Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

My Brilliant Career

3.76 of 5 stars 3.76 · rating details · 1,385 ratings · 135 reviews

This classic Australian novel was written by Miles Franklin, and details her life being born of the bush in Australia. A fantastic, well-written book with lively descriptions of a girl's life that can't be passed up by anybody who is drawn by good stories with captivating details. This novel should be required reading by anyone interested in Australia or important female w...more

Paperback, 280 pages

Published August 3rd 2006 by Waking Lion Press (first published 1901)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden

Best Modern Australian Literature

15th out of 235 books — 274 voters

Best Books Set in Australia

28th out of 390 books — 185 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 2,314)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

May 13, 2013 Eve rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, read-2013

Hmm, I've always said that Jane Eyre is without a doubt my #1 favorite book. After today, this is in close running for the spot. So much to think about. Sigh. I hope my review (to come later) will do this book justice.

like 5 likes · see review

Apr 09, 2013 Chloe rated it 4 of 5 stars

I loved the pacing and tone of the writing - and I became very attached to the narrator/protagonist. She made me laugh, cry, sigh and reflect on my perceptions of womanhood. Sybylla is perfectly imperfect.
I can understand why readers would become frustrated with Sybylla and her advancing/fleeing/toying/yearning/hating/admiring of Harold Beecham. I personally found this frustrating myself (thus the 4 stars). However, I understand why it has to be so.
My Brilliant Career is essentially about two th...more

like · see review

Nov 16, 2012 Mel rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 19th-century-fiction

About a year ago I realised, with the exception of Nick Cave, I'd never actually read any books by Australian authors and that I should probably fix that. I throughly enjoyed this book. I couldn't quite believe it was written by a 16 year old. It was sort of the anti-Little House on the Praire. Here being a poor agricultural worker was very hard work, people went hungary and people lost what little they had very easily. There were drunken fathers who ruined lives and kindly neighbours who helped...more

like 1 like · see review

Oct 27, 2012 Julia rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: australian, classics, biographical

Now, this story was forced on me by my mother who learnt about Miles Franklin while we were in America and then found this book on our arrival in Australia at which point she had to buy it.
This is, in a way, an autobiography of the author told with different names for the characters so that it seems more of a story than her actual life. Miles Franklin wrote My Brilliant Career when she was 16 and longed to leave her family's dairy farm and to become a writer. She holds a deep resentment of all m...more

like · see review

Sep 11, 2012 Le koala Lit rated it 4 of 5 stars

Si vous cherchez un livre qui vous transportera au cœur de l’Australie de la fin du 19e siècle (publié en 1899), dans un environnement hostile et fascinant, je vous conseille vivement Ma brillant carrière de Miles Franklin.

Sybylla Melvyn a tout juste 16 ans quand elle commence son journal. Elle nous prévient des le début que « cette histoire est uniquement à propos de moi, je ne l’écris dans aucun autre but. Je ne m’excuse pas d’être narcissique. » Cette ouverture nous indique très clairement le...more

like · see review

May 20, 2012 Rosemarie Herbert rated it 2 of 5 stars

This review has been crossposted from my blog Review from Rose's Book Reviews Please head there for more in-depth reviews by me.

Sybylla is going to have a brilliant career... in doing nothing. Out in the Australian Bush, and even in town, it's obvious that Sybylla doesn't belong. This is a prime example of early Australian literature, and it's worth a read if you like that type of thing, or the poetry of the 1890s isn't for you.

For years I didn't know that Miles Franklin was a woman. Upon now re...more This review has been crossposted from my blog Review from Rose's Book Reviews Please head there for more in-depth reviews by me.

Sybylla is going to have a brilliant career... in doing nothing. Out in the Australian Bush, and even in town, it's obvious that Sybylla doesn't belong. This is a prime example of early Australian literature, and it's worth a read if you like that type of thing, or the poetry of the 1890s isn't for you.

For years I didn't know that Miles Franklin was a woman. Upon now reading it, it's obvious that it is! She says it's not romantic, but in a way it is. Sybylla is lovable, in an irritating sort of way. The foreword by Henry Lawson is rather masculine, and I"m not sure it's really in keeping with the book, but it does display the attitudes of men towards women's writing at the time.

