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The Cardboard Crown

By Martin Boyd
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3.85 goodreads logo

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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Cardboard Crown by Martin Boyd is an enthralling exploration of the Anglo-Australian Langton family, reflecting on themes of identity, heritage, and societal expectations. Narrated by Guy Langton, it traces his grandmother Alice's life, revealed through her diaries, blending nostalgia with sharp insights into changing times. The novel paints a vivid portrait of family dynamics amidst shifting cultural landscapes.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$1799
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you're drawn to tales of family history and aristocratic decline, filled with vivid character studies and witty observations. It delves into themes of legacy and identity, masterfully weaving between the past and present of an Australian family navigating societal changes.

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A lost classic of Australian literature. Boyd is a deeply humane novelist, a writer of family sagas without peer.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

This remarkable novel, first published to a chorus of acclaim in 1952, is one of the lost classics of Australian literature. Martin Boyd is a deeply humane novelist, a writer of family sagas without peer.

Set in Australia and England in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, The Cardboard Crown presents an unforgettable portrait of an upper middle-class family who love both countries but are not quite at home in either.

At the centre of this scintillating and immensely readable novel is Alice Verso, whose unexpected marriage to Austin Langton not only brings financial stability to the Langtons but founds an Anglo-Australian dynasty.

But when her grandson finds her diaries and begins to uncover her story, he chances on an intricate web of deception and reveals the complex fate of his family over three generations.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

The Cardboard Crown by Martin Boyd is praised for its lively and intelligent narrative, demonstrating accomplished storytelling. It is described as cheerfully savage and infused with a unique blend of grace and wit. Boyd is lauded for his ability to capture social nuances and juxtapose intimate family dramas against broader societal backdrops, making his work distinctive in Australian literature.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781922079411

Publisher: Text Publishing

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 24 October 2012

Country: Australia

Imprint: Text Classics

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 128.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 202g

Pages: 266

Collections

Fiction General Fiction Literary Fiction Martin Boyd Penguin Books

About the Author

Martin Boyd's first novel, Love Gods, was published in 1925. Three years later The Montforts appeared, under the pseudonym Martin Mills. Following the international success of Lucinda Brayford in 1946 Boyd decided to return to Australia where he wanted to restore his grandfather's house, but by 1951 he was back in London. In the coming decade he was to write the Langton Quartet: The Cardboard Crown, A Difficult Young Man, Outbreak of Love, When Blackbirds Sing. In 1957 he went to Rome, where he lived and continued to write until his death in 1972.

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  • A Difficult Young Man
    Handsome, proud, reprehensible, misunderstood. Dominic Langton is the dark heart of A Difficult Young Man. His brother Guy can scarcely understand where he fits into the pattern of things or what he might do next. Martin Boyd's much-loved novel is an elegant, witty, and compelling family tale about the contradictions of growing up.
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  • Outbreak Of Love
    Diana von Flugel warned her husband: a piece of toast that hard could break a tooth. When Diana goes to Melbourne to have the tooth fixed, Wolfie is far too concerned with finding inspiration for his musical compositions to realise the chain of events he has just set in motion. On Collins Street, Russell Lockwood catches a glimpse of his...
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  • Lucinda Brayford
    Lucinda Brayford (1946) chronicles three generations of an Anglo-Australian family around the turn of the twentieth century and contrasts both Australian and English societies. The novel offers a rich tapestry that explores the intricate dynamics between two cultures as they evolve over time. Boyd’s narrative weaves together the complexities of familial bonds, societal expectations, and the personal ambitions that drive...
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  • When Blackbirds Sing
    The harsh realities of the Great War prompt a reappraisal of values for Dominic Langton in this devastating conclusion to Martin Boyd's series. We rejoin Dominic as he journeys back to war, re-enlisting at the start of World War I. Leaving his wife in Australia to tend to their sheep farm, he heads back to England and reconnects with an...
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