Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Back to the Classics Challenge: My Brilliant Career and Green Dolphin Street

I was torn about my options for the category of a Classic from Africa, Asia or Oceania for the Back to the Classics 2019 Challenge hosted by Karen at the blog Books and Chocolate. While I was very tempted to buy a copy of Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o s A Grain of Wheat, I decited to be “good” and limited my choice to only books available from the library. Reviewing my library options, I couldn’t decide if I should read My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin or Green Dolphin Street by Elizabeth Goudge, so I read them both!

The library edition of Green Dolphin Street that I read was published as part of a reprint series titled “The Best Seller Library” which had to have been issued at least in the 1970s or beyond since The Godfather was part of the series. Also included were (all 12 titles were listed on the back) were Gone with the Wind and Dr. Zhivago so you have an idea of what kind of book Green Dolphin Street is... EPIC.

First published in 1945, it is a historical novel that begins on one of the UK Channel Islands in the 1840s when 
Marianne and Marguerite Le Patourel are still children.  Marianne and Marguerite are sisters. They are six years apart in age and could not be more different in both looks and temperament. Marianne, the eldest, is small and dark while Marguerite is tall and fair. They are also quite different in personality. Marianne is driven and ambitious; a perfectionist. Marguerite on the other hand is far more carefree and openly affectionate. Unfortunately they both fall for the same boy, William Ozanne. This love triangle is the driving force of the novel. Eventually William ends up in New Zealand (which is how this book qualifies as set in Oceania) and he writes the Le Patourel family that one of the daughters should make her way to him and become his wife. But which one does he choose?

I have read a few of this type of historical saga throughout my reading life. They require a certain commitment since they tend to be long and detail-laden. The edition I read was 500 pages long with small font. I’ll be honest, at about the halfway mark, I began to flag. I rallied and finished the book, but it really wasn’t my cup of tea. I might have enjoyed it more had I read it younger, because it wasn't the length so much as the drama that wore me out. I much preferred Goudge’s contemporary novel The Rosemary Tree, which is a more intimate story on a smaller scale. What both books did have in common, however, is an infusion of Christian mysticism which I appreciated and I understand is typical of Goudge's writing. Some attitudes towards non-whites and the lower classes in Green Dolphin Street are dated, though on the whole, I felt the author was at least trying to be sympathetic to the Maori.

My Brilliant Career is an entirely different kettle of fish! It comes across as far more authentic. I don’t believe that it is entirely autobiographical, but Franklin published it in 1901 when she was only 21 and the teenage emotions in the book (which sometimes run VERY high) seemed very realistic to me. It is also much shorter than the Goudge novel which was the reason why I decided to read both.


One thing both books have is a very headstrong main character. Sybylla from My Brilliant Career grows up as a tomboy in relative comfort on a ranch in the outback somewhere. When she is about eight years old, her family move to Possum Gully to farm cattle which turns out to be a disastrous move. Within a few years, drought and alcoholism have impoverished the family. Sybylla is the oldest and she has never gotten along with her mother, who grew up in a more refined household and who struggles to maintain both her pride and her gentility against the odds. 

Eventually Sybylla is allowed to stay with her wealthy maternal relatives. Here Sybylla is pampered and spared the backbreaking work of Possum Gully. She can indulge in her love of music and literature. Sybylla has a secret wish to someday become a writer. While staying with her grandmother, Sybylla also meets a number of eligible men, from ranch hand jackaroos to the rich and handsome neighbor, Harold Beechman. But is Sybylla willing to give up her independence and the possibility of a brilliant career to marry?

I won’t give the ending away, but I can tell you that as a reader, Sybylla is very frustrating and the author defies a conventional narrative. As I wrote, the book was written by a very young woman and Sybylla displays all the contradictions and insecurities of a teenager. I remember, I was one too.

24 comments:

  1. My mother had several books by Goudge, and I read some of them many years ago. Strangely, I remember nothing of them but a few book jackets. I'm not sure I'd bother to re-read them...maybe The Rosemary Tree or The Dean's Watch. I enjoyed them enough to remember reading them, but little else. Sybylla interests me because of the author's age when it was published and as a way to compare teenage angst through the decades.

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    1. Thanks for the comment jenclair! I really liked The Rosemary Tree when I read it a few years ago but the epic historical/romance quality of Green Dolphin Street is probably something I would have enjoyed more when younger.

      Sybylla is so fickle in her emotions! But this is true of teenagers I think!

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  2. I find that Goudge's writing is quite unique but different, so one must get accustomed to her. I've only read Island Magic so far but I own many more.

