Wednesday 4 May 2011

Some everyday folk and Dawn (Franklin)


When I made a plea for inspiration as to which VMC to read next, another one that got mentioned several times was Some everyday folk and Dawn, and it reminded me that actually I had been very keen to read it, having loved the exhuberant and whimsical My brillaint career and My career goes bung over a year ago.

I enjoyed reading it but I'm afraid it didn't live up to the other two Franklin books that I had read; it was quite different. The books tells the story of a narrator who finds lodgings with Mrs Clay in Noonoon, Australia, 1904. Among the other people living with Mrs Clay, is her grandaughter Dawn. Dawn is a lively young girl determined to forge a career on the stage, but old Mrs Clay has other ideas and is determined to get Dawn to settle down and take a husband.

It was interesting reading this immediately after Thank heaven fasting, as it was a different take on a similar issue - should women focus on getting married or should they be allowed to (or encourage to) pursue their careers.

It was entertaining but it didn't for me contain the uniqueness that made My brilliant career or My career goes bung such wonderful books.

Unlike Franklin's two career books, which have had a couple of VMC editions, this one has only been published once in an original green edition. But I love the cover art which seems to evoke Australia at the early twentieth century when the book is set.

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