My Brilliant Career

Life was good for Sybylla when she was very young and her father didn't drink and all the family lived at Bruggabrong. They were miles from any neighbor; and she was a wild and free little girl. Her father gets in his head that they need a change -- and a farm called Possum Gully would be just the thing. And this is where things start to go downhill...and continue downhill for quite some time. Some of the plot points were parallel to Jane Eyre (although Sybylla is not an orphan...they are both spunky heroines of small stature and describe themselves as plain) Sybylla goes to live with her grandmother and aunt for awhile -- and this middle section of the book most reminds me of Jane Eyre's story. There is a love interest named Harry Beecham, and a third person in flouncy finery named Miss Derrick who brings out the jealousy in Sybylla. The other things that remind me of Jane Eyre are Sybylla's witty repartee with Mr. Beecham, her low self-esteem; the fact she becomes a governess -- and a scene in which she spooks a horse. Sybylla is obstinately resistant to authority or control. She will NOT go forward into situations when she forsees she would lose her independence. (Although for a bit longer she is still under her parents' control, mainly her mother's) Whereas Jane seems to find a balance and sees herself an equal and counterpart to Rochester...Sybylla runs hot and cold about Beecham -- and sends mixed messages. She is a young woman still figuring out what she thinks, believes, and feels. This book is NOT for anyone who wants a traditional romance. "My Brilliant Career" is a wonderfully written book -- with humor and bite -- highs and lows -- and a fallible, but strong-willed heroine.

After reading this fine book, I am still mulling over the actions of the author. She was offered the world on a platter, and chose to reject love and make her own way in life. She would be a most interesting person to met and conversed with. After reading a biography about Mile Franklin, I believe she did the right thing. A beautiful read. The book still haunts me several days after reading. Assuming the story is more fact than fiction, I propose a motive for the author's actions. The book may have been the 19 century coming out story, which went over peoples heads at the time, and even now. I believe the author was attracted to women. She mentioned several times how she detested the touch of a man, and turned down a marriage proposal that would be most woman's dream. She often lamented on how different she was from other girls. She never married. I suspect the book was written a 100 years before its time, about a subject that was simply taboo. Durgan.

I love this book. There it is, right out in the open. Sybylla is so headstrong, so determined that I read right through the book in a matter of days. It's fun to see a young woman in the 19th century yearn so much for independence and her own destiny. That the book was considered shocking is an understatement - Franklin stipulated that the book not be reprinted until a decade after her death. Sybylla has no illusions about life and love - she's watched her father go from a strong man she adored to an alcoholic, seen her mother become cold and bitter. Sybylla, more than anything, is convinced that she will have a brilliant career. Some hope comes early when she goes to live with her grandmother, but that ends abruptly and Sybylla learns some more hard lessons. The book isn't gloomy, despite the sad realities of Sybylla's life in the bush. It's one of the most enjoyable books about young women out of the era. Sybylla's is no Anne of Green Gables, but she's just as enjoyable and fun to read. Of note is the very well-made 1979 film adaptation that only disappoints as we are not privy to Sybylla's thoughts which is most of the joy of the book.

This book is a bit like a grown-up Little House in the Prairie but set in 19th century outback Australia rather than the Wild West of the US.This is a story of a young, spirited woman who rebels against convention and the desire of her relatives that she marry the wealthy, and (it has to be said) highly desirable, local squatter (swoon! swoon!). Unlike Laura Ingalls, Sybilla chooses the road less travelled and refuses to marry. She follows her dreams instead. What makes this book so remarkable is that it was written 100 years ago yet the voice of the narrator is so fresh. The book is funny and inspiring. I first read it when I was a teenager and my love for it has never diminished. If you cannot read the novel, try to see the film with Judy Davis and Sam Neill which brings the book wonderfully to life. The movie is as much of an Australian classic as the book.

I'm not exactly sure, but I think that MF wrote this book when she was still fairly young (16 or 17), and it sends shivers down my spine to think of a young girl with such energy and pride so long ago. This is a story about a girl in Australia end of the 19th century, and what happens to her when she visits other families and places and the decisions she makes. Some of the decisions she makes seem to be fairly self-destructive, and it's interesting to think about why she made them - too young to know better, too scared, not able to compromise. The heroine is a very strong character, flawed but understandable. I really, really like this book (incidentally, my ex-boyfriend found it almost unreadable). I think of it as relating to feminism; but that's just my bias. It's actually just a good yarn. Hmm. Australian women have their own history. Is this interesting to anyone other than myself?