Winston Graham (1908–2003)

This volume, the eleventh in the series, is a sword that twists in your heart. Set in the last days of Bonaparte’s reign, it captures all the tension and fear that war can produce when it spills over into and affects the lives of so many people in so many countries. On a personal level for Graham's characters, it highlights all the missteps that await everyone and can wreak havoc in a heart and a life.

Graham continues to follow the second generation, but he does so without losing touch show more with the first. We see Demelza and Ross dealing with all the pressures, hopes and heartaches that come with having grown children and watching them feel their own ways into the future. My mother always said it was much harder having grown children than having small ones. When they are small we fear they will hurt themselves, but most of the perils are within our control. When they are grown, all the perils and choices are their own, and we often watch with a heavy heart as they seem to make all the wrong choices we have warned them against.

I will not reveal any of the plot of this book, as I have tried to reveal nothing of the specifics in any of the previous ten. I will say that I closed it with a broken heart, that mirrored the hearts of so many of the characters I have come to love. My time with the Poldarks is rapidly coming to an end and I am going to miss them. I have grown to genuinely love these very human individuals, who display all that is wonderful in humanity and all that is flawed. Winston Graham has an ability to see into the soul and not once in all these pages has he lost the thread of the story, made a character do something “out of character”, or written a superfluous word. That is approximately 5500 pages of excellent storytelling so far, and that is quite an accomplishment.

I want to thank my reading companion, Lori, who has traveled this road with me, step by step, and has made a pleasurable reading experience all the more so for being there to share it with me.

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Demelza, the second book in the Poldark series, is what second books should be, even better than the first. The story builds to a crescendo, and even though I knew from watching the TV series exactly what was in store, I was glued to every page and full of emotion by the end.

What I love the most about this story is that every character is fully developed and very real. No one is always right, no one always wrong. They do things without fully understanding the consequences of their actions; show more they endeavor to right things and frequently make them worse; they love and hate--and sometimes both emotions are thrown at the same individual. There are complicated family relationships (and who doesn’t have those?) and there is jealousy and greed and every other aspect of being human and fallible.

I am not one who generally reads a series. I seldom want to commit that kind of time and energy to one story, and I fear that, like a TV show that goes on too long, the author will begin to short change his audience because he should have closed out a story that he is milking along. If the second book of this series is any indicator, I will be glad that I made an exception in this case. show less

Major mega spoilers ahead. Also some more ranting about Ross.

I could have sworn that I previously gave up on this series after - or possibly even midway through - the fourth book Warleggan, but the sixth instalment seemed strangely familiar, or unusually predictable. Also very introspective and middle-aged.

The four swans of the title - rather condescendingly - are Demelza, Elizabeth, Caroline and Morwenna, Elizabeth's cousin. A philosophical Ross coins the analogy after watching the bird show more variety on the water, comparing the beautiful creatures to his enigmatic wife, graceful former cousin, Caroline as another woman he knows, and Morwenna, the 'injured swan'. The book is also about them - and a lot of boring political blather over whether Ross should accept or decline to run for parliament. Elizabeth faces off with Ross over 'that night' - and there is absolutely no point trying to deny what Graham was inferring happened between them, because both Ross ('I took her against her will') and Elizabeth ('I have never given my body to any man...') make the situation quite clear - and with George over their future together. Morwenna's disgusting pantomime villain of a husband turns his attentions on her younger sister, but the women gain the upper hand, as is nearly always the way with Graham. Caroline and Dwight are still adjusting to married life, and Demelza is sacrificed by Graham to even the score and make Ross seem less of a cheating slime.

Sorry, I mean, Demelza is charmed by Hugh Armitage, the tragic young naval officer rescued along with Dwight by Ross in France. I just didn't buy Demelza succumbing to the youthful charm and bad poetry of her young swain - she doesn't want to betray Ross, wishing at best that she could be two women to make both men happy, and undergoes much soul-searching when she finally gives in to Hugh's nagging. Romantic nonsense at best, but more likely tit for tat (pardon the expression) to try and excuse what happened with Ross and Elizabeth. I could almost imagine Graham saying to himself, 'Now they are equal, and I can pretend the whole sorry scene didn't happen!' Only a quick shag on the beach with a guy who's going blind doesn't quite make up for raping your childhood sweetheart and forcing her into marriage with your mortal enemy. Sorry, Winston.

I don't know, perhaps I'm just feeling a bit sick after overdosing on Poldark, but the shine is wearing off. Not the stories or the characters - for all Ross is a hypocrite, he makes for great reading - but just Graham's style, after the natural break between the first four books and the second set. Perhaps because everyone is settled - or at least married - then the tension turns destructive rather than expectant. The humour has all but vanished, too. Ho hum. Onto The Angry Tide! show less

Warning: this review contains spoilers

****

"Turbulent" is a good word to describe this book. There is financial turbulence as the poor output of Wheal Grace threatens to sink both Ross and Francis, and emotional turbulence as both Ross and Demelza face temptations outside of their marriage. Another major thread is that of Dwight Enys, who is torn between helping the disadvantaged families in the district and following through on his feelings for Caroline Penvenen.

Among the most shocking plot show more developments is the death of Francis, the manner of which was cruelly foreshadowed in an earlier installment of the series. Until the very end of that chapter, I was in denial, hoping that the words on the paper would not reveal what I feared would be true.

Also shocking was Ross's treatment of Elizabeth some time after Francis's death -- one night, Ross goes over to Trenwith and, after a heated conversation, takes advantage of her. (Off-screen, but the implication is clear.) I was furious with Ross for most of the rest of the book. How dare he go over and do that? What possible justification could he have had for doing so? And then to have the nerve to be angry with Demelza for her own almost-infidelity afterward -- SHE at least ended up not going through with it! And she very nearly ended up in the same position as Elizabeth, because the man in this scenario was not inclined to give up easily. Ugh. The double standards on the men's part in this plot line had me shaking my head in despair.

On a happier note, Ross and Demelza are treated to a visit by Verity and her stepson, James, who makes me smile just by appearing on the page. He is such a hearty young man and it's fun to see the energy he brings to the family gatherings. Also, as a sailor, he has the coolest conversation topics.

Overall, this was certainly a page-turning book, albeit infuriating in places as a result of the characters' actions. It will be interesting to see where the next book in the series takes them. show less