My Brilliant Career
Encyclopedia
My Brilliant Career is a 1901 novel written by Miles Franklin
.
It is the first of many novels by Stella Maria Sarah Miles Franklin (1879–1954), one of the major Australian writers of her time. It was written while she was still a teenager, as a romance to amuse her friends. Franklin submitted the manuscript to Henry Lawson
who contributed a preface and took it to his own publishers in Edinburgh. The popularity of the novel in Australia and the perceived closeness of many of the characters to her own family and circumstances as small farmers in New South Wales
near Goulburn caused Franklin a great deal of distress and led her to withdrawing the novel from publication until after her death.
Shortly after the publication of My Brilliant Career, Franklin wrote a sequel, My Career Goes Bung, which would not be published until 1946.
By this time, her father's drinking has got the family into debt, and she is sent to work as governess/housekeeper for the family of an almost illiterate neighbour to whom her father owes money. She finds life there unbearable and eventually suffers a physical breakdown which leads to her return to the family home. When Harry Beecham returns to ask Sybylla to marry him, she concludes that she would only make him unhappy and sends him away, determined never to marry. The novel ends with no suggestion that she will ever have the "brilliant career" as a writer that she desires.
, produced by Margaret Fink
, directed by Gillian Armstrong
and starring Judy Davis
and Sam Neill
as Sybylla and Harry.
Sybylla is a young woman with big dreams of becoming a well-known writer. She lives in the outback of Australia with her family struggling with the drought and monetary problems. Her journey to finding her self and making the hardest choices of her life begins when her mother says she can’t afford to keep her and sends Sybylla to her rich grandmother's house where she learns to love. But instead of pursuing love and becoming a rich housewife as expected, Sybylla does not wish to give up her big dreams of becoming a distinguished writer. She chooses a 'brilliant' career over love and getting married, getting a book published in 1901.
n band The Panics
released a song of the same name on their debut EP in 2002, which is presumably named after the book.
Melbourne
band TISM
feature a spoken word diatribe titled "My Brilliant Huntington's Chorea" on the bonus disc from their 1999 album www.tism.wanker.com
.
In the film, Tomorrow, When the War Began
(2010) Corrie reads the book and states that it is "better than the film."
Miles Franklin
Stella Maria Sarah Miles Franklin, known as Miles Franklin was an Australian writer and feminist who is best known for her novel My Brilliant Career, published in 1901...
.
It is the first of many novels by Stella Maria Sarah Miles Franklin (1879–1954), one of the major Australian writers of her time. It was written while she was still a teenager, as a romance to amuse her friends. Franklin submitted the manuscript to Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson was an Australian writer and poet. Along with his contemporary Banjo Paterson, Lawson is among the best-known Australian poets and fiction writers of the colonial period and is often called Australia's "greatest writer"...
who contributed a preface and took it to his own publishers in Edinburgh. The popularity of the novel in Australia and the perceived closeness of many of the characters to her own family and circumstances as small farmers in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
near Goulburn caused Franklin a great deal of distress and led her to withdrawing the novel from publication until after her death.
Shortly after the publication of My Brilliant Career, Franklin wrote a sequel, My Career Goes Bung, which would not be published until 1946.
Plot summary
The heroine, Sybylla Melvyn, is an imaginative, headstrong girl growing up in rural Australia in the 1890s. Drought and a series of poor business decisions reduce her family to subsistence level, her father begins to drink excessively, and Sybylla struggles to deal with the monotony of her life. To her relief, she is sent to live on her grandmother's property, where life is more comfortable. There she meets wealthy young Harry Beecham, who loves her and proposes marriage; convinced of her ugliness and aware of her tomboyish ways, Sybylla is unable to believe that he could really love her.By this time, her father's drinking has got the family into debt, and she is sent to work as governess/housekeeper for the family of an almost illiterate neighbour to whom her father owes money. She finds life there unbearable and eventually suffers a physical breakdown which leads to her return to the family home. When Harry Beecham returns to ask Sybylla to marry him, she concludes that she would only make him unhappy and sends him away, determined never to marry. The novel ends with no suggestion that she will ever have the "brilliant career" as a writer that she desires.
Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
A 1979 film versionMy Brilliant Career (film)
My Brilliant Career is a 1979 Australian drama film directed by Gillian Armstrong and based on the book of the same name by Miles Franklin....
, produced by Margaret Fink
Margaret Fink
Margaret Fink is a prominent Australian film producer noted for her important role in the revival of Australian cinema in the 1970s....
, directed by Gillian Armstrong
Gillian Armstrong
Gillian May Armstrong is an award-winning Australian director of feature films and documentaries.- Career :Born in Melbourne, Victoria, Gillian Armstrong grew up in the eastern suburb of Mitcham. She graduated from Swinburne Technical College in 1968 where she studied theatrical costume design and...
and starring Judy Davis
Judy Davis
Judy Davis is an Australian actress best known for her roles in Husbands and Wives, Barton Fink, A Passage to India and in the TV miniseries Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows....
and Sam Neill
Sam Neill
Nigel John Dermot "Sam" Neill, DCNZM, OBE is a New Zealand actor. He is well known for his starring role as paleontologist Dr Alan Grant in Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park III....
as Sybylla and Harry.
Sybylla is a young woman with big dreams of becoming a well-known writer. She lives in the outback of Australia with her family struggling with the drought and monetary problems. Her journey to finding her self and making the hardest choices of her life begins when her mother says she can’t afford to keep her and sends Sybylla to her rich grandmother's house where she learns to love. But instead of pursuing love and becoming a rich housewife as expected, Sybylla does not wish to give up her big dreams of becoming a distinguished writer. She chooses a 'brilliant' career over love and getting married, getting a book published in 1901.
Allusions/references from other works
Western AustraliaWestern Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
n band The Panics
The Panics
The Panics are an ARIA Award–winning indie rock band originally from Perth, Western Australia, and currently based in Melbourne, Victoria.-History:...
released a song of the same name on their debut EP in 2002, which is presumably named after the book.
Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
band TISM
TISM
TISM was a seven piece anonymous alternative rock band from Melbourne, Australia. The group was formed in 1982 and enjoyed a large underground/independent following. Their third album Machiavelli and the Four Seasons reached the Australian national top 10 in 1995...
feature a spoken word diatribe titled "My Brilliant Huntington's Chorea" on the bonus disc from their 1999 album www.tism.wanker.com
Www.tism.wanker.com
www.tism.wanker.com is the name of a 1998 album by Australian alternative rock group TISM .The album title references an internet URL which, at the time of release, was a subdomain provided by a friendly person overseas who had registered wanker.com, as TISM were not able to obtain their preferred...
.
In the film, Tomorrow, When the War Began
Tomorrow, When the War Began (film)
Tomorrow, When the War Began is a 2010 Australian adventure film written and directed by Stuart Beattie and based on the novel of the same name by John Marsden. The film is produced by Andrew Mason and Michael Boughen. The story follows Ellie Linton, one of eight teenagers waging a guerrilla war...
(2010) Corrie reads the book and states that it is "better than the film."
Release details
- 1901, Australia, William Blackwood & Sons (ISBN NA), Pub date ? ? 1901, hardback (First edition)
- 1980, UK, Virago Press (ISBN 0-86068-193-9), Pub date 14 July 1980, paperback
- 1980, UK, St Martins Press (ISBN 0-312-55599-7), Pub date ? October 1980, hardback
- 1987, UK, G K Hall & Co (ISBN 0-8161-4158-4), Pub date ? February 1987, hardback
- 2006, USA, Filiquarian Publishing (ISBN 1-59986-972-1), Pub date 16 May 2006, paperback
- 2008, Canada, Broadview Press (ISBN 978-1-55111-677-8), Pub date 1 January 2008, paperback