Poldark (novel series)

Poldark is a series of historical novels by Winston Graham .

action

The novel series describes the life of Ross Poldark and his family from 1783 to 1815. The Poldarks are more or less impoverished landowners in Cornwall who earn their living as politicians, farmers and mine owners. Since the Poldarks, as a long-established family, live closely with their tenants and workers, their lives also take up a large part of the novels.

backgrounds

Winston Graham wrote a total of twelve Poldark novels. These portray the adventures of Ross, Demelza, George Warleggan and some other characters at the end of the 18th century. The novels are set in Cornwall . The author Winston Graham himself lived there for 30 years. From 1783 to the 1820s, the story of the Poldark family and their rival, the Warleggan family, is told. He wrote the first four novels from 1945 to 1953. The fifth novel was not published until 20 years later. In 2002, Winston Graham wrote the last Poldark novel with Bella. He died a year later. For the Poldark novels, he researched old archives. He dealt in particular with reports on smuggling and mining, as well as parochial history (= stands for provincial [in views and behavior], of community and parish matters). Winston Graham's daughter, Rosamund, explained that while her father was a life writer, he was particularly fond of the Poldark novels. The character of Demelza was inspired by Winston Graham's wife, Jean. Winston Graham also discussed his ideas with her and she helped him with the details.

The historical background

The English history of the era of the French Revolution occupies a large space in the series. However, Winston Graham was less interested in the main and state actions, but more in the socio-historical sides and aspects. His main topic is the English landed gentry , which is of considerable importance for the local population as employers, civil servants and politicians who were able to gain wealth in the course of the industrial revolution , but also always from bankruptcy and prison in the economic crisis was threatened.

On the other hand, the life of the lower classes is also presented broadly, because there is poverty here, but more rarely medium-sized wealth. Life is often shaped by the struggle for survival. Industrialization creates new jobs in the ore mines, but these are always threatened by bad economic conditions, and so fishing, smuggling and beach robbing remain important activities. But life is also shaped by epidemics , a draconian judiciary and the pietistic belief of the Wesleyans .

The titles of the volumes

First series

• Ross Poldark (German farewell to yesterday , 1980)
• Demelza (German from the beginning of the day , 1981)
• Jeremy Poldark (German shadow on the way , 1981)
• Warleggan ( fate in another hand , 1981)
• The black moon (Eng. In the dark light of the moon , 1981)
• The four swans ( Eng . The song of the swans , 1981)
• The angry tide (dt. Before the rise of the tide , 1982)

Second series

• The stranger from the sea
• The millers dance
• The loving cup
• The twisted sword
• Bella Poldark

The original volumes were published between 1945 and 2002. The volumes of the first series were published as paperbacks by Moewig Verlag , Rastatt; those of the second series have not (yet) been translated into German.

The plot of the volumes

Ross Poldark

The main character, Ross Poldark, is returning home in Cornwall from America's Revolutionary War . He arrives there on the day his cousin Francis Poldark becomes engaged to Elizabeth Chynoweth, with whom Ross himself had a love affair.

In the next few years Ross tried to run his completely dilapidated farm and later reopen a tin mine on his land (Weal Leisure). His best friend is his cousin Verity, Francis' sister, who falls in love with the sailor Andrew Blamey. Since Blamey is a former drunkard and murdered his first wife, father and brother separate the couple.

During this time Ross is very lonely and tries to forget Elizabeth, which he does not succeed because she tries again and again to flirt with him.

At a fair, Ross picks up the neglected daughter of a miner - Demelza Carne - and turns her into his kitchen maid. When Ross finally succumbs to Demelza's charm, he marries her, regardless of the neighbors' opinions. Contrary to expectations, the marriage turns out to be happy.

Demelza

Ross comes into conflict with the people of his social class and with his wife. The novel begins with the birth of Ross' first daughter Julia. Ross hires young doctor Dwight Enys as a doctor for his mine.

One of Ross' tenants, Jim Carter, who is serving a sentence for poaching , dies shortly before his release because the sanitary conditions in the prison are life-threatening. Ross blames Jim's death on his wealthy neighbors, who serve as judges and jury members for Jim's conviction and the running of the prison.

Shortly afterwards, he and Demelza attended a ball for the first time . Demelza was very much looking forward to it, but he can no longer bear these people who shirk their responsibility. So there is an argument between the two for the first time.

Ross is asked by some mine owners to participate in a copper company.

TV adaptations

In the 1970s, the BBC filmed seven books in the novel series. In the television series (which differs from the novels in some ways), 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 .

There was also an ITV TV movie in 1996 about the eighth Poldark novel.

In 2014 the Poldark novels were filmed again. The television series with Aidan Turner , Eleanor Tomlinson and Heida Reed in the leading roles has been broadcast on BBC One since March 2015 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Cornish Guardian: Winston Graham: 'I found the atmosphere and history exciting' . In: Westbriton.co.uk . March 4, 2015. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved March 15, 2015. 
2. ↑ ^{a b} Simon Parker: Winston Graham's family give thumbs up to BBC's Poldark. . In: Westernmorningnews.co.uk . March 9, 2015. Archived from the original on March 14, 2015. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved March 15, 2015. 
3. ↑ Winston Graham, 93; Wrote 'Poldark' Series . In: Nytimes.com . July 12, 2003. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
4. ↑ Jack Adrian: Winston Graham. Versatile writer whose books ranged from the Poldark novels to 'Marnie'. . In: Independent.co.uk . July 11, 2003. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
5. ^ Poldark Novels. . In: cornwall-calling.co.uk . Retrieved March 15, 2015.
6. ↑ Winston Graham. . In: Telegraph.co.uk . July 11, 2003. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
7. ^ Anna Pukas: How Poldark's creator Winston Graham hated the BBC's first TV adaptation. . In: Express.co.uk . March 9, 2003. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
8. ^ ^{A b} Dominic Midgley: Poldark's return: Everything you need to know about the BBC remake. . In: Independent.ie . February 26, 2015. Accessed March 9, 2015.
9. ↑ Tara Conlan: BBC's Poldark remake: stars speak of 'pressure' of 1970s hit. . In: Theguardian.com . February 24, 2015. Accessed March 9, 2015.