[3] The main developments in the novel are the tragic death of Francis Poldark, a sexual interaction between Ross and Elizabeth that a number of commentators regard as rape,[4] Elizabeth's marriage to George Warleggan, the near-destruction of Ross's marriage to Demelza, and ups-and-downs in the passionate relationship between Dwight Enys and Caroline Penvenen.

These are the main developments: "As [Ross] rose, he was conscious that his wife's charm and attraction had not been lessened by three years of trial and near poverty.

At times it got itself hidden under the everyday mask of work and the routine of living, but this made its emergence all the more startling.

"[Ross's] realization again of the facade of mining expectations he had erected on the chance words of this man, uttered four years ago, shook his confidence in himself and in his own judgment.

He had thrown away a profitable investment in a mine of his own starting and had poured everything he had, and persuaded Francis to do likewise, into a played-out-mine which had failed his father a quarter of a century ago."

These are the main developments: Book Four covers June 1793 through Christmas Eve 1793 in seven chapters: "Since the execution of Marie Antoinette, people had become inured to the bloodstained horrors of Paris.

The events chronicled in the novel Warleggan are covered in Episodes 5-10 of Season 2 of the television adaptation that commenced in 2015.