This program will be available for sale to the general public starting on March 7, 2026.Want to register before then? Become a member today, or if you are already a member, log in to register for this program. The World of "Poldark": Historical Reality and Fantasy in Georgian England Evening Lecture/Seminar Tuesday, May 12, 2026 - 6:45 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. ET Code: 1K0703 Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Select your Registration $25 Member $35 Gen. Admission Resize text Phoenix United tin mine, Bodmin Moor, Cornwall (Photo: Nilfanion / CC BY 3.0) In the wildly popular British series “Poldark,” seen on PBS between 2015 and 2019 and now available on Netflix, aristocrat Ross Poldark returns after three years of fighting the American War of Independence to discover his Cornwall estate in ruins and debt, and his first love engaged to his cousin. He reopens his copper mines for income, marries his kitchen servant, champions the working class, and in true heroic fashion, even fights a duel. Poldark becomes the perfect representation of the era, a man who bridges the divide between social classes. Late-18th-century England saw the beginning of the new industrial age with changes in the social system represented by the aristocracy (Poldark), the emergent middle class (banker George Warleggan) and the working class (miners). Historian Julie Taddeo examines the show’s topics—economics, religion, marriage, medicine, social customs, fashions, and the details of daily life in Cornwall and London—and explores what the series portrays accurately about the period and what its creators fictionalized. General Information View Common FAQs and Policies about our Online Programs on Zoom.
