1. Ambition
2. Australia
3. Biography
4. Friendship
5. Historical fiction
6. Imagery
7. Kindness
8. Nature
9. Orphans
10. Rural life
11. Schools
12. Social life and customs
13. Teachers
14. Visual literacy

Picture book biographies, especially those about women, have only recently appeared. ‘Miss Franklin: How Miles Franklin’s Brilliant Career Began’ is an example. She is one of Australia’s iconic writers, and the experienced contemporary author, Libby Hathorn, captures the struggles of this would-be writer as a teenager. Miles Franklin ached to be a published author at a time when female writers were rare. Miles Franklin’s iconic novel, ‘My Brilliant Career’, features the rebellious protagonist, Sybylla Melvyn. Published in 1902 when Franklin was only 19 years of age, it is widely considered to be autobiographical.

Capturing this writer’s life as she struggles to become independent and published, Libby Hathorn creates two jewel-like characters. One is Miles Franklin as the struggling governess in rural New South Wales. The second is an orphan young girl, Imp, working on a property. Illiterate and hard-headed, Imp refuses to join the local school. Yet there is a bond between the two. Imp challenges Miles to be the writer she wants to be, and Miles Franklin encourages young Imp to come to school. The two characters cleverly reflect strengths each has and encourages readers to consider pursuing dreams even when these seem out of reach.

The isolated rural setting is important to this story. Phil Lesnie’s rolling landscapes and distant vistas with their shades of distinct green, browns, greys and ochre create the Australian landscape as a character. He details the interior a rustic schoolroom on a rural property. These help readers to imagine Miles Franklin’s frustrations as she longed to be a writer and live a city life. Lesnie’s portraiture also effectively reveals the emotions of the main characters as they experience anger, frustration and boredom along with some special moments of insight. They each inspire the other to realise that we are all capable of surmounting social and economic obstacles in order to achieve our dreams. The conclusion features in the final endpaper, leaving readers satisfied that both Imp and Miles Franklin have reached each other in important ways.

In her will, Miles Franklin established a literary award for a novel of ‘highest literary merit which must present Australian Life in any of its phases’. The award is named the Miles Franklin Award in her honour. In 2013 the Stella Prize was also created in her honour. It is awarded annually for the best work of literature by an Australian woman.

1. Hachette Teachers Resources written by Robyn Sheahan-Bright, ‘Miss Franklin: How Miles Franklin’s Brilliant Career Began’ https://cdn.hachette.com.au/resources/9780734417879-teachers-resources.pdf
2. YouTube ‘Miss Franklin: how Miles Franklin’s brilliant career began’, Libby Hathorn introduces her book, explaining why she wrote it and where sources can be found to write such books https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxxt4UpqbvY
3. The Book Muse review 28 May 2019 by Ashleigh Meikle of ‘Miss Franklin: How Miles Franklin’s Brilliant Career Began’ https://ashleighmeikle.com.au/?s=Miss+Franklin+
4. ReadPlus review 13 Aug 2019 by Fran Knight of ‘Miss Franklin: How Miles Franklin’s Brilliant Career Began’ https://www.readplus.com.au/reviews/miss-franklin-how-miles-franklins-brilliant-career-began-by-libby-hathorn
5. The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia entry on Stella Marian Sarah Miles (Miles Franklin 1879-1954) http://www.womenaustralia.info/leaders/biogs/WLE0689b.htm
6. State Library of New South Wales, From the Page, ‘Miles Franklin’s Diaries’ a sample of pocket diaries that she kept from 1909 until her death in 1954. ‘This project seeks to open up this rich account of a woman committed to promoting Australian literature. These diary pages reveal the everyday, the moments of joy and the many disappointments of one of the great writers of the twentieth century.’ https://fromthepage.com/statelibrarynsw/miles-franklin-papers
7. The New York Times 4 Jan 1981 ‘Her So-So Career’ by Phyllis Rose provides an overview of Miles Franklin’s life and writing career https://www.nytimes.com/1981/01/04/books/her-so-so-career.html