    I didn't know Miles Franklin was a woman! Interesting!

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    1. Thanks for the comment Cleo! I definitely will read more Goudge at some point. :D

      Yes, Miles Franklin was a woman! Her real name is Stella Maria Sarah Miles Franklin and two of the major Australian literary awards are named after her: Miles Franklin Award and the Stella Prize

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  3. OK, then! (-bkclubcare)

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  4. Hi Ruthiella! I'm catching up a bit on my blog reading and thought I'd pop in to see what interesting things you were up to! As always, I wasn't disappointed, as I very much enjoyed your two reviews. I've heard of Elizabeth Goudge but not read any of her books, so I was particularly interested in seeing your take on her. I totally understand your comment that you might have enjoyed Green Dolphin Street more if you had read it when you were younger. I went through a lengthy period when I adored those sweeping (and oh so very long) historical saga things, usually wrapped around a love triangle or an intense love affair that crossed oceans and/or extended over generations (Did you ever read Forever Amber? A superb example of the genre, with some very naughty (for that time period) sex thrown in! I'd also put Gone with the Wind in that category, although it has a lot of other things going on). No reflection on Goudge -- those books can be wonderful reads -- and they frequently got me interested in places or historical events that I otherwise would have ignored. But I found that, for myself, at some point I just stopped reading them (perhaps because of the length, if nothing else) and moved on to other categories of Lit. Still, a nostalgia read can be quite the thing when the mood is right, can't it? Although there's always the worry that an old favorite can disappoint . . .
    I've been meaning to check out My Favorite Career for ages and ages --- literally! I saw the movie when it was released a life time or two ago, when it was quite the art house hit. I just goggled it and was aghast to see this was around 1980 ("say it ain't so, Joe!"). I just discovered, thanks to goggle, that the actress who played Sybylla, whose name I had forgotten, was a young Judy Dench, with Harry played by an equally young Sam Neil! I never got around to reading the book, but I'm now thinking about doing a nostalgia movie night and re-watching the movie! Wonder how it will hold up?
    On a different note, did you decide on Shirley Jackson's Hangsaman? I really want to give that one another try, but I have to wait until I'm in the right mood, which all our unseasonably hot & sunny days are precluding right now. For Jackson, I need to be feeling dark and autumnal . . . .

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    1. Hi Ruthiella, great review and I think of the two books My Brilliant Career is the one I would go for. Rural Australia and New Zealnd are such wonderful settings for novels but I haven't read books from these countries and I want to and thanks for letting us know about them.

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    2. Hi Janakay,

      I did read Forever Amber. I quite enjoyed it although it is almost 1000 pages long (just checked, 972 pages). I would opine, in fact, that Amber St. Clair was in many ways a Restoration Era version of Scarlett O’Hara: not particularly likable but you have to admire her singlemindedness and chutzpah. Similar to all three books (Amber, Dolphin Street and GWTW) is the trope of a woman loving the one man she can never have. Looking back, those sweeping historical sagas are hit and miss with me. I didn’t care much for The Thorn Birds or And the Ladies of the Club either but I LOVED Shogun and Mary Stewart’s Arthurian novels.

      I am pretty sure I saw the film My Favorite Career (with Judy DAVIS – not Dench). I think that movie brought both her and Sam Neil to the attention of Hollywood. I’m guessing the film still holds back. Report back and let me know! :D

      I am reading Hangsaman and so far (about 100 pages in) I am enjoying it. It is hot here too still but if I waited for cooler weather…well, some books might never get read if I waited that long!

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    3. Thanks for the comment Kathy! I think you would enjoy My Brilliant Career. It is an interesting time capsule of what life was like during that time in Australia for some. It almost reads as non-fiction. Like you are reading someone's diary.

