My Brilliant Career is the unforgettable tale of Sybylla Melvin, a headstrong country girl—passionate,endearing, stubborn, honest—and her fraught journey from rags to riches to rags, echoing Franklin's own life journey.
Completed when she was only twenty years old, My Brilliant Career was Miles Franklin's debut book. After it was rejected by local publishers she sent it to Henry Lawson, who called it ‘the first great Australian novel’.
Franklin published nineteen novels before her death in 1954. Her will provided for the creation of the Miles Franklin Award, Australia’s premier literary award.
With an introduction from Jennifer Byrne, our Text Classics edition is part of our series of iconic books by Australia's most enduring writers.
The new Netflix limited series is the second screen adaptation of the book, following the acclaimed 1979 film by Gillian Armstrong and starring Judy Davis and Sam Neill in some of their earliest film roles.
Want to read the book before you watch the show? Get your copy now.