I have read all of the Poldark books, and I read the first four again early this year hoping it would sharpen my own sense of narration as I worked to polish my nearly completed novel, which was subsequently published.

I admire tremendously Winston Graham's ability to write intelligent subjective narration. The subtleties of thought and feeling of his main characters expressed by his third person shifting point of view narration is truly impressive. I have found this to be the most difficult kind of writing. Each of his characters is distinct, whether it be Ross Poldark, his wife Demelza, his arch enemy George Warleggan, his closest friend Doctor Dwight Enys, Carolyn Penvenen, or any of the many character of lower station that populate Graham's early 19th Century Cornwall. Graham's depiction of the lives of all classes of people is vivid. The reader recognizes early that man's flawed character evidenced today is no different than when Ross Poldark returned from the American colonies at the beginning of the first book. What a rich tapestry he creates. ( )