In "The cardboard crown" Mr Boyd returns to the theme of Lucinda Brayford. It is the story of an Australian woman of the last century whose need for the traditional civilisation of Europe draws her from her own country. Yet this continual attraction prevents her from taking root either in the Australian world in which she is socially pre-eminent, or in the English country home preserved from decay by the life-blood of her money; each excursion to Europe is paid for with tragedy and ends in retreat. The events and influences of her life: her elopement and marriage; an idyllic Roman interlude with a man who for her typifies European civilisation; the ironic sequel to this affair, are re-created long afterwards from a variety of sources: from her diary, in which passages of revealing emotion run like scars through its Victorian reticence; from the memories of those who knew her - notably Arthur, a colourful though not very reliable witness - and from fragments of family mythology and gossip. Each adds depth to the picture, and, in so doing, proves once again Mr Boyd's mastery at revealing the growth of character through experience.