Boyd, Martin (1893-1972)

Australian novelist. His chief work is the Langton Tetralogy, comprising the novels The Cardboard Crown (1952), A Difficult Young Man (1955), Outbreak of Love (1957), and When Blackbirds Sing (1962). The power of time, the illogicality of history, and the subtleties of Australian-European cultural transactions are themes developed in these and other Boyd novels.

Boyd was born in Lucerne, Switzerland, brought up in Australia, and lived in the UK from 1921 to 1948, when he returned to Australia. His first novels, including The Montforts (1928), were published under the pseudonym Martin Mills. Boyd's autobiography, A Single Flame, was published in 1939.