Catching up with Jeremy Poldark on my Series-ous Reading 2 tour

In doing another year of Series-ous Reading, I have to remind myself that it's the journey not the destination that needs to be focused on.

While my ultimate goal is to finish Stephen King's Dark Tower books, I'm also catching up with the Poldark series by Winston Graham and hit a bit of a rough patch.

For the most part, my reading of Jeremy Poldark took longer than expected which peeves me quite much due to it being a short book. What with taking part in a readathon, keeping up with my library TBR and other distractions, I just managed to finish it up the other day.

I really shouldn't complain(goodness knows there are worse things to fuss about) but I did expect to be further along with my challenge by now. It does help that I am a fan of the latest PBS adaptation(which is how I got into these books in the first place) and gained a solid familiarity with the plot lines in this third entry of the series.

The bare bones of the plot have Ross on trial for assault,Demelza wondering if she should let him know about her pregnancy(due to their shared yet separate sorrow over the death of their first child Julia) and the sneaky behind the scenes scheming of George Warleggan. Instead of recapping the entire book, my write-up today will look at the three female characters that caught most of my attention this time around:

DEMELZA: She really goes through the emotional wringer in this book; between worrying about Ross going to jail(or worse), having another child so soon after Julia's passing and dealing with the decreasing family finances, Demelza has so much on her plate that it's close to spilling over the edge.

Yet, she manages to not let herself sink into total despair and is a woman of action. Using her considerable charms and nerves of steel, Demelza tries to do what she can for Ross during his trial by attempting to speak with the judge(something that she's criticized for by some but calls out their upper class hypocrisy when it comes to influence).

 Eventually when she does tell Ross about the upcoming baby, it's due to concern over him getting involved with local smugglers(for which he complains about her taking his prior comments about not wanting children too seriously-hey, buddy, some of that is your own fault!). As to their money woes, it's her idea to sell what they can, including the brooch that Ross gave her along with a fancy dress that she figures will be useless for farm work.

Honestly, she is way too good for Ross despite what most of his social peers think. Granted, many of the men are too busy leering at her to consider her as more than a pretty face but the double whammy on Demelza is class as well as gender.

 Both she and the hated George Warleggan come from humble beginnings yet he is granted much more respect for his intelligence and advancement in society than she ever would be in those days(which is sadly still relevant today):

CAROLINE: This self satisfied heiress makes her debut in this book, arriving to stay with her Uncle Ray while possibly considering marriage with an up and coming peer. However, upon meeting Dr. Dwight Enys, Caroline only has eyes and a list of commands for him.

I really don't like Caroline on the show(not the fault of the actress) and feel the same way about her in print form as well. Her flippant attitude towards others and those "let them eat cake" notions about the poor,along with the expectation that her wishes will be instantly obeyed truly annoy me.

She reminds me so much of Mary Crawford in Mansfield Park, another character I don't like either. While both ladies do have tendencies to do better by others(mainly to attract positive attention from their intended love interests), their overall entitlement is like nails on a chalk board for me. To be fair, Caroline has a better redemption arch than Mary but I can not warm to her at all:

VERITY: She's one of my favorites in this series and for good reason. In this book alone, Verity gives Demelza serious emotional support during Ross' trial, attempts to reconnect with her foolish brother Francis and deals with meeting her husband's two grown  children while he's at sea.

She has such a generous spirit and firm loyalty to those she loves, which almost made it impossible for her to marry Captain Blamey, that she is barely appreciated for it. Fortunately, her husband does know what a fine soul she is and eventually, so does Francis but not without some help from Ross. Any time Verity is around, my heart soars and I suspect that I'm not the only one:

Well, I do look forward to reading the next book in the Poldark saga(Warleggan) soon but for now, I must travel The Waste Lands with King and company. I've made a good start there and should be able to keep a brisk pace as my Series-ous Reading moves along.

What I truly need to do is balance out my To Be Read piles, which is easier said than done. So many good books and only so much time as they say.....: