Written by Australian author Miles Franklin (1879-1954) when she was still a teenager, My Brilliant Career, published in 1901, caused an uproar in its native country so strong that Franklin pulled the book out of circulation. The book sparked controversy because of the its harsh depiction of the boredom, poverty, and despair in the farming towns of New South Wales. Franklin’s protagonist, Sybylla Melvyn, is a hypersensitive, whip-smart teenage tomboy who dreams of being a writer and who struggles against a culture that views marriage and motherhood as the highest achievement for a young girl.

Given its first-person narrator unapologetically advocating for her independence, the novel was rediscovered two decades after Franklin’s death and embraced as an early expression of feminism. That rediscovery led to an acclaimed 1979 film adaptation directed by Gillian Armstrong, which launched the careers of both Judy Davis and Sam Neill.

Although marketed as a Young Adult novel, the book explores difficult questions about a woman’s identity in a patriarchal culture; the power of a young girl’s dreams against her responsibilities to her family; the difficult struggle to find love not driven by sex; and the power of art, specifically literature and music, to lift and inspire.

This study guide uses the 2020 independently published paperback edition.

Plot Summary

At the age of nine, Sybylla Melvyn moves with her family to ‘Possum Gully, a remote rural town in New South Wales, Australia. Her father, Dick, is determined to successfully run a 1000-acre sheep farm. However, Dick is unprepared for the hard realities of running the farm, which becomes a financial liability. Meanwhile, Sybylla aspires to be a singer or a writer—what she calls her brilliant career. She suffers in the cultural backwaters of ‘Possum Gully. The farm edges toward bankruptcy, and Dick pursues ruinous loans to keep the farm going. Desperate, the family sends Sybylla to live with her grandmother in distant Caddagat. Relieved to be out of ‘Possum Gully, Sybylla loves her grandmother’s spacious home and her gentle, if conservative, demeanor.

Sybylla meets the family attorney, a man is his 20s named Everard Grey, who is immediately taken by Sybylla’s comely face and talents. Smitten, he proposes marriage to the girl, who is only 16. Sybylla, who has something of a poor self-image, politely but firmly declines. Shortly after, Frank Hawden, who runs the livestock on the farm, also proposes to Sybylla, telling her that when he turns 24, he will take over his family farm back in England. Again, Sybylla declines.

The nearest neighbor to her grandmother is the Beechum family, who owns the Five-Bob farm. When Sybylla meets Harry Beechum, the tall, ruggedly handsome, sunburned scion of the family, she is compelled in ways she does not entirely understand. He is quiet and coolly confident, and best of all he plays piano. The two form a friendship, though Sybylla is cautioned that Harry has a temper. When Harry’s family asks to “borrow” Sybylla to help out for a week or two, Sybylla eagerly accepts. Everything about Five-Bob is splendid, and Sybylla feels contented. Much of that contentment comes from her friendship with Harry.

When she returns to Caddagat, she and Harry continue to see each other until, during one of his visits, Harry proposes marriage and offers Sybylla an expensive diamond ring, a family heirloom. Sybylla agrees only to wear it for three months before she accepts the offer outright. Harry, a bit puzzled, agrees. A few weeks later at Sybylla’s 17th birthday party, Harry, angered over the attention Sybylla pays to other men at the party, insists on her behaving more appropriately. Sybylla returns the ring but later apologizes and promises to be more aware of her behavior.

Just weeks later, Harry confides in Sybylla that, because of numerous unexpected financial setbacks, he sold Five-Bob and is now essentially a pauper. Sybylla assures him that does not matter, but he promises to reboot his fortunes before Sybylla reaches marrying age, 21, and he departs for Sydney. Weeks pass, and Sybylla’s mother tells her that because of her father’s increasing debts, Sybylla is to work as a servant-governess for a family in distant Barney’s Gap. The father there loaned Dick a huge sum, and Dick could not repay it.

Sybylla loathes life at the farm. The conditions are primitive, the children unruly, and her days are long and boring. She languishes for months until, fearing for her health, the family sends her back home, the debt forgiven.

Upon her return, Sybylla finds her father spiraling into depression and ill health. Her younger sister has gone off to help the Beechum family. When Sybylla feels most lost, she receives a letter from Harry. He has inherited a great sum of money and is ready to reclaim Five-Bob and restore their relationship. He declares his love for her again.

However, Sybylla turns him down, determined to be a writer and finding in Harry’s fawning need a sign that any marriage with him would be catastrophic. Harry agrees to break off their relationship; he heads off to America to sort through his feelings. Sybylla, though depressed initially, decides she has had enough of despair and that she will devote herself to writing, proud to be an Australian and eager to capture that way of life.