The Poldark Novels

Poldark is a series of historical novels by Winston Graham, published from 1945 to 1953 and continued from 1973 to 2002. 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. Graham wrote the first four Poldark books during the 1940s and 1950s. Following a long hiatus, he decided to resume the series and published The Black Moon in 1973.

The main character, Ross Poldark, is a British Army officer who returns to his home in Cornwall from the American Revolutionary War only to find that his fiancée Elizabeth Chynoweth believed him dead and is about to marry his cousin Francis Poldark. Ross attempts to restore his own fortunes by reopening one of the family's derelict tin mines. After several years, he marries Demelza Carne, a poor servant girl, and is gradually reconciled to the loss of Elizabeth's love.

The BBC has adapted the series for television twice: Poldark, which aired in 1975 and 1977, and a new version, Poldark, which premiered in 2015.

All of the novels are subtitled A Novel of Cornwall. In a preface to The Black Moon, Graham explained his decision to revive the series after a two-decade hiatus.

Ross Poldark is the protagonist of the series. 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. In the first novel in the series, Ross Poldark, he learns upon his return home from the American Revolutionary War that his fiancée, Elizabeth, has given him up for dead and promised to marry his cousin, Francis. Life becomes bleak for Ross. A brooding and introspective character, he assumes his late father's estate, which includes a failing copper mine. Having lost Elizabeth to Francis, he marries Demelza, the girl he originally hired as his scullery maid, and they soon have a baby called Julia. Over the next 20 years, four more children follow: Jeremy; Clowance; Isabella-Rose; and Henry.

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