The Explorer

The Explorer is a 1964 novel by American author Frances Parkinson Keyes. Set in Virginia 1953, the novel was originally released by McGraw-Hill Book Company, there have since been several reprints of her book, with the latest release in paperback format in June 1994 by Hodder General Publishing Division. Plot The Explorer, tells the story of Nicolas Hale, a transplanted Vermonter who was inspired by Hiram Bingham's amazing discovery of Machu Picchu in Peru. Nicolas had avoided marriage until his desire for a son to carry on his profession and inherit his name compelled him to propose to Margaret Porterfield, an aristocratic young Virginian whom he envisions as the type of woman he would like to be the mother of his son. He has been her ideal suitor for a long time, and she quickly agrees to a fast marriage just five days before he departs on a new exploring venture in Peru. He doesn't hide from her that she'll never be able to share his life there, and that exploring is his only great passion, and that she would have to endure long periods of separation from him.