Contents
Poldark is a series of historical novels by Winston Graham, and a popular 1975 BBC television series based on the books. During June 2008, in celebration of Winston Graham's centenary on 30 June 2008, Pan MacMillan has republished all twelve novels making them available for a new generation of readers.
The main character, Ross Poldark, a British soldier, returns from the American War of Independence to his home in Cornwall, only to find that his fiancée, Elizabeth Chynoweth, having believed him dead, is about to marry his cousin, Francis Poldark. Ross attempts to restore his own fortunes by reopening one of the family's tin mines. He marries Demelza Carne, a servant girl, and is gradually reconciled to the loss of Elizabeth's love. By then, Elizabeth has become a widow and marries George Warleggan, Ross's arch-enemy.
There are a total of twelve novels. The first seven novels are set during the 18th century, until Christmas 1799. 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 books during the 1940s and 1950s. Following a long hiatus, he decided to resume the series and The Black Moon was published during 1972. He explains his reasons in the preface of this book.
The novels
(Ward Lock & Co)
- Ross Poldark
- Demelza
- Jeremy Poldark
- Warleggan
- The Black Moon
- The Four Swans
- The Angry Tide
- The Stranger From the Sea
- The Millers Dance
- The Loving Cup
- The Twisted Sword
- Bella Poldark
Main characters
Ross Poldark
Ross Poldark is the main character of the series. In his autobiography, Graham states that the character of Ross was, in part, based upon a fighter pilot he met on a train during World War 2. In the opening novel, Ross Poldark, he returns home from the American war. He learns that his fiancee, Elizabeth, has promised to marry his cousin, Francis. Brooding and introspective, life is bleak for Ross after his return.
Elizabeth Warleggan, previously Poldark, née Chynoweth
She was Ross Poldark's fiancee. Elizabeth is delicate and beautiful. She only has a passion for her son, Geoffrey Charles, whose birth disintegrates her already bad marriage to Francis. After his death, she marries George Warleggan.
Francis Poldark
Ross's cousin Francis has a tendency to be flippant, however his feelings are strong and he can be very obstinate. The two cousins were friends as boys, but their relationship is tested severely by an impulsive act by Demelza, it has lasting repercussions on them all. He eventually becomes dissolute and debt-ridden, but is redeemed only to drown in a flooded mine shaft, having found a potential rich source of tin.
George Warleggan
Ross's rival. George is one of a new class of industrialists and bankers. He is considered an upstart by the aristocracy, but he becomes increasingly powerful. He is impeccably behaved and dressed, and is sometimes ruthless. He is enamored of Elizabeth, who eventually marries him.
Verity Blamey, née Poldark
Francis' sister and cousin to Ross, described as plain, with fluffy hair and a mobile mouth, she is a dutiful unmarried daughter, looking after the affairs of the estate, as well as her father, Charles Poldark. She meets and becomes enamored of Andrew Blamey, a sea captain. Unfortunately he has a terrible secret that is soon revealed, and she seems to lose her chance of happiness.
Dwight Enys
A young doctor who comes to the area, he soon befriends Ross Poldark, and their friendship becomes very strong and enduring. He is a very conscientious doctor, and, like his friend Ross, a philanthropist, often not charging his poorest patients for his services. He becomes involved with a young miner's wife, with tragic results. He eventually marries a young heiress, Caroline Penvenen.
Caroline Enys, née Penvenen
18 years old when she first meets Dwight Enys, Caroline is an orphan, taken in and raised by her rich uncle Ray. Strong-willed and independent, she begins a romance with Dwight against her uncle's wishes, culminating in a disastrous plan to elope. They eventually marry several years later when Dwight is released from a prison camp in France.
Demelza Poldark, née Carne
Taken home from Redruth Fair by Ross, 13-year-old miner's daughter Demelza and her dog Garrick have an unpromising start. However, she soon develops into a charming, amusing and lovely young woman, eventually winning the love and affection of Ross. Dark and earthy, she is the total opposite of the fragile Elizabeth, and the two women heartily dislike each other. Demelza has courage and is fiercely loyal to Ross. However, she is somewhat impulsive, which causes both her and Ross to trouble.
Reverend Osborne Whitworth
Rev. Whitworth appears briefly in the first Poldark series of novels but comes to feature prominently in the second series when he marries Morwenna Chynoweth. Whitworth's main preoccupations are money and sex. He is loud and arrogant and delivers sermons that do more to intimidate his parishioners than to inspire them. When deprived of his wife's sexual companionship during her pregnancy he begins an affair with her 15 year old sister, Rowella, which proves to be his undoing.
Themes within the books
Love lost and found
Ross Poldark never really recovers from losing Elizabeth, although he finds himself liking her less over the years. She tells him early on that she should never have married Francis, implying that he, Ross, was the one for her. He has to know that for years. When Francis dies, the widowed Elizabeth promises to marry George, and she starts a sequence of events that will ultimately destroy her. Demelza is never less than sure about her feelings for Ross, even when his actions test her loyalties to the limit. She develops feelings for another man later in the 7th novel, and this relationship almost destroys what she has with Ross. Verity and Andrew are brought together by Demelza after a long separation. Ross must pay dearly for that happy ending. The theme of enduring love is a recurrent one throughout the novels, and Demelza's brother Drake endures a tragic love affair with Elizabeth's cousin Morwenna (which, after incredible misery, culminates in marriage).
Dwight and Caroline separate because of a misunderstanding and find each other when Dwight is near death after imprisonment in France. They separate again several times during the course of the books but always find each other again.
