I have since finished reading The Black Moon and The Four Swans. I feel confident that season three will likely cover these two.
It's only fair to shout SPOILER ALERT ! SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! right about now. If you don't want to know what happens, stop now !!
The Black Moon was a pretty quick read but advanced the saga nicely. In the beginning we find Ross and Demelza have made every attempt to mend the rift in their marriage. While they are not completely healed, they are committed to each other in every way. They have a baby girl named Clowance - I would really like to know if that name was made up by Winston Graham or if it is a Cornish name! I will have to research that at some point. Wheal Leisure belongs to George Warleggan and has been closed. Wheal Grace is doing very well and has put Ross in good financial shape.
Elizabeth and George have a son, named Valentine. (poor kid - lol) born on the night of an eclipse of the moon, hence the title The Black Moon. This is considered a bad omen! Now any veteran soap opera watcher, such as myself, has to wonder if Ross is the father of Valentine. We know he forced his attentions on Elizabeth just before she marries George - seven months later there is a baby. However, George suspects nothing at this point and is very happy he has a son. Personally I think Ross is the baby-daddy, but it is never made certain. All the while I was reading, I was waiting for Aunt Agatha to point out a birthmark or something that is common in the Poldark family history. That did not happen, but in the end, she doesn't let me down!
Aunt Agatha is soon to be 100 years old and she dearly wants to make it to that age and plans an elaborate party to commemorate it. She does all this to annoy that upstart, George, who she hates as much as Ross does. George is beyond cruel to her most of the time and near her birthday he cancels her plans and basically upsets her which leads to her death, but not before she plants the seed of doubt in his mind regarding Valentine - she tells him that baby was NOT a 7 month baby. I was happy that Aunt Aggie put the screws to George before she died. It made me feel proud to know her, so to speak.
Dr. Enys and Caroline are still very much in love and want to get married, however he goes into service and gets captured by the French and is living in deplorable conditions in the prison. Ross cannot bear to think of his friend enduring this and even though Demelza is against it, he takes off to rescue Dwight. It was tense reading because I was constantly afraid Ross would get caught too, but in the end he heroically saves his friend and another officer who would later cause him a great deal of grief in The Four Swans.
Demelza has two brothers who come to Nampara looking for work. Ross reluctantly helps them. We get to know the youngest one, Drake, pretty well as he falls in love with Geoffrey Charles' governess, Morwenna, who is Elizabeth's cousin, and she falls for him too. George, being the prick he is, has plans for her that will basically ruin her life. Good Lord, I despise George. LOL I had thought at the end of the first season on TV, that he might be redeemable, however, if Debbie Horsefield follows the books, he is not making any headway in that direction (though he's still not as bad as Uncle Cary).
Anyway, Drake and Morwenna's story is a welcome addition to the epic adventure.
A lot of ground was covered with the characters, along with a lot of history. In fact, I found myself skimming the historical stuff because I was anxious to get on with the story! (I probably shouldn't admit that, lol, but it has been done before and if I really like the book, I re-read it.) The best thing for me, was that Ross and Demelza seemingly survived the heartbreak of the events in Warleggan. Or maybe the real best thing is, thanks to Aidan and Eleanor and the rest of the fantastic cast of the show, I see their faces as I read the story. I like that added dimension.
So, if you have read this, what did you think? Did you worry a bit when Ross and Caroline had a moment or two? Did you get invested in Drake and Morwenna's love story? Do you think George is gonna get worse before he gets better? Did you skip over the historical stuff too? Come on now - Fess up so I won't feel alone in my transgression LOL !
The Four Swans was harder for me to read, but that's another post, hopefully before I forget what happens!
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