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Scandal of Spring (1934) is a novel by Australian writer Martin Boyd.

Story outline

Set in a small English seaside village, the novel follows the story of the youth John Vazetti with lives with his parents in a cottage with tearooms attached. John falls in love with a young woman, Madge, who is visiting family in the village. Although their relatives try to push the two apart they eventually run off to London where John is arrested and imprisoned.

Critical reception

A reviewer in The Courier-Mail found that this "is a book of youth, misunderstood and battered by the blindness and prejudice of the hide-bound middle-aged. Put so baldly, it sounds commonplace, but there is nothing commonplace in the beautifully-written story. It tells with that delicacy of touch that is part of Mr. Martin Boyd's charm."

In The Age, the reviewer was rather dismissive, noting: "Mr Boyd needs a bigger and better theme for the display of his literary talents."

See also

• 1934 in Australian literature

References

1. Austlit - Scandal of Spring by Martin Boyd
2. "Other Books", The Courier-Mail, 5 May 1934, p18
3. "Recent Fiction", The Age, 24 February 1934, p4

• Novels by Martin Boyd
• 1934 Australian novels
• Novels set in England