The Twisted Sword: A Novel of Cornwall 1815 (Poldark, Book 11)

Follow on with the Poldarks and a new generation. See the end of the war with France and a new generation being born.

The Poldark Series of books are definitely true historicals in the sense that the events running throughout the books serve to give the reader a deeper understanding of the current events of the day in which the books are based whether it’s relative to the mining industry or the war between England and France. In this 11th book in the series, England believes the war with Napoleon is a things of the past and the nation must now look toward rebuilding.In the midst of this, a horseman comes with a message for Ross. He’s needed in Paris for his erstwhile diplomatic skills so off to Paris Ross, Demelza and Bella go where Demelza, as usual, fascinates the gentlemen which gives Ross the opportunity to nearly come to fisticuffs with a close comrade of Joseph Fouché, 1st Duc d'Otrante. Although their encounter falls short of dueling, it is an encounter that the entire family will soon have reason to regret.Jeremy at last persuades Cuby to marry him even though he’s now serving in the army, stationed in Brussels. They are madly in love and have some fabulous months together before Napoleon escapes from Elba and enters into France with the citizens of France falling to their knees before him and the French Army falling alongside him as they give up their loyalty to the undeserving Bourbons.It’s interesting to see these events played out through the eyes of the Poldark family even as they make plans to get out of Dodge as quickly as possible. They become separated with Demelza and Bella making it home to England whereas Ross is delayed due to an encounter with Fouché, resulting in his imprisonment for three long months. He finally escapes just in time to go through Waterloo at the side of Wellington and his officers while serving as a type of courtier.**Spoilers** There is much sadness in this book as yet another family member departs this earth. Yes, our boy Jeremy who at last found happiness in the arms of his love, battles valiantly at Waterloo but falls never to return home, dying in his father’s arms, being buried in France – leaving Cuby pregnant with his baby. Ugh! This is hard to take. The Poldarks are eventually reunited at Nampara.I particularly enjoyed this book due to the fact it included some great interaction between Ross and Demelza – I can’t seem to get enough of these two.

Ross and Demelza are the stars of one of the most fascinating historical romance series of the twentieth century. The author is the late Winston Graham. The books have been serialized on BBC many years ago and a new version is now being produced for Masterpiece Theatre. The books are gems with the reader can immerse herself/himself in high adventure, colorful descriptions of nature and many intriguing characters to keep one reading until the end. In this late volume in the series we see Ross and Demelza still in love after over thirty years of marriage. Ross is knighted in this novel by the government of Lord Liverpool the Prime Minister of Great Britain. He is personally knighted while on a court visit to the Prince Regent the future George IV. The plot is complicated with many characters and stories. Among those stories are:a. The married life of the Polkdarks son Jeremy a soldier who is wed to the fetching Cuby.b.Their daughter Clowance is wed to Stephen Carrington. Carrington is involved in seagoing vessels in Cornwall. He confesses to fathering a young man named Jason who comes to live with the Carringtons. He has engaged in robbery and smuggling.c. Their young teenager daughter the fetching Bella finds herself in love with a young English officer whose name is Havergal.d. The court of Louis XVIII is shattered when Napoleon returns to France from his exile in Elbe. Demelza and Ross are forced to flee in separatecoaches as the Bonaparte legions approach Paris. This is one of the best and most exciting of the Polkdark novels. Flights by night from soldiery; the battle of Waterloo; the exciting story of young lovers n peril all make for a heady brew of enjoyable reading! Along the way we learn about the customs and sites of interest in Paris and in Belgium in the exciting time of Waterloo. The book was published in 1990 and is an excellent historical romance by the master Winston Graham.Excellent!

This is the ending book in the Poldark saga. I felt the first series was remarkable on many levels and this second series fell way short. I read the Stranger From the Sea and dislkied it so much I waited 20 years to finish the second series. I try to distance these novels from the furst obrs as the characters are so different and the subplots are rather stupid. Valentine becomes enamored over a gorilla and dies trying to save it. Stephen is killed- thankfully; a character I couldn't like- and there's a murderer loose on the moors. I felt ee had ese silly things going on to spice up the book since Graham couldn't come up with a decent novel with good story lines. The only teason I gave this a four is because Demelza finally stops going about in her, "Yes my lover." state anf Ross finally starts acting like Ross again- and they love each other deeply again. (In Stranger From the Sea, he slaps Demelza and calls her a slut because she is mortified about finding Jeremy's robbery stash and drinks too much.) Graham could have developed a good plot without killing off Jeremy, and he could have seen that Warleggen finally got his due somehow.

As we reach the penultimate novel in this series so we are arrived in the year 1815, a year that looked like it was going to be pretty good. Peace with America and Napoleon Bonaparte exiled to Elba. But of course we know what also happened that year, with the Battle of Waterloo after the return of Napoleon.For Ross Poldark though it starts off with a mission for the Prime Minister to visit Paris and unofficially sound out the French to see how the general feeling is. Taking Demelza, and the younger children, Isabella-Rose and Henry so their trip starts off relatively peacefully, that is until Bonaparte returns to the country. Of course whilst we read this we also see what is going on back home in Cornwall, and how the other members of the family are faring, as well as certain other characters that we have come to know so well.There is a lot that happens in this tale that takes place over one year. Daring escapes, adventure, death, secrets and skeletons in the closet all rear their heads here giving us a very eventful tale that is most definitely worth reading. There are also some really good scenes here of the fighting at and around Waterloo. As events unfold so do the lives of our characters, giving us some twists and turns as the series heads towards the last novel and the conclusion.

what a great read. this is the 11th book in the Poldark series, and covers the period up to Waterloo, and its immediate aftermath. it's very well written and engaging. the Polkark's suffer a couple of fatalities, while Sir George gets richer. He'd need the money! the only issue i have with the book is silly typos. i'm not grammer police in any way but i found them annoying and it needs sorting. that said, don't let it put you off as this is one of the best in the series.

This story has left me feeling quite sad because of 2 deaths. One especially upset me and the other left me feeling ambivalent. This was because so much has been left unsaid and I’m not sure how I feel about this character. Hopefully the next book, the last in the series, will clear things up.

The series is dragging a bit! Probably a few books too long in the saga? Not helped by poor proof reading. As expected, lots of errors concerning military matters in a historical novel, I don't expect a reference book but I find it incredulous that it includes percussion muskets. Some of the mistakes made me wonder about the accuracy of earlier books regarding mining and engineering, though I expect this was firmer ground for the author. A lot of the drama of the last sections is down to the hazards of child labour rather than other types of plot.

This is an excellent and well written continuation in the Poldark saga. It is also a very large book....so really more like three books in one and is good value for money. It mostly focusses on Demelza and Ross's two grown up children, Jeremy and Clowance, although Demelza and Ross feature as well. (They are in France at the time of Napoleon's uprising, leading to the battle of Waterloo.)It is a bit of a sad ending, but I can't say more without spoiling it for the reader. I recommend the book to all fans of Poldark.