The Poldark Series - Winston Graham

    

     My main motivation for taking on the Cornwall challenge this year was the idea of completing the Poldark series by Winston Graham.  I began the series in 2010 and have now read all twelve novels in the series.  Setting out to read twelve novels is no small objective and the fact that I stayed with them is a testament to their excellence.  I read a quote the other day by Paul Sweeney that applies to my feelings upon completing the last novel:  "You know you've read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little as if you have lost a friend."  Except in this case it was twelve books, many friends, some enemies, and a world and a time that I've journeyed through and will sorely miss.
     My first exposure to the Poldark series was with the BBC Masterpiece Theater series that began in 1975.  The series is excellent and faithful to the novels but doesn't cover all of them.  The first seven novels are set during the 18th century until Christmas 1799, and the remaining five are concerned with the early years of the 19th century and the lives of the children of the main characters of the previous novels.  Winston Graham wrote the first four Poldark novels during the 1940's and 1950's.  Following a long break, he resumed the series in 1972.  The series encompasses the first seven books.  The first novel was written in 1945 and the last one in 2002.

     The first book takes its title from the main character, Ross Poldark, a British soldier who returns from the American War of Independence to find his father dead, his estate, Nampara, and mines in disrepair, and his fiance, Elizabeth, who believes he died in the war engaged to his cousin, Francis Poldark.  If that's not bad enough, a family of ambitious bankers, the Warleggans, is determined to acquire Ross's property by whatever means necessary.  Ross's return astonishes them all and thus begins the Poldark saga.

    The saga touches on romance, rivalry, and social conditions.  Ross is a man of honor and a gentleman by birth but holds notions of liberty, fraternity, and equality engendered by his experiences in America and fostered by the overthrow of the monarchy across the Channel in France.  His loyalties lie with the working people of Cornwall who struggle to make a living on the rugged coast as best they can whether its by mining, poaching, or smuggling. 
 









     Ross's divided loyalties are embodied in the two women he loves - the genteel Elizabeth and the fiery Delmelza.  Demelza is as different from Elizabeth as she can be.  She is the daughter of a drunken miner and when Ross first encounters her she is dressed as a boy and stealing meat pies from a country fair.  He saves her and her dog Garrick from the consequences and brings her back to work for him at Nampara.  Of course, they fall in love.  Demelza is strong, smart, determined, and funny.  Her favorite and often used curse word is "Judas!" Throughout the ups and downs of their marriage (and there are many) she is often more in love with Ross than his is with her but she is never subservient to him.  She is always his equal.  Their romance survives throughout the novel - not only the passionate relationship but despite hardship, setbacks, and betrayal, a deep and caring partnership continues.

     Winston Groom had originally intended it to be a trilogy focusing exclusively on the love triangle between Ross, his cousin Francis, and Elizabeth.  But has he began writing, Graham found himself delving into the world of 18th century Cornwall and sinking his teeth into the social issues of the period.  Extra characters kept appearing and the saga became a far longer, richer work.
     The novels and the BBC series have quite a dedicated following.  It seems that once you step into the world of Ross and Demelza it is hard to let go.  Here is a list of the novels in chronological order:  Ross Poldark, Demelza, Jeremy Poldark, Warleggan, The Black Moon, The Four Swans, The Angry Tide, Stranger From the Sea, The Miller's Dance, The Loving Cup, The Twisted Sword, and Bella Poldark.
   

- Frances