Poldark Season 2: 10 Changes from the Books to the Small Screen

A Little Change in Warleggan

George Warleggan actually doesn’t show up quite as much in the books as he does in the show to gloat evilly and break up plans. We’ll boil it down to two points. First, when Ross faces hanging for the wreck, George doesn’t interrupt Demelza’s conversation with the judge at the assembly. In fact, Sir Hugh Bodrugan does, but he doesn’t bother to tell the judge that he’s speaking with Mistress Poldark. Incidentally, she and the judge speak about church music for the most part.

Apparently Demelza was just hoping to charm him and help her husband that way, even if it means talking about harmonies and whatnot. She does introduce herself at the end of the conversation, but the judge does not put two and two together at that point.

Second, George doesn’t attend the Bodrugan ball. In fact, he and Tankard are nowhere to be seen in that part of Warleggan, so there’s no wager about debauching Demelza. Instead, Sir John Treneglos flips a coin with Sir Hugh outside her guest bedroom door, and they proceed to find that she has escaped through the window. However, the scene with Demelza and McNeil generally proceeds as it does in the book. She just also happens to bite him to assure him of her resistance.