Ross Poldark cover art

Ross Poldark

 Preview
Try Standard free
Select 1 audiobook a month from our entire collection.
Listen to your selected audiobooks as long as you're a member.
Get unlimited access to bingeable podcasts.
Auto-renews at $8.99/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Ross Poldark

By: Winston Graham
Narrated by: Oliver J. Hembrough
Try Standard free

Auto-renews at $8.99/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $21.66

Buy Now for $21.66

About this listen

Set in 18th century Cornwall, Ross Poldark is the first novel in Winston Graham's hugely popular Poldark series. Now a television phenomenon, it has been adapted for twice by the BBC as Poldark, most recently starring Aidan Turner.

Cornwall in the 1780s – when powerful forces of revolution and reaction are at large in the world.

Tired from a grim war in America, Ross Poldark returns to his land and his family. But the joyful homecoming he has anticipated turns sour, for his father is dead, his estate is derelict and the girl he loves is engaged to his cousin.

But his sympathy for the destitute miners and farmers of the district leads him to rescue a half-starved urchin girl from a fairground brawl and take her home – an act which alters the whole course of his life . . .

Ross Poldark is followed by Demelza, the second novel in this evocative series.

'From the incomparable Winston Graham . . . who has everything that anyone else has, then a whole lot more' – The Guardian

 Family Life Genre Fiction Historical Historical Fiction Movie, TV & Video Game Tie-Ins

Critic Reviews

Ross is one of literature's great heroes . . . [with] elements of Darcy, Heathcliff, Rhett Butler and Robin Hood (Debbie Horsfield, writer of BBC One's Poldark)
From the incomparable Winston Graham . . . who has everything that anyone else has, then a whole lot more
The plot roars along as the sea crashes, rain lashes and wild winds whip up the spume. I swear you can almost hear the screaming gulls
Die-hard Poldark fans take note: if the TV series is not enough for you, there are 12 (yes, 12) novels in the original series . . . Love rivalry, war, class struggles - it's a rich soup of discontent, and there are some blistering lines in the books
Steeped in humour, romance, passion and tragedy, the Poldark books are as exciting and fresh as they are timeless and memorable. Don't miss them!
All stars
Most relevant
sweet. simple. easy listening. good sense of Cornish history and dialect. accomplished performance by narrator.

Lovely, easy listening.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I can't wait to listen to the next book of this epic story!
Oliver J. Hembrough makes the story come to life! I am his admiring fan for ever!

A wonderful listening experience!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I hadn't heard of this before the mini-series started showing on ABC earlier this month. I was intrigued enough to find the book on Audible. I loved how Graham developed the story much as a life unfolds - this step and then this one. Ross Poldark is lovely as a character and the various characters that populate this novel are very human and flawed and enjoyed the gentle step of time. Well worth the read.

A pleasant experience of the evolution of a life

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I've really enjoyed this audio book.
Mr Hembrough does an outstanding job of bringing out the different characters. I thought Judd and the comic relief he provides was especially good. I didn't particularly care for Demelza's voice (although I'm sure it was much more realistic that the sanitized TV version voice..), but overall the performance is excellent.
Highly recommended for fans of the TV show. It covers roughly the first 4 episodes of the first series of the current TV Poldark. However, the books are so much richer and subtler in their characterizations. We get Ross' and Demelza's thoughts and impressions that just cannot be conveyed on screen. There is a gentleness and flow to the whole story which draws you in.

Excellent

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I found it really hard to finish, just a boring story, nothing exciting no climax. maybe it's just not for me.

Boring

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.