My Brilliant Career pt 2: discussing 'the very first Australian novel'

Welcome to the second of our 3-part series celebrating the iconic Australian feminist novel My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin. In this episode, Caitlin and Michelle are discussing the novel, originally published in 1901. 

About the book:

Growing up on her parents’ outback farm, Sybylla is desperate to read, write, sing and achieve great things. 

Yet her aspirations for a ‘brilliant career’ are persistently thwarted, first by the arduous demands of rural family life, and later by the shackles of a proposed conventional marriage to the wealthy Harold Beecham. 

With only her brilliant, conflicted mind to guide her, Sybylla is forced to define a life on her own terms.

*Caitlin accessed a copy through her work at Harper Collins.

For your convenience, here's everything else we mentioned in this episode:

• Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
• Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery
• My Brilliant Career, Smith & Taylor classics edition

Enjoyed this episode? Please share it with a bookish friend to help spread the word. Make sure you're following the podcast so new episodes appear in your feed as soon as they're available.

We've ⁠got a Substack publication⁠. At the end of the month, we share recommendations for two things we reckon you should read/watch/listen to. The beauty of Substack is you can revisit all our old editions and comment on our episode updates to share your thoughts. ⁠Come say hi!⁠

Connect with us on Instagram: ⁠@betterwordspod