Mark Your Calendars!

I make no secret on this blog that I greatly admire Winston Graham's Poldark series of historical novels. It's an admiration that dates back to my teenage years, and one that has had a marked impact on how I've come to understand many important aspects of life and love, as I explain here and here.

The BBC adapted the first seven novels into a highly successful television series in the mid-1970s. At the time, that's how many Poldark novels Winston Graham had written, starting in 1945. He would go on to write five more before his death in 2003.

A new BBC adaptation, starring Aidan Turner and Eleanor Tomlinson (left), premiered earlier this year to rave reviews in the U.K, Australia and elsewhere. The Telegraph's Allison Pearson goes so far as to declare Poldark "one of those rare occasions when a popular drama series delivers something that properly belongs to art."

It's been said that this new adaptation will eventually cover all twelve Poldark novels – Ross Poldark (1945), Demelza (1946), Jeremy Poldark (1950), Warleggan (1953), The Black Moon (1973), The Four Swans (1976), The Angry Tide (1977), The Stranger from the Sea (1981), The Miller's Dance (1982), The Loving Cup (1984), The Twisted Sword (1990), and Bella Poldark (2002).

Given my love of the Poldark novels and my anticipation for the new television adaptation of them, I'm happy to announce that Poldark debuts in the U.S. this Sunday, June 21, on Masterpiece/PBS. And, yes, I'm excited!

I hope you'll tune in too . . . and discover the beauty and power of Poldark!

For more on the TV series Poldark, see the following Wild Reed posts:
• Return of the (Cornish) Native
• "A Token of Wildness and Intractability"
• Ross Poldark: Renegade of Principle
• Poldark Rides Again
• Poldark: Unfurling in Perfect Form

For more on the Poldark novels, see:
• "Hers Would Be the Perpetual Ache of Loss and Loneliness"
• Passion, Tide and Time
• Time and Remembrance in the Poldark Novels
• Demelza Takes a Chance (Part 1)
• Demelza Takes a Chance (Part 2)
• Captain Blamey Comes A-Calling
• Rendezvous in Truro
• A Fateful Reunion
• Cornwall's – and Winston Graham's – Angry Tide
• A Sea Dragon of an Emotion . . . "Causing Half the Trouble of the World, and Half the Joy"
• Into the Greenwood
• "I Want You to Become a Part of Me – Each to Become a Part of the Other"
• Home

Recommended Off-site Links:
The World of Poldark – The Official Masterpiece/PBS Poldark Website.
Aidan Turner Stars in Masterpiece’s Poldark – Caryn James (The Wall Street Journal, June 12, 2015).
Poldark's Return: Everything You Need to Know About the BBC Remake – Dominic Midgley (Express, February 26, 2015).
Author Winston Graham's Family Give Thumbs Up to BBC's Poldark – Simon Parker (Western Morning News, March 9, 2015).
Poldark Rides Again – Brian Lowry (Variety, June 18, 2015).
Poldark Fights and Loves Anew in Masterpiece Remake – Jay Bobbin (YourTVLink.com, June 12, 2015).
PBS' Poldark Features a Dashing Hero and a Watchable Story – Tirdad Derakhshani (The Philadelphia Inquirer, June 20, 2015).
A Review of Poldark – Misha Berson (The Seattle Times, June 17, 2015).
A Racier Poldark Returns to PBS – Scott D. Pierce (The Salt Lake Tribune, June 19, 2015).
Will Poldark Be the Next Downton Abbey? – Keith Watson (BBC Culture, June 17, 2015)
Stuffy British Period Miniseries Are My Comfort Television. But Poldark is Different – Willa Paskin (Slate, June 19, 2015).
How Aidan Turner Turned a 70s Masterpiece Theatre Reboot Into a Mini-Revolution – Krista Smith (Vanity Fair, June 19, 2015).
Masterpiece Theatre’s Poldark Has a Moral Compass – Mike Hughes (The Lansing State Journal, June 20, 2015).