Status
Available
Call number
Series
Collection
Publication
Macmillan UK (1996), 304 pages
Description
The Poldark family awaits the return of Ross from his mission to Wellington's army in Portugal. But their ordered existence ends with Jeremy Poldark's dramatic rescue of a stranger from the sea. Stephen Carrington's arrival in the Poldark household changes all their lives. For Clowance and Jeremy in particular, the children of Ross and Demelza, Stephen's advent is the key to a new world-- one of both love and danger.
User reviews
LibraryThing member AdonisGuilfoyle
I think Poldark fever may have run its course. The second four books in the series, written after a gap of twenty years, were weaker than the first four, and The Stranger From The Sea, with a break of four years for the author and ten for the characters, is even worse! Ross was already suffering
Winston Graham, in his early seventies, had obviously run out of steam - little in-joke for anyone else who reads the book - by this point, but couldn't bear to abandon the money-spinning Poldark series. So he dusted off his wish-fulfilment hero and beloved heroine, fast-forwarded ten years, gave young children to the remaining central characters in return for the shade and depth of the original books, and turned a successful series into bad fan fiction. You know those 'What happens next?' stories penned by fifteen year old girls who 'ship' the H. and h. of romantic literary fiction, full of implausible historical cameos and fledgling matches for the next generation? That's Stranger in a nutshell. Ross spends the first half of the book 'en mission' in Portugal for his mate Canning, the Foreign Secretary, running into Geoffrey Charles and joining in the fray, and then returning to London for an audience with Prinny. Demelza, meanwhile, has three children to care for, two of whom are near full-grown, yet is still stuck in timewarp circa the early novels. The Enys' have two daughters mentioned only by name, Drake and Morwenna are married and looking after Ross' boatyard, Sam has taken up with Rosina Hoblyn, and George has turned into a teenage boy full of lustful urges, thinking to buy himself a wife and profit from the misfortunes of others. Graham spends so long narrating the literary version of 'Previously, on ER...' and condensing the social, industrial and martial history of Britain in the early 1800s that he never really gets round to a plot. Or if he did, then he looked to Georgette Heyer for inspiration. Budding engineer Jeremy falls for a hybrid of Elizabeth and Caroline, with a name I was never quite sure how to pronounce, even in my head, and is turned down for not being good/rich enough. Clowance is courted by the eponymous stranger from the sea, an Irish caricature who washes up on a raft, while being courted by a titled younger son. I'm not sure if Graham wanted his readers to like Stephen Carrington, but much in the same fashion as Hugh Armitage, I couldn't stomach him. Luckily I won't be reading any further, then!
A nonsense plot, full of bland romantic intrigues and potted history lessons, is not why I fell in love with this series. I think the real heart of the novels must have died with Elizabeth (woops, spoiler!) I might just watch the 1996 adaptation of this novel, though, to be perverse - I'm sure the cast couldn't do any real harm to the already limp story or barely recognisable characters!
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from a severe case of Hero Syndrome, dashing off to France to rescue Dwight and grudgingly becoming an MP, but suddenly he's a secret agent for the government? Demelza, after twenty years of marriage to Ross, is still fretting about her origins - and still attracting every man with a pulse? Their children are equally 'special', with beautiful, spirited Clowance and sensitive, intelligent Jeremy - oh, and Isabella-Rose, the 'ten years later' bolt-on. I just didn't buy into the clichéd continuation of Nampara family life, and struggled to care about characters who were originally so real and so dear to me as a reader.Winston Graham, in his early seventies, had obviously run out of steam - little in-joke for anyone else who reads the book - by this point, but couldn't bear to abandon the money-spinning Poldark series. So he dusted off his wish-fulfilment hero and beloved heroine, fast-forwarded ten years, gave young children to the remaining central characters in return for the shade and depth of the original books, and turned a successful series into bad fan fiction. You know those 'What happens next?' stories penned by fifteen year old girls who 'ship' the H. and h. of romantic literary fiction, full of implausible historical cameos and fledgling matches for the next generation? That's Stranger in a nutshell. Ross spends the first half of the book 'en mission' in Portugal for his mate Canning, the Foreign Secretary, running into Geoffrey Charles and joining in the fray, and then returning to London for an audience with Prinny. Demelza, meanwhile, has three children to care for, two of whom are near full-grown, yet is still stuck in timewarp circa the early novels. The Enys' have two daughters mentioned only by name, Drake and Morwenna are married and looking after Ross' boatyard, Sam has taken up with Rosina Hoblyn, and George has turned into a teenage boy full of lustful urges, thinking to buy himself a wife and profit from the misfortunes of others. Graham spends so long narrating the literary version of 'Previously, on ER...' and condensing the social, industrial and martial history of Britain in the early 1800s that he never really gets round to a plot. Or if he did, then he looked to Georgette Heyer for inspiration. Budding engineer Jeremy falls for a hybrid of Elizabeth and Caroline, with a name I was never quite sure how to pronounce, even in my head, and is turned down for not being good/rich enough. Clowance is courted by the eponymous stranger from the sea, an Irish caricature who washes up on a raft, while being courted by a titled younger son. I'm not sure if Graham wanted his readers to like Stephen Carrington, but much in the same fashion as Hugh Armitage, I couldn't stomach him. Luckily I won't be reading any further, then!
