Never too Late to Read Classics discussion

This month we will be reading the works of two female Austraian authors with male pen names: Miles Franklin and Henry Handel Richardson .

Miles Franklin (Stella Marie Sarah Miles Franklin) was born on October 14, 1879 in Talbingo, Australia and died on September 19, 1954 in Drummoyne, Australia.
In 1906 she moved to the United States, then in 1915 to England, returning to Australia in 1931 after her father's death.
Her most successful book is My Brilliant Career.

Henry Handel Richardson (Ethel Florence Lindesay Richardson) was born on January 3, 1870 in East Melbourne, Australia and died on March 20, 1946 in Hastings, U.K.
Her three major works are Maurice Guest, The Fortunes of Richard Mahony and The Getting of Wisdom.

Which books will you be reading?

I'll be reading Maurice Guest.

I'll be reading The Getting of Wisdom.

I am currently reading and enjoying The Getting of Wisdom by Henry Handel Richardson.

I will probably also read the author's Australia Felix.

I forgot to mention that for Miles Franklin I will read My Brilliant Career.

I´ve read now Henry Handel Richardson's The Getting of Wisdom and Miles Franklin's My Brilliant Career. Ir is interesting comparing the two! I definitely prefer Richardson's over Franklin's.

For those interested, here are my two reviews:
Richardson's: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Franklin's: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I will stick in another by Richardson, later this or next month.

If anyone is interested in reading more female authors from that region, I recommend Ruth Park, a 20th century author who was born in New Zealand but spent most of her life in Australia. Her most famous for adults is The Harp in the South Trilogy, but she also wrote books for children.

Thanks for the suggestion, Rosemarie. I am going to see if I an get that one by Park.

I have enjoyed Richardson more than Franklin. I have read two now by Richardson and given both four stars. The two are The Getting of Wisdom and Australia Felix, the first of the trilogy about her father

Thank you for leading me to her..

I'm glad you found her worthwhile, Chrissie.

I just finished The Getting of Wisdom by Henry Handel Richardson and thoroughly enjoyed this story of the unique girl, Laura Rathbothom. If you like boarding school stories, this is one for you.

I like boarding house stories, Kathy.
Swiss Sonata is a good boarding house story but a lesser known Canadian author, Gwethalyn Graham.
I've started the lengthy Maurice Guest by Henry Handel Richardson. It's 562 pages long!

I'm making progress on Maurice Guest. The book is good but there's a lot of detail. I hope to finish it before April 30.

I'll be reading My Career Goes Bung, the sequel to My Brilliant Career, which I read a few years ago.

I'm in part 2 of Maurice Guest and the action has really picked up now.

After 446 out of 562 pages I am abandoning Maurice Guest. Way too much detail and repititon. I'm tired.

Rosemarie wrote: "After 446 out of 562 pages I am abandoning Maurice Guest. Way too much detail and repititon. I'm tired."

Find something really interesting next, Rosemarie. It's hard to DNF books.

I'm reading something completely different now, The Beetle by Richard Marsh.

Rosemarie wrote: "After 446 out of 562 pages I am abandoning Maurice Guest. Way too much detail and repititon. I'm tired."

I couldn't get the book. Now I am no longer envious. :0)

I really enjoyed The Fortunes of Richard Mahony so I'm disappointed.
Maurice Guest is her first book and it shows. That may be why it's hard to find. Another reason I stopped reading is that the action seemed to be stuck and getting repetitive. The book would have benefitted from some serious editing.

Rosemarie wrote: "I really enjoyed The Fortunes of Richard Mahony so I'm disappointed.
Maurice Guest is her first book and it shows. That may be why it's hard to find. Another reason I stopped readin..."
Thank you very much for explaining why you have dumped it. I noted how much you ad read of the book before giving up! Your behavior mirrors mine with other books.

I just couldn't face reading another 100 pages. I read the ending and am so glad I stopped reading about the main character's downward spiral.

Rosemarie wrote: "I just couldn't face reading another 100 pages. I read the ending and am so glad I stopped reading about the main character's downward spiral."

What you say makes me smile. It seems you fall into the world of a novel just as i do. Doing so can be both wonderful and totally horrible depending upon the quality of the book.