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  5. Greetings Ruthiella! you were totally right about the Judies -- I did indeed confuse Davis with Dench. Anyway, I remember the actress as being very good. I'll let you know about the movie, when/if I get to it (these things are very unpredictable with me and Mr. Janakay usually gets a veto, which he exercises fairly frequently).
    Your take on Amber (I had forgotten her last name) is spot on -- she is, indeed, a Restoration Scarlett, which was probably a deliberate choice (wasn't Forever published after GWTW?). I had forgotten just how very long Forever was -- I could NEVER read it again, as I'm afraid I just wouldn't find Amber and her love affairs that absorbing at this point in my life. That's a very interesting idea of yours-- that all those saga things are centered around a woman loving a guy she can never get. Wonder if its a sort of symbolic (sublimated?) aspect (at least for the books published pre-early 60s) to that mid-century, feminine mystique/frustration that was floating around in those days? Speaking of sagas, seems like we have/had very similar taste -- I liked The Thorn Birds sort of o.k. (I certainly wasn't overwhelmed), never read Ladies of the Club, loved Shogun and only, very relunctantly, shed my Mary Stewart Arthurian novels during a cross country move (I think I probably still have one or two on Kindle). I might actually read the Stewart novels again but I would be a little afraid they'd disappoint.
    I'm glad to hear Hangsaman is holding up. I'm due for a shivery, uneasy, "things moving out of the corner of my eye" (usually it's just the cat, but you never know!) read pretty soon. For October, I'm going to re-read (I think) Stewart O'Nan's The Night Country (if it doesn't hold up maybe I'll give Hangsaman another try). I didn't exactly like Night Country the first time around, but it really stayed with me and I want to re-evaluate (I think Amazon compares it to Shirley Jackson, but then, it's Amazon). Have you read any of O'Nan's books? His work seems all over the place, theme wise; despite Night Country he's certainly NOT a writer of psychological horror like Shirley Jackson. Although I've only read the one novel I've read reviews of several. The reviews are always great, and O'Nan frequently turns up on literary lists (I think Granta named him as a best young American novelist at some point). I don't think, however, that his work has a wide readership, which makes me curious about it. I'm always interested in good, quirky writers who don't quite seem to get that really wide reading public.

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    1. Greetings Janakay!

      I hope Mr. Janakay is amenable to a little trip to 19th century Australia! What kind of films, may I ask, does Mr. Janakay favor?

      Forever Amber was indeed published post GWTW and I am SURE (though I cannot prove it) that Kathleen Winsor was influenced by Margaret Mitchell. There are a lot of parallels. Without spoiling anything (as if there is anyone other than you or me reading this comment LOL) the end of Forever Amber is left kind of open. I like to think that Amber flitted over to the U.S. off the page in a sort of literary alternate universe and is a direct ancestor of Scarlett...there’s about two hundred years between them so she would be her great-great- great- great- great grandmother or something. Or maybe Amber would need to end up in Ireland since Scarlett’s father is from Ireland.

      Isn’t The Thorn Birds the ultimate version of “the one man she can’t have”? A priest for goodness sake!

      I want to reread the Mary Stewart books too. Originally I read library books but I have a paperback of The Crystal Cave that I want to get back to some day. Why don’t I take the plunge first and I will let you know how I fare?

      Hangsaman is not scary…not yet anyway. It is more uncomfortable. I have this idea that Jackson is the precursor to the awkward young millennial women portrayed in contemporary novels by Otessa Moshfegh (My Year of Rest and Relaxation), Halle Butler (The New Me) and/or Mona Awad (Bunny)…I’ve actually only read Bunny but the other two are on my list.

      I’ve never read any Stewart O'Nan books, though I am familiar with his name. I should probably remedy that.

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  6. It's too bad we aren't doing PhD dissertations in English or sociology (or pop culture) as you've mapped out a great topic! Frustration/angst/yearning in the American female, as manifested in popular mid-century middlebrow novels! (on second thought, someone probably HAS done a dissertation on this). Quite a lovely thought you had, that Amber might be Scarlett's ancestress, literally as well as "spiritually" (assuming either had any!). I do remember that Forever's ending was left a bit open -- isn't it scary, to think that Windsor may have even CONSIDERED a sequel? Another thousand pages of Amber's Adventures in Virginia? As for Thornbirds, yes, McCullough took the theme of the unavailable male about as far as it would go and then took it further. I finished the book (and I did think parts of it were o.k.) but mostly because I'm adept at the art of the skim.
    If you squeeze in a Stewart reread, I'll be very eager to hear if the Merlin novel(s) hold up, as I have some great memories there. Another great memory is Marion Zimmer Bradley's Mists of Avalon; on an historical (as opposed to mythological) retelling, Rosemary Sutcliff's Sword at Sunset. Can you tell I'm very fond of the Matter of Britain, as I think it used to be called? Just to be fair, I'll fill you in on O'Nan, assuming I ever get beyond the one novel I've read, which I don't think is at all typical of his usual choice of subject matter.
    Very interesting idea of yours, that Jackson might be a precursor of sorts to our current crop of millennial protagonists. Of the authors/novels you've listed, I've only read one Moshfegh (her debut, Eileen). I was in a minority (I wasn't wowed) but I thought it interesting enough to consider reading her second. At some point. Not any time soon.
    As for Mr. Janakay's taste in movies: well, I hate to do gender stereotyping (well, actually, no I don't!) but let's just say it doesn't run to film versions of Henry James or Jane Austen novels! Regarding My Brilliant Career ... hmm.. a young girl's quest for identity in 19th century Australia would probably be borderline veto territory. As for Austen movies: have you seen the mid-90s film version of Persuasion, with Ciaran Hinds & Amanda Root? I actually think I may risk a re-watch (regardless of veto) as I have very fond memories of it. Although I love Austen's novels, I actually don't like several of the film versions (her tone is hard to catch in our let's hug and vent age); this one is too restrained to be wildly popular evne among Austen enthusiasts, but I thought (on last viewing, at any rate) that it was just right.

