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The Very Secretive and Passionate Stella Miles Franklin
The first novel written about the enigmatic literary legend
“A pure delight.”—Elle
“Lapierre’s best novel so far.”—Le Nouvel Obs
Australia, 1901. Miles Franklin, the young daughter of poor bush farmers, manages to publish her first novel against all odds. A work of remarkable boldness and passion, it becomes an immense success in the English-speaking world. While she strives to maintain her anonymity under a male pseudonym, her identity is revealed and she is exposed to the misogynistic prejudices of her time.
Restless, indomitable, and unwilling to be silenced, Miles reinvents herself again and again across three continents. In Sydney, she pens a searing exposé of working women’s lives. In America, she throws herself into the suffrage movement. She volunteers with the Serbian Red Cross during the First World War, then joins the radical circles of 1920s Europe, sparring with critics and mingling with writers and artists.
She forges countless friendships, experiences magnificent loves, and, through it all, nurtures her passion for writing and her ambition for literary success.
Guided by her generosity and sense of humor, Miles eventually returns to Australia, where she will deliver a final blow to the critics who proclaimed that her wit and her genius had dried up.
“A pure delight.”—Elle
“Lapierre’s best novel so far.”—Le Nouvel Obs
Australia, 1901. Miles Franklin, the young daughter of poor bush farmers, manages to publish her first novel against all odds. A work of remarkable boldness and passion, it becomes an immense success in the English-speaking world. While she strives to maintain her anonymity under a male pseudonym, her identity is revealed and she is exposed to the misogynistic prejudices of her time.
Restless, indomitable, and unwilling to be silenced, Miles reinvents herself again and again across three continents. In Sydney, she pens a searing exposé of working women’s lives. In America, she throws herself into the suffrage movement. She volunteers with the Serbian Red Cross during the First World War, then joins the radical circles of 1920s Europe, sparring with critics and mingling with writers and artists.
She forges countless friendships, experiences magnificent loves, and, through it all, nurtures her passion for writing and her ambition for literary success.
Guided by her generosity and sense of humor, Miles eventually returns to Australia, where she will deliver a final blow to the critics who proclaimed that her wit and her genius had dried up.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
496 pages, Paperback
Published June 2, 2026
About the author
Alexandra Lapierre
39 books175 followersAlexandra Lapierre has won international acclaim for her writing. Her works have been widely translated and she has received numerous awards, including the Honorary Award of the Association of American University Women. She earned an MFA degree in 1981 from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles.
The daughter of the writer Dominique Lapierre, she was brought up surrounded by books. At the Sorbonne in Paris, she learned how to research. And, she said, her studies at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles and the University of Southern California taught her how to tell a story, "something we have forgotten a bit in French literature today."
She was voted Woman of Culture by the city of Rome, Italy, and has been nominated Chevalier in the “Order of Arts and Letters” by the French government. Her most recent work, L’Excessive, was an immediate best seller in Europe and is being developed for a television series. Alexandra Lapierre lives in Paris.
The daughter of the writer Dominique Lapierre, she was brought up surrounded by books. At the Sorbonne in Paris, she learned how to research. And, she said, her studies at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles and the University of Southern California taught her how to tell a story, "something we have forgotten a bit in French literature today."
She was voted Woman of Culture by the city of Rome, Italy, and has been nominated Chevalier in the “Order of Arts and Letters” by the French government. Her most recent work, L’Excessive, was an immediate best seller in Europe and is being developed for a television series. Alexandra Lapierre lives in Paris.
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Review of advance copy received from Publisher
I had never heard of Stella Miles Franklin before reading this but was utterly captivated by this fictionalised version of her history - as a girl brought up in the Australian bush her desire to write is awe inspiring as is her stubborn determination to see her name in print. The author has harnessed Stella's spirit as well as her vulnerable side set against the social history of the time - from WW1 on the book is drawn from her journals and other material from her friends.
Any book that leads me to do more research myself is always one I will remember. Compelling read ❤️
Any book that leads me to do more research myself is always one I will remember. Compelling read ❤️
Displaying 1 of 1 review