The Lamentable End of the Poldarks -- Susan Price
Bella Poldark - Graham Well, I finished the Poldark books. All twelve of them, starting with Ross Poldark and ending with Bella Poldark (his youngest daughter.) And despite what people say about the books in a series never being as good as the first one, I have thoroughly enjoyed them all. Winston Graham -- my god, that man could plot a plot. And give life to a character. Not everyone agrees, of course. There's an ape in the last book. One of the characters, Valentine Warleggan, rescues it from maltreatment and then proceeds to maltreat it himself, teaching it to drink (smuggled) brandy and smoke cigars, in order to entertain his friends. He gives it a name, Butto, but we're never told exactly what Butto is. Warleggen calls it 'a monkey' but it obviously isn't. He either doesn't know or, more likely, can't be bothered, with the difference between a monkey and an ape. But what kind of ape? Its description could fit either a chimpanzee or a young gorilla,...