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    1. Hi Janakay! Someone probably has already written something along those lines. I’m afraid I don’t have the stamina to write a dissertation on anything. BTW How’s the paper going? :D

      I did extensive research on Kathleen Windsor (ahem, I read her Wikipedia page) and apparently her first draft of Amber was FIVE times longer than the 972 published pages. So who knows, maybe there is a sequel out there somewhere with Amber in Virginia still pining after Bruce.

      I read The Mists of Avalon a few years ago. I had avoided it when younger because I objected to the author’s re-interpretation of what I then considered “canon” Arthurian myth. Which was pretty stupid on my part but you know, humans. We are dumb sometimes. I really should have read it in my 20s because I loathed it. Sorry if I burst your bubble. I hope we can remain friends? :D I would rather read Green Dolphin Street (or Forever Amber) again over a revisit to Avalon. It isn’t a feminist retelling IMO. It has all the (tired) tropes…again of a woman who can’t have the man she wants plus a lot of pagan postering and anti-Christian screed. I am an atheist so it’s not like I was offended, but it totally grated on my nerves because it was ever-present and poorly argued/presented. I have heard good things of Sutcliff and would like to read something from her. As I have noted to you before, I really wish now I’d not watched so many episodes of Mork and Mindy and read more as a teen. But even if I’d read 500 books in high school, I would still be lamenting how much more is out there, so I should just shut up and count my blessings!

      I liked Eileen by Moshfegh. Didn’t love it but was definitely intrigued enough to want to read more from the author. But I admit it is more of a character study than a novel with a plot. I have, however, an affinity for disaffected, off-kilter, often self-destructive heroines in novels.

      I wonder if you could sell My Brilliant Career as an Australian western to Mr. Janakay? I do believe there is some horseback riding and sheep ranching. And also the protagonist and her beau fall out of a boat. So it is really an action adventure movie, right? Of Jane Austen adaptations, I’ve not seen many and in almost every case, I saw the adaptation before I read the book. I love Clueless (just in general) but also as a wonderful update of Emma and I also like the Gwyneth Paltrow movie version. I don’t think one is allowed to like Gwyneth anymore because she is considered pretentious but I think she is a pretty fine actress. I really loved the 90s miniseries of Pride and Prejudice with Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth (when he dives in to the pond? OMG). I have seen the Emma Thompson version of Sense Sensibility. I’ve also seen recentish film Love and Friendship though I’ve not read the Jane Austen novella it was based on. I’ve never seen any adaptation of Persuasion. I should re-read it first because it is my second to least favorite (Mansfield Park comes last). But I think in BOTH cases of these lower ranked books that my view is very colored by MY modern sensibility. Anne and Fanny are so passive whereas Emma and Elizabeth are mouthy and get into trouble.

