The Quest for El Dorado - David Gibbins

Written by David Gibbins
Read by Ruben Crow
Format: M4B
Bitrate: 128 Kbps
Unabridged

The Quest for El Dorado: Sir Walter Ralegh and the City of Gold
By: David Gibbins
Narrated by: Ruben Crow
Release date
21-05-2026
Language
English
Format
Audiobook
Length
9 hrs and 22 mins
Publisher
Bloomsbury Publishing
Categories
Biographies & Memoirs

Bloomsbury presents The Quest for El Dorado: Sir Walter Ralegh and the City of Gold by David Gibbins, read by Ruben Crow.

‘This is history at its most readable’ MENSUN BOUND, author of The Ship Beneath the Ice
‘Engaging, engrossing and thoroughly enjoyable’ MATTHEW RESTALL, author of When Montezuma Met Cortés
‘Vivid and capitivating’ PROFESSOR JAMES CHESHIRE, author of The Library of Lost Maps

A new history of one of the greatest feats of exploration – Walter Ralegh’s search for El Dorado, the legendary City of Gold.

In 1594, English adventurer Sir Walter Ralegh heard the story of a lost city in South America from a Spanish conquistador. Setting out from Plymouth in February 1595, Ralegh reached the mouth of the Orinoco River and travelled over 400 miles inland to find it. Along the way, he captured galleons full of treasure, fought the Spanish and befriended the indigenous peoples.

Hoping to win favour with Queen Elizabeth I, he was convinced that a ‘gold-rich empire more lucrative than Peru’ lay just beyond reach. He vowed to return once more, so he could finally earn fame and fortune. The book that he wrote about his voyage, Discoverie, reveals the worldview of Europeans on the cusp of the modern era and the enormous drive that the search for unimaginable riches gave men such as Ralegh during the Age of Exploration. But, after he was imprisoned by James I, with a death sentence hanging over him, his hopes were put on hold for years until he was finally granted a second chance to try again…

The Quest for El Dorado is a compelling new narrative of one of the most enduring myths in history. Based on contemporary sources and his own researches as a maritime archaeologist, David Gibbins tells a story of exploration and plunder, shedding new light on Ralegh’s famous voyages.©2026 David Gibbins (P)2026 Bloomsbury Publishing PLC