After his rescue from a French prison camp in late 1794, he eventually marries a young heiress, Lady Caroline Penvenen, and they become parents to a frail daughter named Sarah Caroline who had died in 1798. He becomes involved with a young miner's wife with tragic results. He is conscientious and generous, often not charging his poorest patients for his services. He strikes up a firm friendship with Ross which proves strong and enduring. She has six brothers.Ī young physician who arrives in Cornwall, England, after medical training in London. Demelza shows courage and fierce loyalty to Ross but is somewhat impulsive, causing trouble for both of them. The two women are wary but polite towards each other. Dark and earthy, she is the total opposite of the fragile Elizabeth. However, she soon develops into a charming, amusing, lovely young woman, eventually winning Ross's affection.

Taken home from Redruth Fair by Ross, miner's daughter Demelza and her dog Garrick have an unpromising start. In his autobiography, Graham states that Ross's character was, in part, based upon a fighter pilot he met on a train during World War II. Over 20 years, they have five children: Julia, Jeremy, Clowance, Isabella-Rose (called Bella), and Henry (called Harry). Although gradually reconciled to the loss of Elizabeth's love, it takes Ross some time to realise his love for Demelza. Ross attempts to restore his own fortunes by reopening one of the family's derelict copper mines.Īfter several years, Ross marries Demelza Carne, an urchin he has taken in as a servant. He is a British Army officer who returns to his home in Cornwall from the American War of Independence only to find that Elizabeth Chynoweth, having believed him dead, is about to marry his cousin Francis Poldark.

Ross Poldark is the eponymous protagonist of the series. In a preface to The Black Moon, Graham explained his decision to revive the series after a two-decade hiatus. Novels Įach of the novels is subtitled A Novel of Cornwall. Following a long hiatus, he decided to resume the series and published The Black Moon in 1973. Graham wrote the first four Poldark books during the 1940s and 1950s. The series comprises 12 novels: the first seven are set in the 18th century, concluding in Christmas 1799 the remaining five are concerned with the early years of the 19th century and the lives of the descendants of the previous novels' main characters. The novel series was adapted twice for television by the BBC, firstly in 1975 and later in 2015. The first novel, Ross Poldark, was named for the protagonist of the series. Poldark is a series of historical novels by Winston Graham, published from 1945 to 1953 and continued from 1973 to 2002.

Poldark novel