Customer Reviews

Ross Poldark: A Novel of Cornwall, 1783-1787

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Any copy of a Winston Graham novel is an adventure waiting to happen. The first novel in the Poldark saga is a must read. My criticism is with this edition by Sourcebooks. It is full of typographical errors. One of the main characters has his name spelled wrong through most of the text and there is a significant error in one chapter where the sentences are mixed and the paragraph makes no sense. I read books with an intense pleasure in both the work of the author but also with a pleasure in the actual book itself. It is frustrating to be so distracted by the mistakes, all of which could have been found by a simple proofreading of the text. I will be writting to Sourcebooks to tell them of this since I actually like the edition otherwise. The publisher has used a good quality paper, a very readable font size and in general I like the Sourcebook editions of it's reprints. They really need a better proofreader. In this case, go for the Pan published edition of the Poldark saga. With that said, do read all the Poldark books. I have loved this series since I first had a chance to know about it in 1975 (this book was written in the mid 1940's). If you loved the PBS/BBC series, you will enjoy the books even more. By the way, the new DVD set that is out is also wonderful. They have used the master tapes and the DVD's are of an excellent quality. Most impressive is the sound quality which is much improved. Read Ross Poldark and get hooked on this epic journey. You'll never regret the decision.

Ross Poldark is, as the subtitle suggests, a novel of Cornwall covering the years 1783 to 1787. The story focuses on two branches of the Poldark family, and at the center of it all is the title character, Ross Poldark. Having just returned home to Cornwall from the American Revolutionary War (which he had enlisted in to get away from England and the consequences of the unspecified wild oats he had sown) Ross finds his father has died and the nearly impoverished estate he has inherited is in a shambles. Worst of all, the beautiful young woman whose love and memory had kept him through the hardships of war, and who he had planned to propose to, is instead engaged to marry his cousin.

Winston Graham's novel is a delightful and engaging story from beginning to end. Involving a whole cast of characters and numerous plots and subplots, it is somewhat like a soap opera. However, Graham's wonderful prose, which is at times almost poetic, lifts his book way above a soap opera. He is particularly gifted at ballroom/party scenes, where he typically has several conversations going between different characters, and he shifts back and forth seamlessly between them; in my mind, I pictured it like a movie camera shifting from scene to scene. Although the book covers the entire range of human emotions -- love, hate, jealousy, compassion, heartbreak, they're all here -- it is Graham's unique style to infuse a subtle humor all throughout, so that even the most painful scenes are softened a bit, and the poignant scenes are tenderly so.

The book ends with many loose ends and story lines unresolved, so that I am looking forward to the next installment of this series. I am captivated by Ross, Demelza and Verity in particular and look forward to finding out what happens to them next.

Winston Graham is a wonderful storyteller and I'm thrilled to find this delightful, heartwarming, and romantic series. It took me about halfway through the book before it grabbed me. I'm going to read all the Poldark books then check out his other books. The library has the BBC video series I believe but I don't think it starts with the first book, not sure.

What a disappointment. I started this 12 book series with "Ross Poldark," the first book in the series. I liked it so I bought the second, then the third and would have bought the fourth but it ISN'T AVAILABLE in the Amazon store. Nor are the other eight. I've now decided it's best not to buy anything in a series before I check with Amazon be certain the entire series is available.

I have to agree with reader "BIGbILL". Was so disappointed when I went to purchase book four and Kindle does not have the full series. Love the first 3 books! Hope to finish the series on Kindle soon!