They are drawn with such detail that they have nuanced personalities and temperaments, and Graham happily keeps them to the standards that he set for them in the beginning. By the end of this volume, the field is beginning to be evened by Ross’ success at Wheal Grace, and it leaves me in anticipation of how the fight may change now that Ross has some resources with which to counter-punch.īy this point in the story, I am totally committed to these characters and their fate. Now George’s real colors begin to show and the kind of hatred he spews is extreme and dangerous. Up to this point, Ross has had the hatred of Cary, but George has been less vitriolic. I must confess to loving this couple and cringing at the idea that they will not have their own happy ending.but happiness can be an elusive thing in this 1790s world of Cornwall.Īs the name suggests, we begin to see George come into his own and the Warleggans figure very prominent in Ross’ destiny. Meanwhile, the romance between Dwight and Caroline progresses as well, with a lovely edge that is both witty and romantic. I could not help casting back to poor Keren Daniels and thinking that what others deemed in a female a felonious crime is but a misdemeanor for the male population. The results are a flurry of emotions that serve none of these characters well. I spent much of this volume holding my breath.Īfter losing Francis, the triangle of Ross, Elizabeth and Demelza reaches a fever pitch and Ross finds himself caught between his inability to give up his old, unfulfilled affections and his now too comfortable life with his wife.

Fortunes change on a whim and evil prospers and ebbs and prospers again. It takes all the impetus of motion created in the first three volumes and pushes it headlong down the track at a screaming pace. The fourth book in the Poldark series is a runaway train.

Warleggan by Winston Graham