Miles Franklin (1879–1954)

I loved the book despite wanting to shake Sybylla at times! Franklin did a masterful job of evoking atmosphere. It was so easy to get lost in the book. Sybylla was one of the most complex characters I've ever read from that period. There was nothing cliche with the plot or the characters and I was left to wonder what direction the novel would take through the very last page. The only downside was that the main character was so down on herself for being "ugly." But the dichotomy of that show more brutal self-appraisal and the fierce pride and independence of spirit placed her among the most interesting and memorable female characters that I've ever had the pleasure to meet. show less

Not a book for romantics - nothing is romanticised, not the past, rural life, love or marriage. The protagonist is prickly and contrary and at times you want to slap her, but she sticks to her principles and I really liked her.

It was otherworldly to read a description of the swimming hole I've known almost all my life, described in perfect detail, from the memory of a little girl at the turn of the last century.

I didn't know anything had ever been written about Brindabella, and I was astounded to read that my family property was founded originally by a cousin of the author's mother. Printed there, plain as day.

This isn't a great book, published from what seems to be little more than personal diary-memoir written show more shortly before Franklin's death. But the closeness of her childhood nostalgia to my own, a century apart, made this captivating and illuminating to read.

The Franklin's still live down there in the valley, many generations on. show less

My Brilliant Career is sort of what would happen if Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and the Australian outback and first-wave feminism had a baby.

Miles Franklin, though. Stella Marie Sarah Miles Franklin. She struggled for so long to get this book published - it was a success of sorts in the end, but she was so sick of it, she took it off the market and wanted it published again only after she died.

I wasn't ready to warm to this book - it's quite thick, and I had to read it for a course. show more But I loved it. It grew on me. Sybylla is a headstrong heroine who can be a little bit irritating, but after a while, I had only absolute affection towards her.

This book, written when Franklin was only a teenager, is a beautiful masterpiece. It's full of early feminist thought and ideas, and although I don't like all the parts of the book, together, as a whole, I love it.

I love the descriptions of the landscape, the stark sunrises, the ring-barked trees.

This book, in all its humble existence, is one of the unsung heroes of early Australian literature and feminism. I'll continue to be its champion till the day I die.

Doesn't matter if you don't love this book, Stella Marie Miles Franklin, because I do. show less