Poldark: Ross Poldark by Winston Graham

Ross Poldark is the first book of the Poldark series by Winston Graham.  In the 1970s there was a tv series based on the book, and in 2015 the BBC released a new tv series that covered the events covered in the first two books of the series.

This is the cover and the blurb for the first book:

The book naturally introduces the major characters, the places, tensions and themes of this series in the opening chapters.  Ross Poldark, a young man who had run ins with the law in his youth, has returned from the American colonies after the English armies were defeated in the American Independence War to find his father is deceased, his servants are drunken and his childhood sweetheart, Elizabeth, is married to his cousin, Francis.

Ross sets about putting his house, farm and servants to rights, and then turns his attention to his derelict mines.  During this time he also rescues a young girl, Demelza, from a brawl.  He then takes her home to be his scullery maid.  His cousin Verity complicates Ross' life when she falls in love with Captain Blamey, who her father and brother consider to be an unsuitable match for Verity and ban her from associating with him.

Ross discovers that his cousin Francis is poor at business and is more inclined to gamble and drink his time away with his friends the Warleggans.  The Warleggans, originally blacksmiths, have become money lenders, and the majority of the landed upper classes and mine owners seem to be indebted to the Warleggans at various levels.  The Warleggans have become wealthy from their business dealings and use this wealth to elevate their status in society.  However, Ross takes an instant dislike to George and his uncle Cary, and does not trust them in business either.

This book is followed by the book Demelza in the series.  There are eleven books in the series.

It is a delightful look into the Georgian era, post the loss of the American colonies and for those who have read a wide range of Jane Austen books, you will be able to contrast the two eras and compare and contrast the manners and social expectations of the times.  And you always find the book better than the movie or tv programme based on it.