Thoughts on The Stranger from the Sea.....

Beautiful Cliffs in Cornwall - http://www.natures-desktop.com/

I just finished reading book 8 in the Poldark series, The Stranger from the Sea by Winston Graham.  This was a fairly quick read and while I enjoyed it, it introduced the next generation and focused more on them than on Ross and Demelza.  However!  There are some lovely conversations with the now content couple that are heartening to read.

This story is fairly low-key without the gut-punching drama that was in the earlier books.  We meet Jeremy Poldark, who is now a young man, his younger sister Clowance, who is nearly 18, and the stranger from the sea, Stephan Carrington.  We also get some insight into Valentine's personality and I pretty much don't like him and I expect he'll be stirring up trouble in the future.

It opens with Ross away from home yet again where he runs into the infamous Colonel McNeil and Geoffrey Charles who is a soldier now and getting ready for battle.  Naturally Ross joins in because ...well he's ROSS.  LoL   He and Geoffrey Charles seem to have a lot in common and you can tell there is true affection there.

Meanwhile back in Cornwall, Jeremy and his friends are going fishing everyday.  Except he's not really fishing, but we learn that later in the story.  On one of their excursions, they find two bodies and bring them ashore - one of them is still alive!!  A handsome young man named Stephen Carrington.  Demelza and Clowance nurse him back to health.  Clowance is smitten. Stephen is smitten with her too, but he's a bit of a rake who lies to his rescuers about his background.  He and Jeremy hit it off  - he confesses that he was working aboard a privateer and he talks him into going off to get a small lugger with brandy aboard that his ship had captured and docked.  Things don't go exactly as they hoped. They are almost caught by Preventive men and as they escape, they separate and Jeremy ends up hiding in the gardens of an estate.  It is here that Jeremy meets Miss Cuby Trevanion and it changes his life forever.

Clowance goes off to London with Dwight and Caroline Enys to try and sort out her feelings towards Stephen and a local guy, Ben Carter.  She meets Lord Edward Fitzmaurice at a social event and he falls for her.  Now she has a 3 way problem. lol  Eventually, Demelza and Clowance go to meet Edward's family, which helps Clowance, at least a little, with what she should do.

George Warleggan has a part in this volume too.  He has never really gotten over losing Elizabeth, but he has decided it's time to find a new wife.  He has his eyes on a widow of good breeding and money and feels he must impress her.  He invests heavily on a speculation and loses his shirt instead.  So much so, he decides to sell all his shares in Wheal Leisure to John Treneglos, who keeps it secret that Ross will be a shareholder again.  Putting the screws to George is always a wonderful thing. lol

This all came about because Jeremy is interested in Wheal Leisure and goes in and investigates with Ben Carter.  He wants to build a steam engine to work the mine. He is obsessed with steam power and determined to learn everything about it.  Fortunately, Ben feels there is a chance that there is enough copper to open it again, which convinces Jeremy to ask his Dad to try and get it back.  He gives good argument and has an answer for all of Ross' questions.  Ross is impressed with his son, which is gratifying as his relationship with him has not been as good as it should have been.

Trenwith is falling into disrepair with no one living there.  You get the feeling that somewhere down the road, something will save it, but maybe that's just me and my wishful thinking.  Also, I don't trust this Stephen Carrington person.  I will have to get a copy of The Miller's Dance to find out if my gut instinct is right this time.  Don't tell me, please!  I want to read it. :-) 

Liking Lucifer...the TV show... so far!

Tom Ellis as Lucifer

New show from Fox - Lucifer.  I knew I wanted to watch it because I love Tom Ellis after watching him play Gary on Miranda. 

So far I'm enjoying the show.  Lauren German who plays Chloe is doing a fine job playing the cop who resists Lucifer's charms.  Scarlett Estevez plays daughter Trixie who is so cute!  I love the interactions between her and Lucifer. 

I also really like the dynamic between Lucifer and the shrink, Linda, played by Rachel Harris. It's great to see D.B. Woodside, who was a regular on Buffy the Vampire Slayer a few years back - he is playing a dark angel. 

It remains to be seen if this show will hold my interest.  I'm going to give it a chance though.

Shortest post ever... lol  well for me anyway.

Poldark 1975

I've been curious about the 1975 version of Poldark and went looking for it via my local library.  I have a great library - it is networked with dozens of libraries in my area and I can borrow a book or dvd or download a book or magazine or audio book from any of them.

I just finished watching series one of Poldark, 1975 version, starring Robin Ellis and Angharad Rees. I was hoping I would really like it, but to be honest, the changes the writers made were SO distracting, I had a hard time making myself watch all 12 episodes.  I know that any book that makes it to film has changes, some worse than others, but this had me talking loudly to the TV.  If you see a lot of theater and movies you will notice a distinct difference in them - plays rely on words to convey the story, while movies are far more visual.  This version is more like a play; the current version is a visual feast for the eyes along with the story.

I'm sure there are many people who would disagree with me, but I found Robin's Ross to be too cold in most of his scenes.  There were only a few scenes with Demelza that I felt I could see love in his eyes.  In addition to that, his barking orders and general crankiness made it hard for me to like him and be sympathetic to him.  (Oddly enough, I think that makes him perfect for Rev. Halse, which I think he has played excellently.)  His interactions with Elizabeth were not at all convincing that she was the love of his young life.  His scene when and after Julia dies is so void of emotion.  In the current version there is much more affection shown by Aidan's Ross towards not only Demelza, but Elizabeth, Verity, and even Francis before he betrays Ross.  You see everything he is feeling so keenly, you don't have to wonder what's going on inside him.  Robin failed to do that in my eyes.

