I had a totally indulgent January when it came to reading. I got lots of great books as Christmas presents but so far these have been parked as I read my way through the Poldark series by Winston Graham, set in Cornwall starting in the 1770s, covering a similar historical period to Jane Austen’s novels.

I was late to the BBC’s fantastic TV adaptation, watching the first series almost back-to-back on DVD and loving it, before watching the second series as it was broadcast. It is well acted, beautiful costume drama that makes me want to go down to Cornwall every time I see it. But it hadn’t really struck me to read the books until recently. I bought the first one in December to read over Christmas to see what it was like and found I loved it, so promptly bought the set with some Christmas money. I have been indulging in immersion ever since, which has taken a lot of the pain of a dark, cold January away.

I’ve read the first four books so far and have caught up with where the TV series has got to and am now carrying on beyond it. I’m particularly enjoying the rich historical context, as the war with France and the price of copper and tin impact on the characters’ lives. This series was first published at the end of the Second World War and must have provided great escapism then from rough times. It’s certainly doing the same for me in the era of the Brexit vote and Trump presidency.