Demelza (novel)
Demelza is the second of twelve novels in "Poldark", a series of historical novels by Winston Graham. It was published in 1946. "Demelza" continues the story of Ross Poldark and his wife, Demelza. It opens in May 1788, six months after the final events depicted in "Ross Poldark". While the first novel ends on a note of triumph for Demelza, the second novel in the series closes with the tragic death of Demelza's first child. Additionally, as the novel closes, Ross's finances are in poor shape and he and Demelza have had to sell off a  number of important family and farm items, including livestock. Ross has been forced to close a copper smelting company he started. His long-simmering enmity with George Warleggan flares up. Francis and Elizabeth Poldark become estranged from Ross and Demelza because Francis is angry at the role played by Demelza in facilitating the elopement of his sister, Verity. Dwight Enys, who becomes a major character over time, is introduced for the first time in "Demelza". The events in "Demelza" are the basis for Season 1, Episodes 5-8 in the 2015 television series adaptation produced by the BBC. "Demelza" and  the preceding novel in the series ("Ross Poldark") have been analyzed by scholars who say that as the most popular fictional representations of Cornwall, they helped define a Cornish national identity. Synopsis. Book One. Book One covers May to November 1788 in fifteen chapters. These are the main developments: Book Two. Book Two covers April to May 1789 in fourteen chapters. Book Three. Book Three covers July 1789 in eleven chapters. The action in the novel occurs against the backdrop of the beginnings of the French Revolution. Characters in the novel mention their awareness of the unrest in France as  their own dramas unfold. Book Four. Book Four covers Christmas 1789 through January 1790 in eleven chapters. Reception and analysis. Literary scholars have argued that "Demelza" has played a role in establishing a Cornish national identity. This is said to be the case because: Some scholars have argued that "Demelza" and the Poldark series in general have contributed to the "Disneyfication" of Cornwall, partially leading to a surge of tourists expecting to experience Cornwall as it is portrayed in Poldark: "Mass tourism and commodified heritage dominate the scene, if not the economy, and thousands of new residents have been drawn  there by this imagery. Cornwall and its people are imagined and represented in bewilderingly diverse ways, from within and without, by native commentators and participants, outside journalists and visitors, artists, writers, film‐makers, holiday promoters and diverse others. Nineteenth‐century narratives of industry, technical achievement and diaspora clash with romantic images of antiquity, Celtic myth and superstition, backwardness, rustication, changelessness and insularity. Images of golden beaches, semi‐tropical gardens and picturesque fishing ports take precedence over those of industrial decline and economic despair."