Tiny Angharad (can someone tell me how to pronounce that?) played a feistier Demelza than Eleanor does in the current version.  Although sometimes she came across as shrewish to me, she was able to show her love for Ross with a pretty smile and a twinkle in her eye.  Eleanor's Demelza expresses her feelings more in her face and eyes.

Jill Townsend played Elizabeth.  In this version, she was far less friendly to Demelza which didn't affect me one way or the other.  There were a lot of scenes where she looked like she had a stick up her butt, but others where she was more animated.  The one scene from Warleggan which hasn't been done yet on the new version was so low-key, it was like they were reading the words off the script-worse scene in the 12 episodes!  I don't want to say more because I'm trying to make this a no spoiler post. :-)  On the plus side, she had blonde hair as she does in the books. 

The Warleggans consisted of Nicolas and George.  No Uncle Cary.  I don't have anything to say about that.  One thing I've been wondering, in this version, Verity nurses Geoffrey Charles through the morbid throat illness, not Demelza - did that happen in the book ?  I don't think so, but my memory sucks, especially when I'm reading something too fast.  Mea culpa....

A few other irksome things were Verity was far too pretty, Blamey looked too old, as did McNeil.  Ok, so THAT's really nit-picky, I know. lol   I tried putting myself mentally back in the mid-70's to see if I could connect better with this production, but to no avail.

So in my mind, what makes the current version superior to this one?  Besides the cast, which I believe is perfect, it is the stirring, emotional music, the breath-taking outdoor scenes of beautiful Cornwall and the screenplay by Debbie Horsfield, which has inevitable changes from the book, but keeps the spirit of it so much better.  I think Winston would heartily approve of it.

Perhaps you don't agree!  That's ok - we can respectfully, if not cheerfully, agree to disagree.

Pondering Poldark - The Angry Tide

Well, I finished reading The Angry Tide and despite the shocking ending, enjoyed it quite a bit. So in keeping with tradition .... SPOILER ALERT!  SPOILER ALERT!  SPOILER ALERT!

The Angry Tide brings some resolutions to the problems featured in The Four Swans and presents some new ones to ponder.  So here's the short of it:

Ross and Demelza are trying to overcome the strain in their relationship in the aftermath of her infidelity.  Ross is elected to Parliament and spends quite a bit of time away from home.  Jeremy and Clowance are healthy and still bring delight into their parents lives.

Dwight and Caroline have a baby girl, who sadly does not survive beyond a few months due to a heart problem.  Losing little Sarah sends Caroline off to London to get away from the heartbreak.  She tells Dwight she needs to get away and does not want him to come with her. 

The odious Reverend Ossie finds a way to foil Morwenna's threat that has been keeping her from having sex with him.  He forces her back to his bed and at the same time starts slipping around with her sister again.  The horny bastard.  Anyway, Rowella's husband sees Ossie fondling Rowella's feet as she lies naked on the bed and ends up following him as he leaves and kills him! Luckily, it looks like an accident, so he gets away with it.  Drake was about to marry a sweet girl named Rosina when he finds out Morwenna is a widow.  Rosina releases him from his marriage promise and he goes to see his true love but she is crazed from having to be a proper wife to Ossie and is pregnant.  She sends Drake packing, which breaks his heart all over again.

Caroline wants Ross to bring Demelza to London, which he does.  They have a wonderful time, growing closer and beginning to feel like that time before they failed to keep their marriage vows, he with Elizabeth and she with Hugh.  There is a delightful passage that features antics in the bedroom at the Inn that I know all us Maidens will want to see!!

It is in London that we meet the detestable and unctuous Monk Adderley who makes a bet with George that he can get into Demelza's knickers and proceeds to pursue her.  She does not like him but doesn't tell him to leave her be for various reasons.  Ross is jealous and it is apparent he has not really gotten back to trusting Demelza.  Monk provokes Ross by taking his seat while at a debate in Parliament.  Ross embarrasses him, so he sends a note challenging him to a duel.  Ross wants to kill him just for the way he looks at Demelza and accepts - all in secret since it's against the law.  They both get hit, Ross survives his wound, Monk does not.  Caroline and Dwight get back together.

Meanwhile Morwenna loses the baby, through no fault of her own, and shows up at Drake's shop.  They reconcile with the understanding that she can't stand to be touched.  Drake agrees to this and they get married. 

Elizabeth is pregnant - this time for sure it is George's baby.  They are getting along well, George buys a seat in Parliament and plans to get himself knighted.  Elizabeth approves of this and sees herself as Lady Warleggan.   Then the proverbial sh*t hits the fan when Geoffrey Charles observes quite loudly and with great merriment that Valentine looks just like his Uncle Ross !  Oh-oh.  Elizabeth is horrified.  George is outraged.  Elizabeth decides to visit a Dr. who can help her with the baby that's on the way - he gives her a potion that will make the baby be born early, but not without some risks.  She thinks if the baby comes early as Valentine did, George will believe her claim that he IS the father of their son.  She has a heart-to-heart conversation with George about how he let Aunt Agatha's vengeful last words ruin his marriage and his life.  He knows this is true and actually has regrets.  Baby girl Ursula comes early as planned, however there are complications and Elizabeth dies a horrible painful death.  George is devastated but not nearly as much as Ross is.  I really hope the show gets as far as this, because I want to see Aidan do this scene.  I can see it in my head already.

I have the DVD of the 1975 version of Poldark and have only 3 more episodes to go for season one.  I have some thoughts about it and will post them soon.