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    2. Greetings Ruthiella! Sorry about the delayed response (and my apologies for cluttering up your blog with all these "replies" but I've found our conversation to be most interesting) -- it's taken a 24 hour cycle for me to repair my nerves, after the shock and horror of learning that Forever Amber was initially intended to clock in at over 4,000 pages! My god, Amber must have been chasing poor Bruce through the ENTIRE North American continent! Maybe Asia as well! At all events, my nerves are sufficiently recovered to resume typing. Excellent research job, BTW. In my own extended research endeavors, Wiki has yet to fail me.
      So -- tell me how you REALLY felt about Mists of Avalon!!! I read it shortly after its publication, which, Wiki inofrms me (you'e not the only one who can do extensive research!) was 1982, around age 30 or so, so I can't plead I was a kid who couldn't be expected to know better. On the other hand, I WAS in the middle of law school, so it's quite likely I was suffering from some type of diminished mental capacity. I thought Mists was an interesting spin on the old Matter of Britain, if a bit far fetched (even for a myth. I seem to recall that the Holy Grail was actually the Mother's Caldron or some such); I can't say I probed the "feminist" aspect too deeply (besides, I hadn't yet heard your "unavailable male" theory!). As I recall, I didn't find anything objectionable in Bradley's style or writing skill; I was also moderately disposed in Bradley's favor as I had moderately liked a couple of her Darkover novels. Besides, Mists had a pretty neat cover! I must admit that I've never gone back for a re-read nor been strongly tempted to do so, so I'll bow to your far more recent assessment of its worth. Even if you HAD burst a bubble there, friends we'd remain! I love exchanging different views about books.
      Back to the Arthur myth, or myths in general really -- isn't it amazing how each age reinterprets those old stories, to make them meaningful? Each retelling reveals so much about the culture and views of the re-teller. And poor old Arthur has been a mirror to so many: Medieval French Normans & chivalry; T.H. White's Sword in the Stone; Mark Twain's Connecticut Yankee; Tennyson's Idyll's of the King -- the list goes on and on. Sutcliff gets a special shout out, as I'm especially fond of her (read her YA Romans in Britain novels at a very, very impressionable age). I think you might like her Sword at Sunset (Sutcliff goes back to the very old Celtic legends, stripped of all the French chivaric notions), but it's been so long since I read it I'm hesistant to push it too much.
      I'm afraid Mr. Janakay was very resistant to My Brilliant Career; perhaps because I lacked your very creative approach to selling it (do you work in advertising, BTW? If not, a talent wasted). Ditto for Persuasion. We compromised on expending time and actual money to see Ad Astra. I was bored; I thought two hours was a bit too long for Brad (admittedly a fav of mine) to find his inner astronaut; Mr. Janakay, on the other hand, thought it was pretty good. If you see it, let me know your own verdict.
      We really must have an Austen discussion one day. I love all the novels, but in reverse order to your own preferences! Persuasion is right at the top, for me (nothing tops P&P); I also like Mansfield Park a very great deal, although I'll concede Fanny is a bit of a drip.
      As for my paper -- the partial draft was done & my prof reasonably o.k. with it. Now I must slog on to completion . . .

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    3. Hi Janakay,

      I am please to hear your paper is coming along. On the movie front I am sorry that Brad disappointed you. Two hours is too long for most movies I think. Keep it to 1h30 minutes. If you need longer, then it should be on T.V. instead.

      I am glad we can remain friends despite my feelings about The Mists of Avalon. I know I left it too late in life but I am glad to have read it since it is such a cultural touchstone. EVERYONE was reading it in the 1980s. I would love to try Sutcliff but think I will give the Mary Stewart series a re-read chance first. I am much more relaxed now about such legends being interpreted through different lenses. I have read the first T.H. White book, which I loved very much.

      It would be fabulous to have a Austen discussion though, other than P&P, I have only read each book only once so I am not much of a scholar. But I own them all and would enjoy taking a closer look at any of them. I should start with Persuasion and then watch your recommended adaptation since I've never seen any adaptation of it yet. :D

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  7. OMG, I totally binged on Elizabeth Goudge a few decades ago. Maybe it's ime to revisit?

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    1. Thanks for the comment Emma! I've only read Goudge as an adult but I suspect her other books still hold up. I really liked The Rosemary Tree. :D

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  8. I remember this book fondly because I first saw the movie and then read the book as a teenager, and I loved and admire Syblla. Headstrong but she knew what she wanted. I haven't reread it because now I think I wouldn't care for her, and I want to remember liking her!

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    1. Thanks for the comment Jane! I admired Sybylla too for her convictions. In many ways she was born in the wrong century for a woman of her ability and talents.

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  9. I've never read any Elizabeth Goudge but she was already on my radar, but it seems I should read The Rosemary Tree!

    I've also only ever seen the movie of My Brilliant Career, but I've been thinking about what I might read for Brona's Australian Reading Month, and I've already noted my library has a copy.

    Thanks for the very helpful reviews!

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    1. Thanks for the comment reese. I am glad you found the reviews helpful. I would recommend giving My Brilliant Career a try. It is pretty short too.

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  10. I've finished My Brilliant Career now and I need to review it for November. It was not quite as I was expecting but I enjoyed it!

    Green Dolphin Street was long-winded at times -- not my favorite Goudge but I liked it as well. She never went to New Zealand but her place descriptions are always so vivid. She has an affinity to islands it seems.

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    1. Thanks for the comment Lory! I am glad you liked My Brilliant Career. I think I was expecting something much more romantic than it was. Though in its way, it was a romantic story. I enjoyed Sybylla's forthrightness though it was frustrating at times.

      The middle of Green Dolphin Street almost lost me! But I am glad I finished it! :D

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