Kerrie Davies on Miles Franklin's Little-Known Years

The Curiosity Lecture series returns to the Festival with a line-up of our most thought-provoking speakers delivering one-time talks on topics of intrigue, interest and importance.

Not two years after making Australian literary history with My Brilliant Career, Miles Franklin disappeared - and when publishers rejected her subsequent novels, she left Australia for Chicago.

Uncover the mysteries of the legend's life with Kerrie Davies, whose Miles Franklin Undercover focuses on those lost years. It's a real-life sequel to the classic Australian novel, using never-before-published material from Miles's years working as a servant, intimate correspondence with poet Banjo Paterson, and archival newspapers to build Miles' fascinating Edwardian world in Australia and the United States.