Miles Franklin

Like the protagonist of her novel My Brilliant Career, Miles Franklin was the daughter of an Australian landowner and a descendant of aristocrats. Her family moved around during her childhood and early adulthood, losing more and more money until they finally settled in a suburb of Sydney in 1915. Her family could not afford an extensive education, but Franklin nevertheless took an interest in literature and writing, and she published My Brilliant Career when she was only 22. As a young woman, she worked as a nurse and a housemaid until moving to the United States in 1906. For the next several years, Franklin worked as a secretary and assisted in philanthropic efforts. In 1915, she moved to England, where she continued to write. In her time away from home, her patriotism and love of Australia grew, and she returned to Australia in 1932. She wrote more novels about the Australian bush under the pseudonym Brent of Bin Bin, and she was actively involved in Australia’s literary world. Like Sybylla Melvyn (the protagonist of My Brilliant Career), Franklin prioritized her career over romance, and she never married.