A brief introduction follows the ‘scream’, which shows Sybylla as a bold and happy little girl enjoying an ideal rural childhood. It is carefully prefaced with her external view as a writing presence, before the opening scream. The novel tracks the life experiences of Sybylla Melvyn. There are also a set of welcoming remarks from the ‘author’ that offer a playful warning.
Henry Lawson’s preface to the novel, in which he talks about his ability to judge the ‘painfully real’ depictions of bush life, versus his inability to comment on the ‘girlishly emotional’ bits, is usually published as a preface, and if it is read first it can dilute the impact of the opening cries. My Brilliant Career opens with a howl: the very first words of the story proper are not words at all, but inarticulate cries of pain, like a birth: ‘”Boo, hoo! Ow, ow Oh! oh!”‘(Franklin p.
Watch a short video on this text from the Books That Made Us series, available via ABC Education! Essay by Susan K.
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