The Montforts

Told with wit and pace, Martin Boyd’s The Montforts follows five generations of the Montfort family, members of Australia’s ‘colonial aristocracy’ as they navigate – and become part of – a new world.


The novel’s concerns—the complex relationships between patriotism and civilisation, art and religion, the individual and his past, love and romance—are timeless.


First published under the pen name Martin Mills in 1928 with the title The Madeleine Heritage, The Montforts won the ALS Gold Medal in 1928. This edition was revised by the author and published in 1963. It includes an introduction from Brenda Niall, author of his biography, Martin Boyd: A Life (1988).


Martin Boyd’s other highly acclaimed novels include Lucinda Brayford (1946) and The Cardboard Crown (1952).