Stormy Weather

Last week I finished 'The Angry Tide' by Winston Graham, the seventh Poldark novel.  Normally I'm a bit of a sucker for a good book cover, but for some reason I didn't pay much attention to this one. Wish I had as I'd have been much better prepared for this book's revelations...

'The Angry Tide'
by Winston Graham
(2008, Pan Macmillan)

It's the last years of the 1700s and still waters run deep for the Poldarks and Warleggans.  While both Ross and George appear prosperous and content, old rivalries continue to simmer beneath the surface and it's not long before they burst forth.  While the enduringly bitter George seizes chances to conspire and strike against the Poldarks and their associates, an opportunity of another kind may mean a ray of hope for the unrequited lovers Morwenna and Drake.  But best laid plans often go astray, especially in the storm ravaged Cornish peninsula...

I might be being a bit harsh, but I felt that 'The Angry Tide' took a while to get going, but once it did, boy did it go!  Winston Graham shows himself to be a master plotter, deftly setting the scene and building the tension before letting the deluge go.  I found this book almost impossible to put down, as wave after wave peaked and troughed until the story's devastating climax is reached.

Graham also shows himself to be an expert at the art of misdirection - just when I thought I knew which way things would go, the current took me elsewhere.

Along with the 'The Black Moon', I think this is the best of the series so far and that fans of historical fiction or family saga will love it too.  I can't wait to get started on 'The Stranger from the Sea' - but I think it'll have to wait until after the new BBC series!

Related Posts

Ross Poldark
Demelza
Jeremy Poldark
Warleggan
The Black Moon
The Four Swans