Feud
The rivalry between George and Ross is a recurring theme throughout the entire series of novels. The two men can be seen as opposites; and it is not just a case of good versus evil. Ross is a landowner with an ancient name, even in penury he associates easily with the aristocracy. Indeed on one occasion he is asked to give advice to the future King George IV on the progress of the war. He has a strong moral code, and a philanthropic tendency, helping his poorer neighbours and employees. He is well thought of by the local community. However Ross has a wild and lawless tendency, and he often finds himself performing criminal acts, breaking and entering being one of his favourites. He also tends to drink alcohol too much. George by comparison is almost abstinent; he wants to stay in control. More than money, George is driven by power. He has the ability to ruin people, and at one point he almost bankrupts Ross and Demelza, were it not for the assistance of a mysterious friend (whose identity is revealed later). He is very sensitive about his origins, being the grandson of an illiterate blacksmith. On more than one occasion Ross and George have an altercation. Their feud extends to their children, particularly the unlucky Valentine (whose parentage is often questioned).
Class struggle
Much of the drama is about the friction between the wealthy upper classes and the working poor. The revolutions in America and France cause the British working classes to question their extreme poverty, and the aristocracy to fear the loss of their wealth and privilege. England is struggling to recover from recent unsuccessful warfare, and economic conditions foster food riots, smuggling, poaching, and child labor among the miners. In contrast, Graham details the hours-long, lavish meals considered normal among the wealthy. Ross is often more comfortable with his impoverished tenants and employees than he is among his aristocratic peers. The two women he loves, Demelza and Elizabeth, epitomize the differences between the social classes from which they come. George Warleggan rises from humble roots to become wealthy and powerful, and he resents Ross for caring so little for the class privilege into which he was born.
Rip-roaring adventure and suspense
Ross Poldark tends to provide much of the action that takes place in the novels. This reckless man breaks into prisons to rescue his friends, takes part in smuggling ventures, and is the owner of two mines. Winston Graham employs his mastery of the technique of suspense. This is demonstrated especially in the final scenes between George and Elizabeth over the questionable parentage of Valentine. This causes the horrific death of Elizabeth and is executed with immense skill. There are many such set-pieces throughout the entire set of books.
The comic element
This is provided, to a very large extent, by Ross Poldark's irascible old servant, Jud Paynter. Lazy, shifty and frequently drunk, he and his awful "wife" Prudie are superb comic inventions. Jud speaks in an almost incomprehensible Cornish dialect, using phrases repeatedly (for instance "ted'n right, ted'n proper"). He is an old rogue that Ross should have disposed of years ago but cannot bring himself to do so (although he does eventually). The comic element is often provided by the exchanges between the young Demelza and her teacher/husband Ross. In the first five books Aunt Agatha is still alive, an elderly relative living at Trenwith, the home of Francis Poldark. As she is almost completely deaf, she often commits faux pas by commenting rudely about people within their hearing. She does this often with George Warleggan, but one suspects this is deliberate.
Trivia
- Graham mentions in his autobiography, Memoirs of a Private Man, that the character of Demelza, at least in part, was based on his wife, Jean, a Cornishwoman.
- His novels were researched minutely and many of the events of the books were factual. The story of the physician (Dr. Enys) who was called out to attend a young girl's (Caroline Penvenen) dog and the incident with the fishbone were based on fact.
Television series
In the television series, based on the first seven novels, Ross Poldark was played by Robin Ellis and Demelza by Angharad Rees. Elizabeth was played by Jill Townsend, Francis Poldark by Clive Francis and George Warleggan by Ralph Bates. The plot follows Ross as he loses Elizabeth to his cousin, becomes enamored of Demelza, and engages in a life-long rivalry with George.
Although the emphasis is primarily on Ross and Demelza, there are many other characters with their own stories. In Poldark 1 we meet Dr. Dwight Enys (Richard Morant, series 1 and Michael Cadman, series 2), a young man with progressive ideas who prefers to serve the poor communities rather than the rich. He has a brief affair with a married actress, Keren Daniel, which results in her murder by her husband. By the end of the first series, Dwight has become involved with heiress Caroline Penvenen (Judy Geeson), who is conflicted between her love for the hard-working Dwight and her desire for a life of leisure. In Poldark 2 they eventually marry.
In Poldark 2 we get to see much of Geoffrey Charles Poldark (Stefan Gates), the son of Elizabeth and Francis Poldark. He resembles his father much, and doesn't get along well with his stepfather George Warleggan. Geoffrey Charles begins a friendship with Demelza's brother Drake Carne (Kevin McNally), whom he and his governess, Elizabeth's cousin Morwenna (Jane Wymark), meet in the woods on the Warleggan estate. He also plays an instrumental role in the development of Drake and Morwenna's romance.
Drake is Ross Poldark's brother-in-law and has a working class background: therefore George considers him an unsuitable marriage partner for Morwenna. George marries Morwenna off to Rev Osborne Whitworth (Christopher Biggins), whom she despises. Pining for Morwenna, Drake emphasizes building his blacksmith business and spending time with his brother Sam (David Delve), a devout Methodist.
Morwenna and Osborne have a son, John Conan, whom Morwenna cannot bring herself to love. Eventually Morwenna tells Osborne she will kill his son if he forces his attentions on her one more time. Osborne has an affair with Morwenna's younger sister Rowella (Julie Dawn Cole). Rowella's husband Arthur Solway (Stephen Reynolds) discovers his wife's adultery and attacks Osborne, who is dragged to death by his frightened horse. Despite being traumatized by her marriage to Osborne, Morwenna eventually marries Drake.
Sam becomes enamored of Emma Tregirls (Trudie Styler), who refuses to marry him because she knows that his Methodist congregation will never approve of her. She loves Sam, but knows that her lack of religion and her bad reputation will eventually cause conflict between him and his faith.
However, much of the main emphasis remains with Ross and Demelza, and the series concludes with the death of Elizabeth Warleggan after the birth of her and George's daughter Ursula.