No more Ross and, worse, no more Demelza. No more feud with the Warleggans.

Although Winston Graham easily has material for a whole new generation of Poldarks, apparently Bella Poldark, A Novel of Cornwall: 1818-1820 is the last one. Fortunately, there's a ton of Poldark books to go back and start reading again. I can't wait.

There's such a true sense of place in this series; Cornwall in the 17th and 18th centuries is alive and so appealing. The characters also are appealing, even as they appall, like Ross's enemy George Warleggan.

The PBS series was grand, too, but the books are better. It's such a diverting relief from too much war TV. If you like the very different novels of Daphne du Maurier or, even more distinctly, the veterinary tales of James Herriot in Yorkshire, you'll find something to like here.

by Stephen Richmond
Rambles.NET
11 March 2006