Bella Poldark (Poldark #12)

In the 12th and final novel of Graham's acclaimed series, which debuted in 1945, the Poldark and Warleggan families continue to feud and try to deal with personal losses and social unrest after the Napoleonic wars. (Earlier "Poldark" books were made into a popular Masterpiece Theater series in the 1970s.) As the story opens, Valentine Warleggan's paternity still poisons the atmosphere, and his financial and marital troubles form a major narrative strand set firmly against the saga's familiar background of Cornwall. Meanwhile, Bella Poldark's desire for a musical career takes her to stages in London and France, where she is involved with rival suitors. Her widowed older sister, Clowance, must also choose between two men of vastly different backgrounds who propose marriage. A host of other characters and subplots, including a series of murders, keeps the action bubbling. Graham surmounts the daunting challenge of reminding readers of major events and characters from previous Poldark novels. Still, even devoted fans of the books or the BBC series may require a refresher. Public libraries with earlier volumes will want to complete their set, but the novel's ties to its predecessors reduce its interest as a stand-alone novel.

Ficção / Romance / História / Drama