Before I started reading, I knew the ending because I had already read some references on the topic (hello essay topic of mateship). So I knew it was doomed from the start! I still persevered though, and in the end I was reading past my bed time because I wanted to see what the stupid Sybylla would do! There is a sequel to this book ('My Career Goes Bung'), which I don't think I'll bother reading (although I am somewhat curious).

Australian fiction doesn't do anything for me. Certainly not Australian fiction from the literary period of the 1890s. I'm sure there are better examples of Australian fiction, and I do enjoy some Australian fantasy, but novels of mateship and the hardships of the Bush don't seem to do anything for me. UnAustralian of me, I know, I know.

I can understand why I am set to study it, because it is a relatively good example of its kind. And it is extremely well known. This is rather reminicent of the writings of Jane Austin, which I also didn't enjoy. However, if you enjoy fiction in the style of Austin, and don't mind a bit of Australian slang, this is a good book to get right into it. The language isn't particularly hard, as long as you understand the Australianisms.

I feel like I've given you a list of reasons not to read it, and very little on the good aspects of the book. For a first novel by an early Australian writer, it's not that bad. The settings are well described, and you can understand the relationships of Sybylla with her family nicely. There is little action, but what there is is quite good. Sybylla seems to get into trouble over everything! And there is certainly no 'Brilliant Career' to speak of.

My copy was from the library, and the version of it had a surprising number of typos. Not unreadable, just that the editors seemed not to take any care. Or perhaps it was left over from the original manuscript - whatever, it was just a shame. That was reflected in the boring cover you see in the above image. The book is obviously riding on its reputation as a classic, not looking to pull readers on the basis of looks or story line alone.(less)

like · see review

Feb 18, 2012 Rebeccahowden rated it 3 of 5 stars

I decided it was pretty important that I finally read this book. To be honest, I’m not sure what I was expecting it to be like, but I wasn’t expecting it to be a romance, though I wasn’t particularly disappointed by this. In a way, it feels very similar to other “marriage plot” stories of the time, except that Sybylla has an extra dose of sass and barb and is determined that she won’t get married at all, because she wants to actually achieve something for herself in her life. It’s a pretty tame...more

like · see review

Aug 07, 2011 1.1 rated it 3 of 5 stars

Jane Eyre but in Australia but she has even more deeply-rooted insecurities and acts out a lot. Plenty of angst, none of it particularly compelling. If nothing else the heroine was sympathetic at the start but then I guess Franklin wanted to show how defeatism and negativism get annoying over time. They do, but the book has enough other charms - it's probably great reading for individualist teenaged girls who think the Bronte sisters are too mainstream and who read Twilight just to smirk at it.

T...more

like 1 like · see review

May 12, 2010 Esther rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: classic, audio-book

She fooled me. I thought for the longest time that I was reading a true story. There were things that rang so true, I think they WERE real. Franklin must have been well acquainted with the feelings of frustration and constraint and hopelessness at being so far removed from any opportunity to use her gifts and pursue her interests. The suffocation she describes is too vivid to be fictional. The bitterness is exactly that of a young person - I recognized it well. I am amazed that she wrote so trul...more

like 1 like · see review

Jan 29, 2012 Anne rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

like 1 like · see review

Feb 01, 2012 JC rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: adolescence, australia, australian-literature, classic, feminism, gender

Did I really start reading this on Australia Day? How fitting if I did. Nevertheless, I must feel a little ashamed that, as an Australian and a feminist and Australian studies type person, I had not read this to now. I kept on meaning to but...you know, other things. Look, don't worry, my wrist has been thoroughly slapped and the most important thing is that I have read it now. Even more important, I suppose, is that I really liked it. Sybylla is exasperating and entertaining, awful and wonderfu...more

like 2 likes · see review

Feb 12, 2012 Mrsgaskell rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, 8-star

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Miles Franklin was a teenager when she wrote this novel, apparently closely based on her life, in 1901.

Sybylla Melvyn is passionate and headstrong. For the first nine years of her life, her family lived in relative comfort. Her father Richard Melvyn held three stations in Australia where he bred cattle and horses. Her mother came from a respectable old Australian family. Their home was filled with books and music and a steady stream of interesting visitors. But Dick Melvyn became dissatisfied an...more Miles Franklin was a teenager when she wrote this novel, apparently closely based on her life, in 1901.

