Merchant Adventurers

Meticulously researched ... Evans's short, exciting chapters describe the voyage and 16th-century life, technology and politics in glorious detail -- Stephen Coulson * THE LADY *
Looking for a short-cut sea route, in 1553 they commissioned Sir Hugh Willoughby and Richard Chancellor to voyage in search of a northeast passage through the Arctic to Asia. Their venture was, says Evans, one of the boldest in English history as a significant turning point in English economic and cultural development. It's also a good story, well told -- Iain Finlayson * THE TIMES *
Entertaining and meticulously researched ... Merchant Adventurers is much more than a reconstruction of one of the most fascinating voyages of the Tudor age. The author places the expedition in the wider context of global exploration, mercantile expansion and the establishment of the first joint-stock company. Indeed he argues that the 1553 expedition anticipated the dawn of a new era, one that would see the formation of the East India Company and England's fledgling empire -- Giles Milton * LITERARY REVIEW *
Essentially this should be a tale of a spectacular failure, yet Evans' enthusiasm in relating the achievements of their 1553 voyage is infectious ... James Evans' excellent book reminds us that even the most ill-fated attempts broke new ground. These first, tentative missions eventually allowed for the eastern side of the map of the world to be inked in -- Chris Skidmore * TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT *
This is an extraordinary tale of a voyage of discovery every bit as epoch-making as those of Spain and Portugal ... A richly detailed account that is a pleasure to read -- Lucinda Byatt * THE HISTORICAL NOVEL SOCIETY *
Evans combines gripping adventure stories with an exploration of the roots of the British empire and national consciousness * YOUR FAMILY TREE *
This is the fascinating story of a forgotten few whose deeds had an important long-term impact on Britain's history * THE GOOD BOOK GUIDE *
A fascinating insight into the minds of the merchant adventurers who laid the foundations for the British Empire, and much of our politics, for the next 400 years. -- Keith Richmond * TRIBUNE *
It is a heroic and tragic tale that for all the commercial and political agents at work remains, above all, a story of courage and endeavour. Evans is alert to the complexities of early modern diplomacy and cultural encounter, and the description of the survivors' experiences in Russia complements well the treatment of what they endured at sea -- Mark Hutchings * LONDON MAGAZINE *
James Evans offers an account of an extraordinary 1553 voyage full of daring, discovery, tragedy and pioneering achievement. The Chalk Farm author lifts the lid on how a Britain with little maritime experience came to rule the waves through the efforts of historic pioneers like Sebastian Cabot, Sir Hugh Willoughby and Richard Chancellor * HAM & HIGH *
The book's strength is in showing the extent to which the institutional structure of the joint stock company that emerged from the ill-fated voyage as the Muscovy Company was a model that was replicated to form successful ventures in British trade and imperial outreach for the next two centuries -- Robert J. Mayhew * BBC HISTORY *