It was the book which saw it’s teenage author have the country’s most prestigious literary awards named after her and the film which launched the careers of Judy Davis and Sam Neill. Now, My Brilliant Career is getting a Netflix makeover. Here’s everything we know so far about the upcoming Aussie TV series.
Where can I watch My Brilliant Career?
Currently in production, haven’t yet been given an air date for the Netflix series. However if you want to rewatch the 1979 Australian film that made stars of it’s previously unknown cast, you can watch My Brilliant Career on ABCiview or on Netflix.
Who wrote My Brilliant Career?
Stella Maria Sarah Miles Franklin was only 19 when she wrote her debut novel, stealing hours in the evenings after she’d finished her chores at the drought-ridden family diary farm near Goulburn in regional NSW. All up, it took her six months to complete.
When the novel was continually rejected by Australian publishers, she sent a copy to acclaimed poet Henry Lawson. Immediately, he knew it was a hit. Using his contacts, he arranged for the book to be published William Blackwood & Son in Edinburgh. In 1901 under the male pseudonym of Miles Franklin the book was release. Not that her gender was hidden for long.
In a preface for the novel, Henry wrote: “I hadn’t read three pages when I saw what you will no doubt see at once – that the story had been written by a girl. And as I went on I saw that the work was Australian – born of the bush … the descriptions of bush life and scenery came startlingly, painfully real to me, and I know that.”
What is My Brilliant Career about?
Thought to be largely autobiographical, Miles Franklin’story follows Sybyella Melvyn, a clever, headstrong young girl growing up in rural Australia in the 1890s. As drought grips the country and her family slides into poverty (and her father turning to the bottle to cope), Sybella is sent with her far-better-off grandmother.
It’s here she meets the wealthy and handsome Harold Beecham, who – despite Sybyella believing herself to be ugly and undesirable to a prospective husband due to her lack of wealth and abundance of brains – falls in love with her and proposes.
But far from being a classic romance tale, Sybyella decides she doesn’t want marriage. Instead, she wants to pursue a career as a writer. “I can’t lose myself in someone else’s life when I haven’t lived my own yet,” she proclaims – a shocking outcome for a woman of her time. What will that mean for her future?
Who is in Netflix series My Brilliant Career?
There is a fantastic local cast including:
- Philippa Northeast (Territory, The Newsreader) as Sybylla
- Christopher Chung (Slow Horses, Blitz) as Harry
- Anna Chancellor (My Lady Jane, Outrageous) as Mrs Bossier
- Genevieve O’Reilly (Andor, The Dry) as Helen
- Kate Mulvany (Hunters, Elvis) as Augusta
- Jake Dunn (What It Feels Like For a Girl, Ballad of Renegade Nell) as Frank
- Alexander England (Black Snow, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart) as Julius
Sherry-Lee Watson (Thou Shalt Not Steal, Heartbreak High) as Nell - Miah Madden (Paper Dolls, The Clearing) as Betty
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