Sybylla Melvyn is passionate and headstrong. For the first nine years of her life, her family lived in relative comfort. Her father Richard Melvyn held three stations in Australia where he bred cattle and horses. Her mother came from a respectable old Australian family. Their home was filled with books and music and a steady stream of interesting visitors. But Dick Melvyn became dissatisfied and purchased a thousand acres at Possum Gully where he intended to raise sheep. This area was more populated than the stations where the family had lived previously but the sheep and dairy farmers were less cultured. Sybylla's father was away frequently and much of the work fell upon his wife and children. The venture was not successful and they then turned to dairy farming and their life became one of hardship. Gentlemanly Dick Melvyn turned to drink. Sybylla was unhappy and unable to accept their new circumstances. Respite came when she was sixteen and she was asked to go stay with her grandmother and her aunt and uncle. Books and music and culture re-entered her life. She also met the wealthy neighboring landowner Harry Beecham. But after a year this lovely interval came to an end. Sybylla's father had borrowed money from a friend and was unable to pay the interest. An agreement had been reached whereby Sybylla would teach the man's children in lieu of the interest. This family, although not unkind, were dirty, slovenly, and virtually illiterate. Sybylla was so miserable that eventually she became physically ill and had to be sent home.

Sybylla was convinced that she was ugly and that no man would ever love her for that reason. She also felt strongly that she never wanted to get married. She wanted to be a writer. But Harry Beecham was attracted to her as she was to him. She became secretly engaged to him and yet appeared to have no intention of marrying him. When he lost his money, they agreed that he would return to see her in three years. Before that time he had inherited another fortune and returned to his property. Ultimately, she turned down his offer of marriage. I couldn't help but feel that because of her emotional, passionate, and volatile nature she failed to recognize a true opportunity for happiness. However, I enjoyed the book very much and feel that the ending, though personally disappointing, was believable. Sybylla's actions and reactions come across authentically - I was not surprised to learn of the author's youth.

(less)

like 1 like · see review

Jul 28, 2011 Jillian added it · review of another edition

I liked it. I've always avoided this book being under the misunderstanding that it was a dry and dusty tome. (ie boring!) I'm glad I gave it a go, as it is certainly not boring. Sybylla is an odd girl, kind of like Anne of Green Gables with a fervent feminist streak. It's nice to see a romance written by a young girl that doesn't have a cloying, happy ending, and I admire her resolve to do the "right" thing by Harold in the end, even though that may not be what he thinks he wants. I'm quite cert...more

like 3 likes · see review

Oct 25, 2009 Angela Alcorn rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: australian-or-new-zealand-author, australian-literature, fiction, female-author-literature, essential-reading, second-hand-bookshop-wishlist, read-1994-and-before, ange-recommends, young-adult-educational-material, margaret-fink-favourite-classics

I read this for year 12 English, so my memories of it are both vague and tainted by the fact that I had to dissect the book. End result though: I still love it.

When I started the book, I found it very difficult to get in to. The protagonist just seemed to be a whining, demanding, annoying excuse for a human being. It's really tough to keep reading when you start to hate the character telling the story. In fact, I recall a "first impressions" essay I wrote after reading very little of the book wh...more

like 1 like · see review

Sep 21, 2010 Louise Tobin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: australian, classics, read-in-2010

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This book truly leaves me with a pang of sadness, surely an indication of the talent of the author.

This is a semi autobiograpy written by Miles franklin in the late 1890's, and it certainly reflects the time. Set in country Australia, our narrator grows up on a farm in the midst of a drought, which turns her father to alcohol. Syb, our narrator, is a bit different from other girls at this time. She is self described as being plain, and revokes any thoughts of marriage. She is unafraid of hard wo...more

like · see review

Apr 24, 2013 Leah Anderson rated it 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed the read, but after hearing about this book for years, and a book I had always wanted to read, I wondered at the end what all the hype was about. Was it just because a woman wrote the book- so long ago- maybe. Women back then who had a yearning for knowledge, arts and the finer things - couldn't satisfy their desire, as these things were out of their grasp when poor. Their choices were marriage and spinsterhood at home with the parents. (or couldn't they teach?)

There was no climatic s...more I enjoyed the read, but after hearing about this book for years, and a book I had always wanted to read, I wondered at the end what all the hype was about. Was it just because a woman wrote the book- so long ago- maybe. Women back then who had a yearning for knowledge, arts and the finer things - couldn't satisfy their desire, as these things were out of their grasp when poor. Their choices were marriage and spinsterhood at home with the parents. (or couldn't they teach?)

