The Picnic (novel)

The Picnic (1937) is a novel by Australian author Martin Boyd.

Plot outline
Australian Matty Westlake is descended from an old English family and when her husband dies she is determined to take her sons, Christopher and Wilfred, back to England to introduce them to their forebears. The English side of the family is completely ignorant of Australian ways and the Australians also find themselves at odds with the English.

Critical reception
A reviewer in The Weekly Times found the novel "humorous" and went on: "Here we have a fine book from the pen of an Australian born author. Mr Boyd is a really witty writer. His dialogue is clever and entertaining. He has a gift for characterisation and he can evoke an atmosphere."

In The Australian Women's Weekly the reviewer appears unaware that Boyd is even Australian, but praises him nevertheless: "Mr. Boyd writes with fluency and a sure touch. He has an excellent sense of characterisation, and both his Australian and his English readers should be interested in his conclusions, even if they do not always agree with some of his basic ideas."