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

An episode of [The Dead Can't Sue](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/6781075099), 24 Aug 2026, 44 min.

Audio: https://mediacore-live-production.akamaized.net/audio/02/np/Z/vu.mp3

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

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