitable--some might say incorrigible--Frank Widdicombe is suffering from a deep depression. Or so his wife, Carol, believes. But Carol is convinced that their new island home--Willowbrook Manor on the Puget Sound--is just the thing to cheer her husband up. And so begins a whirlwind summer as their house becomes the epicenter of multiple social dramas involving the family, their friends, and a host of new acquaintances. The Widdicombes' son,...

"Just in time for the holidays, the sixty-ninth issue of our National Magazine Award-winning McSweeney's Quarterly is a gift to adventurous readers. Featuring an irresistible mix of original fiction from daring new voices and beloved favorites, this issue is certain to delight one and all. Often hilarious and always surprising, these are tales of contemporary life flipped and twisted, skewed and skewered. "--Publisher's website.

In this moving story of daring, discovery, tragedy, and adventure, historian James Evans vividly shows how the 1553 voyage of Sir Hugh Willoughby, a brave gentleman soldier, and Richard Chancellor, a brilliant young scientist and practical man of the sea, laid the foundations for England's expansion on a global stage.