A nonsense plot, full of bland romantic intrigues and potted history lessons, is not why I fell in love with this series. I think the real heart of the novels must have died with Elizabeth (woops, spoiler!) I might just watch the 1996 adaptation of this novel, though, to be perverse - I'm sure the cast couldn't do any real harm to the already limp story or barely recognisable characters!
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LibraryThing member MickyFine
The Napoleonic War is raging on the continent and with Ross freshly returned to Cornwall from an observational mission in Portugal for Parliament, he discovers quieter conflicts brewing at home. While Ross and Demelza have settled into a happier phase of their marriage, they must now watch as their
A quieter entry in the Poldark saga, this book is very obviously laying groundwork for the coming books in the series. That doesn't make it lacking in any way, as the characters are the real draw of these books and as long as I get time with Ross and Demelza, I'm very happy. While the focus of this novel shifts a little more to the younger Poldarks, there's still enough of my favourite couple to keep it from being too much a jolt. And Jeremy and Clowance are both intriguing characters on their own so that I look forward to seeing what the remaining books bring for them. If you've come this far in the series, you'll definitely enjoy this book.
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two eldest children struggle with finding their place in the world. Meanwhile, George Warleggan finds himself in an entirely new position when he finds himself attracted to a woman for the first time since Elizabeth's death. But in his pursuit of her, George may put everything he's worked so hard for at risk.A quieter entry in the Poldark saga, this book is very obviously laying groundwork for the coming books in the series. That doesn't make it lacking in any way, as the characters are the real draw of these books and as long as I get time with Ross and Demelza, I'm very happy. While the focus of this novel shifts a little more to the younger Poldarks, there's still enough of my favourite couple to keep it from being too much a jolt. And Jeremy and Clowance are both intriguing characters on their own so that I look forward to seeing what the remaining books bring for them. If you've come this far in the series, you'll definitely enjoy this book.
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LibraryThing member fuzzi
Slight spoilers ahead:
In The Stranger From the Sea, Winston Graham returns to the people of Cornwall from his Poldark books, but about a decade after The Angry Tide. Ross and Demelza's children are almost "grown", as is Valentine Warleggan, child of The Black Moon.
I like how the author pulled us
In The Stranger From the Sea, Winston Graham returns to the people of Cornwall from his Poldark books, but about a decade after The Angry Tide. Ross and Demelza's children are almost "grown", as is Valentine Warleggan, child of The Black Moon.
I like how the author pulled us
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into the lives of the next generation without forsaking our old friends like Dr. Enys, Caroline, Demelza, and Ross Poldark. Well-written as all his works, Winston Graham has given us another gem to cherish and treasure. Definitely recommended. Show Less
LibraryThing member justmum
A continuation of the Poldark family saga. Jeremy and Clowance are growing up - how will they develop and will their love lives turn out well?
Subjects
Original language
English
Original publication date
1981
Physical description
499 p.; 4.25 x 1 inches
ISBN
033034501X / 9780330345019