There was no climatic story, and the book was not believable to me. That she chose to stay with a mother that treated her with disdaine, little regard for all her hard working efforts on the poor farm, and not a good word to say to her daughter. Her mother contributed to her poor body image, saying she was ugly which is just as deplorable as a parent calling a young girl fat. Emotional abuse, we'd call it today, yet the book would have you believe that this was a valid choice over a fellow who was a friend, and one she knew would treat her well. He, unlike the mother, loved her. It all seems unlikely to me. I can't believe a mother would treat a daughter like this, or she would also choose the hard life, and give up her dream of literature and writing as well. Is the old saying; 'Treat them mean keep them keen', really so?

On the possitive side, I liked the way the author kept the story moving, her description of the Australian harsh and soft landscape's, characters and story structure. I liked the main character Syb, except for her seeming to sometimes play with the male leads feelings. I found that frustrating. In one part of the book she said she thinks males have no feelings, and then in another- while leaving her grandma's farm - she worries the chinaman sitting near her may have his feelings hurt. Quite a contradiction! I did not like the mother or father 'at' all, and lost all respect for the aunt that dropped Syb like a hot potatoe once she had left her grandmother's residence. I really liked the male leading character- such an upright fellow. Honest. (less)

like · see review

Jan 25, 2013 Pauline rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: australian-women-writers

Henry Lawson famously avoided making an opinion on the ‘girlishly emotional’ parts of this book, so this ‘girl reader’ is going out on a limb to say that it is precisely those parts that make this book worth reading. In refusing to give us a romantic heroine who plays by the rules of the genre, Miles Franklin has created a rare and fascinating character. Instead of reassuring us, Franklin leaves open the crucial questions of what is good conduct in a young woman, and what is a price worth paying...more

like 1 like · see review

May 10, 2013 Malcolm rated it 1 of 5 stars

I did not rate this book highly but it certainly deserves to be read.
First of all, it gives a picture of life in Australia at the end of the nineteenth century. Miles Franklin doesn't explain the occasional piece of Australian slang and she couldn't realise that referring to indigenous Australians as Blackfellows or Lebanese traders as Assyriann hawkers would sound offensive to our ears.
Secondly, it can be read as a feminist text as it shows what the role of women was like in that society and th...more

like · see review

Jan 27, 2011 Phoenix rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anyone, but might be particularly suitable for women (young and old)

I first read 'My Brilliant Career' when I was in high school as part of the English curriculum. I could not remember much about the story, but I could not shake the feeling that identified greatly with the main character, Sybylla Melvyn.

As part of my personal journey of rediscovering the Great Australian Spirit, I decided to re-read 'My Brilliant Career'. I have been pleasantly surprised.

Although at times Sybylla Melvyn annoyed with her self-centric, teenage view of the world, many other times s...more

like 1 like · see review

Nov 30, 2009 Manda rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: virago-modern-classic, read-in-2008

This book was written by a 16 year old girl in Australia, and first published in 1901. It is presented as fiction, but has much in common with the writer's own life. The title, by the way, is ironic.

The story is of how the writer's family go form a comfortable life on a cattle station to poverty on a dairy selection. A romance is entwined in the tale, but the protagonist of the story is fiercely independant, and the romance does not take it's normal course.

I am miles removed from the life descri...more

like · see review

May 11, 2009 Jemima rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: classics

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

like · see review

Jun 09, 2011 Wendy rated it 3 of 5 stars

The star ratings need to be modified. Especially the 2-4 star ratings. Some 3 stars are so-so, more 2 1/2, whereas this one lends itself more to a 3 1/2. I really enjoyed the writing style---there was such a strong voice: her craving for beauty, culture, and love; likewise her resentment for her embittered parents and the cultural gender restrictions. It is very poignant. However . . . as much as I sympathized with the main character and her struggles, some of it seemed too fantastical, and the...more

like · see review

Nov 07, 2012 Teshii rated it 2 of 5 stars

Quit the self pitying. Honestly, when our aussie teacher told us to look for common aussie characteristics, we ended only bashing out head against the wall. Syb got to be the most annoying, arrogant girl but rather still lovable in a way. All the guys couldnt stop complaining about how sexist she is being. So at the end of the lesson we stick to the stereotype aussie we keep hearing just to annoyed our teacher.
As for the ending, I was hoping Syb was going to end up with Harold Beecham. They wer...more

like · see review

Jan 10, 2013 Charlotte Harper rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: literary-fiction

What a character the contrary and mischievous Sybylla Melvyn is! She’ll stay with me forever now I’ve met her in the pages of Miles Franklin’s most famous novel, along with her extraordinary views on marriage, race, animal welfare and the creative spirit.

