Miles Franklin: Our feminist hero flirts with fascism (part 2)

24 Aug 2026 · 44 min

Episode Miles Franklin: Our feminist hero flirts with fascism (part 2)

0:00 44:10

While the blokes were off on the frontlines of WWI, Miles Franklin used writing as her weapon for changing the world. But was our much-loved matriarch of Australian literature a tad fascist?

In the second part of Miles Franklin's story, we see her go from bush girl to political animal. Starting with Miles’s globe-trotting feminist and labour activist days, to her flirtations with not one but two millionaire brothers, it’s a wild ride.

Warning: This episode discusses sexual assault.

SOURCES

Roe, Jill. Her brilliant career: the life of Stella Miles Franklin. Harvard University Press, 2009

Barnard, Marjorie. Miles Franklin, Hill of Content, 1967

Roe, Jill. Miles Franklin: A Short Biography, 2018

Lapierre, Alexandre. The Very Secretive and Passionate Stella Miles Franklin, Allen & Unwin, 2026

Sheridan, Susan. "Louisa Lawson, Miles Franklin and Feminist Writing, 1888–1901." Australian Feminist Studies 3.7-8 (1988): 29-47

Knowles, Sandra. "The not quite real Miles Franklin: Diaries as performance." Journal of the Association for the Study of Australian Literature 4 (2005): 185-200

Franks, Rachel. "Miles Franklin." State Library of New South Wales, 2022

Knowles, Sandra. The performances of a psychic privacy: waiting for the real Miles Franklin. Diss. UNSW Sydney, 2007

Bird, David. Nazi Dreamtime: Australian Enthusiasts for Hitler's Germany. Anthem Press, 2014

• Hosted by Alecia Simmonds and Leigh Boucher • Supervising Producer: Hannah Reich • Producer: Hannah Jose • Video producer: Christian Harimanow • Executive Producers: Clare Rawlinson and Eric George • Head of ABC Audio on Demand: Jessica Radburn • Theme: Martin Peralta • Artwork: Gabriel Virata-Alves

Links in the notes 1

https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/book/Alexandra-Lapierre-translated-by-Tina-Kover-Very-Secretive-And-Passionate-Stella-Miles-Franklin-9781787706286__;!!FvZmfVE!ALe57ZxP9MjPgo4vVohaCM26ja53KAjfjp1YWPnrzXHrJ4oj2WV-_Cgk20J829r3S55r4FU9PkqSpsAK0-SkR48kqHk$

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