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Demelza (Poldark, #2)

Winston Graham

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Demelza - #2

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last updated Dec 28, 2015 12:37PM

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Jan 26, 2017 QNPoohBear rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: kisses-only, clean-romance, historical-fiction, georgian-romance

Demelza picks up where Ross Poldark left off. With the birth of their first child and the Wheal Leisure project progressing, Ross and Demelza are content. However, the country has been plunged into a depression and many are out of work. Ross champions his friends and workers against a system that increasingly favors the wealthy gentry and nobility. His cousin Francis is on a downward spiral as well and cousin Verity is fading into an unhappy spinster. Demelza, with love in her heart, also champi Demelza picks up where Ross Poldark left off. With the birth of their first child and the Wheal Leisure project progressing, Ross and Demelza are content. However, the country has been plunged into a depression and many are out of work. Ross champions his friends and workers against a system that increasingly favors the wealthy gentry and nobility. His cousin Francis is on a downward spiral as well and cousin Verity is fading into an unhappy spinster. Demelza, with love in her heart, also champions the side of happiness and true love over the expectations of her husband's class. Can she ever truly be one of them? Ross continues to find ways to save his mines and keep out of debtors' prison. Will he be able to find a solution or will his hot temper get in the way? Business triumph turns to despair and personal tragedy brings Ross closer than ever to the brink of ruin. Only his wife's open and loving heart can help him overcome his setbacks.

This story has a lot more action than the first book. There's childbirth, work, courtship, intense emotion, marriage, adultery, murder, card games, illness and shipwreck to keep the reader involved. Having seen the series, I wasn't quite as involved in the story as I would have been otherwise. I noticed some differences in the two plots and the timeline was very condensed in the series. I have to give an A+ to the screenwriter for being faithful to the plot and adding a woman's romantic touch and a cliffhanger to the shocking ending.

The writing is excellent. As in the first book, the descriptions of scenery and the weather are so incredibly vivid, I can easily imagine 18th century Cornwall in all its splendid glory. The writing lends itself so easily to the sweeping, cinematic style of the BBC/PBS Masterpiece now that it must have been an easy choice to choose to adapt this series. Cornwall is a major character as much as the people. I only have a few minor quibbles where the author fell into the stereotypes of his day and the time period he wrote about (George's looks, Ross's feelings towards Demelza's innocent actions, attitudes towards Keren). I really liked most of the history except for the details of the mining business. I don't understand that and skimmed some of it in favor of advancing the plot.

The human characters are also very vivid. Here their personalities start to come out more. Ross is boiling just below the surface, trying to keep his anger at the inequality of social justice at bay. He wants to do the right thing by everyone and is very proud-almost too proud and stubborn to do the right thing. His hair trigger temper gets the better of him at times. There was one scene with his wife I didn't care much for but he didn't go completely off the deep end yet. I can empathize with his temper and his strong sense of social justice. If Ross represents the darkness of raw emotion, then Demelza represents the light of a pure heart. She's so sweet and somewhat naive. She doubts herself too much. She is starting to come into her own here and become a true partner to Ross. They're not quite equals yet but she is learning to speak her mind. They have an easy camaraderie and balance each other nicely. Winston Graham's wife must have been an exceptional woman and he must have loved her very much to base this amazing young woman after her. I also love Verity, Ross's spinster cousin. Her feelings are so raw and so strong on the page, I can feel them. I sympathize with her and wish I had half the patience and goodness she has. I was rooting for her to find happiness.

I'm less enthusiastic about Francis and Elizabeth. Francis is a whiny, spoiled baby who needs to man up. Elizabeth wants her cake and to eat it too. She doesn't have a huge role here. I give her credit for being a devoted mother but that's about it. George's character is starting to develop towards the end of the novel. He is also spoiled and has a chip on his shoulder. He doesn't like to lose but he's not as much of a villain as he is in the series at this point. The other gentry men who appear here don't get much love from me. While they admire Demelza, they admire her for the wrong reasons. The gentrywomen all come across as catty. Demelza's father returns with a new wife and new personality. He is quite the character and adds some comic relief (unintentionally on his part).

A brand new character here is Dr. Dwight Enys, a young surgeon specializing in mine diseases. He's good at what he does and a million times more modern than Dr. Choake. Enys has a good heart though he lost respect in my eyes from something he let happen. Equally vivid are the miners and their families. New here is Mark Daniel, an uneducated miner who falls madly for a beautiful young actress. Keren is a young woman who has never had a real home. She's very naive in many ways but she's also a minx. I tried to make allowances for her lack of upbringing but it's hard. She lacks common sense and thinks too highly of herself. Her actions are selfish but Mark's actions and the reactions of the cottagers are not acceptable to me. Again, making allowances for the time period is tough, especially right now. The more things change, the more things stay the same.

This is an excellent series that period drama fans will enjoy. ...more

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