Melvyn is a fictionalized version of Franklin herself, with the same overlong, thick plait of hair, tiny waist, feminist views and bookish ways as the author.

Like Franklin, she experiences poverty and hardship as well as pleasant homestead life;...more

like · see review

Feb 21, 2013 Stephanie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-2013, aww-2013

I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with this book.

For its time, and the fact that it was written by Franklin when she was a teenager (!), it is a brilliant novel. The writing ability that Franklin had so young is amazing - she manages to capture so much of Australia, and her protagonist, Sybylla, lives and breathes from the first moment she steps onto the page.

I did find Sybylla to be a frustrating protagonist, due to her general inability to decide on what she wants (or who she wants), bu...more

like 1 like · see review

Oct 17, 2011 Leir rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: austrayan

My Brilliant Career definitely isn't a masterpiece. It doesn't bring too much to the thematic table and it certainly won't completely change your literary world-view, but it does give us all Franklin's alter ego Sybylla who has such charm and strength as a character and as a narrator that when coupled with a few interesting undercurrents (especially in regards to Sybylla's relationship with Harold and the nature of conceit and control, as well as a few political points) I couldn't help but be so...more

like · see review

Dec 22, 2011 Dianne rated it 4 of 5 stars

Embarrassed to admit I'd seen the movie years ago, but never read the book. Went to an exhibition in Canberra a few years ago that had lots of information about Miles Franklin and intended to read her. Finally got this one on my Kindle as a start.

I loved the sense of place she evokes, her love of the Australian countryside and her ability to present unsophisticated, even a bit loutish, country people with affection and understanding. The story is engrossing and the characters very well drawn, e...more

like · see review

Mar 31, 2010 Lucy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: classics, school

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

like 1 like · see review

Sep 26, 2008 Jon rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: australian-lit, classics

Australian Lit Classic:

resembles an exponentially more mature version of "Are you there god, its me margaret" with the focus on anguish about life goals and the role of women in early 1900's Australia instead of 'do my peers except me' in dear god, me margaret. Draws together important historical elements mixed with historical myths; interesting and difficult to separate the 2, the study of which can be alluminating to early 1900's culture and history. Also clever critique of the sexism towards...more

like · see review

May 06, 2013 Gabi Coatsworth rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: classics, ya

It's a first novel, written by a very young woman in Australia in the 1800's. And it's a great introduction to both Australian literature and history. The writing is patchy, because she was so young, but the scenes she describes are vivid and lively, and show both the impoverished and the richer Australians of the time. recommended if you're planning a visit there, or if you're interested in a thinly disguised memoir of the period.

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 77 78 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

combine
Other Editions (57)

More editions...

Genres

Classics

50 users

Cultural > Australia

37 users

Historical Fiction

15 users

Literature

12 users

Literary Fiction

5 users

Book Club

5 users

Literature > 20th Century

3 users

Academic > School

3 users

Novels

3 users

Feminism

3 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Miles Franklin

Stella Maria Sarah Miles Franklin was born in 1879 in rural Australia. My Brilliant Career, her first novel, was published to much excitement and acclaim. She moved to Sydney where she became involved in feminist and literary circles and then onto the USA in 1907.

She was committed to the development of a uniquely Australian form of literature, and she actively pursued this goal by supporting write...more

More about Miles Franklin...

Books by Miles Franklin

My Brilliant Career: My Career Goes Bung

My Career Goes Bung - Purporting to be the Autobiography Of Sybylla Penelope Melvyn

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About My Brilliant Career

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

Quotes from My Brilliant Career

“Our greatest heart-treasure is a knowledge that there is in creation an individual to whom our existence is necessary - some one who is part of our life as we are part of theirs, some one in whose life we feel assured our death would leave a gap for a day or two.” — 4 people liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: My Brilliant Career
avg rating	preview: My Brilliant Career Goodreads rating: 3.76 (1385 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/119042.My_Brilliant_Career?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348054579l/119042.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/119042.My_Brilliant_Career?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin[/url]

My Brilliant Career

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website