Gorse at West Pentire © Photo: Simon McBride
Winston
Graham
Graham
2008 © This is the official Winston Graham and Poldark website authorised by and copyright of the Winston Graham literary executors. Contact
Winston Graham is almost certainly best known for his series of twelve novels set in
Cornwall at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries and which were televised
as Poldark by the BBC in the 1970s with Angharad Rees, Robin Ellis and Ralph Bates in the
main roles. The Poldark novels are being republished by panmacmillan in June 2008.
Cornwall at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries and which were televised
as Poldark by the BBC in the 1970s with Angharad Rees, Robin Ellis and Ralph Bates in the
main roles. The Poldark novels are being republished by panmacmillan in June 2008.
At the centre of the Poldarks are five main characters: Ross Poldark, Elizabeth Chynoweth,
Francis Poldark (Ross‘ cousin), George Warleggan and Demelza Carne. Winston Graham once
said he could have written the story-line — the loves and hates of these characters — on the
back of a postcard. In the end it took him twelve novels written over a span of fifty-seven
years to complete this fascinating and compelling historical saga. In addition to their romantic
power, the novels depict with great accuracy the fluctuating fortunes of mining, the conditions
of the time in the countryside and in the fishing communities and the great rivalries between
the competing banking and mining families (represented in the novels by the Poldarks and the
Warleggans).
Francis Poldark (Ross‘ cousin), George Warleggan and Demelza Carne. Winston Graham once
said he could have written the story-line — the loves and hates of these characters — on the
back of a postcard. In the end it took him twelve novels written over a span of fifty-seven
years to complete this fascinating and compelling historical saga. In addition to their romantic
power, the novels depict with great accuracy the fluctuating fortunes of mining, the conditions
of the time in the countryside and in the fishing communities and the great rivalries between
the competing banking and mining families (represented in the novels by the Poldarks and the
Warleggans).
Winston Graham wrote many other books, plays, short stories, and screen plays (over 50
works in all including the Poldarks). The early books, written in the 1930s and during the war,
were thrillers and Winston Graham often described them as ‘deservedly out of print’. In the
1950s and 1960s he started writing sophisticated suspense novels. Many of these were filmed,
the most famous being Marnie. Other works included a history of The Spanish Armadas, an
historical novel, The Grove of Eagles, an autobiography, Memoirs of a Private Man and another
‘semi’ autobiography about his life in Cornwall and the making of the Poldarks — Poldarks
Cornwall — with wonderful photos by Simon McBride. But it was only after the televising of
the Poldarks that he felt his name became familiar to the public. Before that he was
frequently heard to describe himself somewhat wryly as the most successful unknown author
in England.
works in all including the Poldarks). The early books, written in the 1930s and during the war,
were thrillers and Winston Graham often described them as ‘deservedly out of print’. In the
1950s and 1960s he started writing sophisticated suspense novels. Many of these were filmed,
the most famous being Marnie. Other works included a history of The Spanish Armadas, an
historical novel, The Grove of Eagles, an autobiography, Memoirs of a Private Man and another
‘semi’ autobiography about his life in Cornwall and the making of the Poldarks — Poldarks
Cornwall — with wonderful photos by Simon McBride. But it was only after the televising of
the Poldarks that he felt his name became familiar to the public. Before that he was
frequently heard to describe himself somewhat wryly as the most successful unknown author
in England.
Many of Winston Graham’s books were selected as dollar book club choices in the USA. The
first of these, and the one that gave him most pleasure, was Cordelia a novel set in the late
19th century against the backdrop of the rising middle classes in the north of England, a
milieu he knew well from his mother and the stories she told him as a young man.
first of these, and the one that gave him most pleasure, was Cordelia a novel set in the late
19th century against the backdrop of the rising middle classes in the north of England, a
milieu he knew well from his mother and the stories she told him as a young man.
