Saints & Sinners

Saints and Sinners, for the first time, follows the true story of a Cornish family, as it navigates wars, plots and rebellions over 1000 years. Battles from Hasting to Arnhem, royal treasure purloined and illicit liaisons enrich this tapestry of extraordinary characters. Meet a host of remarkable women, from the Countess of Oxford in the 1400s, to Ann Basset courted by Henry VIII, and Vita Sackville-West, a member of the Bloomsbury Group between the world wars. Gained in the maelstrom of the Civil War and its aftermath, over centuries the St Aubyns have fashioned the island jewel of St Michael’s Mount into their iconic seat. The 3rd Sir John St Aubyn Bt. conspired with the French and prepared an army to march against the crown. His grandson was Ross Poldark’s “real life equivalent”, whose love and marriage to Juliana, a farmer’s daughter, shocked Cornwall. A diary reveals the life of a Regency rake, while a brother built a property empire in Plymouth. In the First World War, St Aubyns were found on the Western Front and served valiantly during the Second. The gift of the family castle to the National Trust seventy years ago is one of many events which give this history its unique and increasingly personal perspective, as the family identity has evolved in the battle to survive.