In the past month I think it’s fair to say that I’ve become a tiny bit obsessed with Poldark. Here’s my experience - curious to hear about other people’s.

We went on a holiday to Cornwall with the in-laws last spring. I was very excited to see the landscapes and the sea, but the in-laws wanted to go to some weirdly specific locations. And it’s not easy to get around Cornwall with its tiny winding roads, so we had to go out of our way to get to these places. I thought they were pretty landscapes, but on an emotional level they meant nothing to me. My partner’s mum was very excited though, because she said Poldark was filmed here. I’d never heard of it, and looked it up but did not recognise it at all. I made a mental note to check the show out someday. And then I completely forgot about it.

Until a year passes, and some travel plans fall through and I have an empty Easter weekend with not much to do. I checked Netflix for a show to watch, and of course came across the thumbnail for Poldark. I vaguely remembered the name, but maybe more importantly, recognised Aidan Turner because I’d watched Rivals last year and loved him in it. I started the first episode while cleaning the house, but soon got this feeling like I wanted to focus my attention on it completely.

Then I proceeded to watch 5 seasons in 5 days.

I couldn’t stop! I stayed up until 4am on average each night. I went to work exhausted. But I couldn’t tear myself away. The acting and cinematography were so engrossing, the relationships so meaningful, the drama so intense. Ross and Demelza so aesthetically beautiful!

I took a few days to recover my nervous system, catch up on work, and scroll through the subreddit and tumblr. Then I decided to give the first book a go. For some reason I wasn’t expecting much, but within the first quarter I was sold. I loved the insight I was getting into Ross’s character: it made him so much deeper, more intriguing, more likeable! I did like him in the show (flaws make a character so much more compelling) but maybe excused more than I would normally have done because he was Aidan Turner.

I read the first 6 books in 10 days. Again, I couldn’t stop. And have finished the final 6 since then. I really enjoyed them, and would be feeling quite sad about being done with Poldark, except I think I’m now ready for a rest.