Netflix has released a film adaptation of *My Brilliant Career*: Who Was Miles Franklin?
Netflix has released a new TV adaptation of the novel *My Brilliant Career* by Australian author Stella Miles Franklin. Two prestigious Australian literary awards are named after her—the Miles Franklin Literary Award and the Stella Prize, according to ABC News Australia.
Stella Maria Sarah Miles Franklin was born in 1879 in Talbing, New South Wales. She was the eldest of six children and spent the first decade of her life on her family’s farm, Brindabella Station. Due to drought and economic depression, the family faced financial hardship, but Franklin continued to read and write. By the age of 16, she was already contributing articles to a local newspaper.
At age 19, Franklin began working on *My Brilliant Career*. She wrote the novel in six months, working at night after tending to farm chores and caring for her younger brothers and sisters. The publisher Angus & Robertson initially rejected the manuscript, but the poet Henry Lawson later helped the author. In 1901, the book was published by a British publisher, after which it gained international recognition.
For more breaking news, follow the UA.News Telegram channel.
After the success of her debut novel, Franklin’s subsequent books were rejected by publishers, and she found herself short on funds. The writer worked as a maid under the name Sarah Frankling to investigate the working conditions of domestic staff in wealthy households. She was unable to publish a manuscript about this experience due to fears of potential libel suits, so she began writing for *The Sydney Morning Herald* instead.
In 1906, Franklin moved to the United States, where she collaborated with social reformer Alice Henry in Chicago at the National Women’s Trade Union League of America. According to historian Alesia Simmonds, Franklin participated in picket lines and rallies, collected stories from strikers, and witnessed police violence. During World War I, Franklin, who opposed the war, moved to England and worked as a cook and nurse at the Scottish Women’s Hospital for Serbian soldiers in Macedonia.
The writer returned to Australia in 1927. Her novel *All that Swagger*, published in 1936, restored her reputation in the country. Franklin supported Australian authors and literary publications, mentored younger writers, and spoke out against censorship. She died in 1954 at the age of 74, leaving her estate to establish a literary prize for Australian literature.
