Robert Lukens

The story of this young woman named Sibylla,

who it's set in the 1890s and she knew she didn't want to be married.

She didn't want to be in domesticity.

She wanted something else.

But, um, I mean, what impact did it have on you, David?

How did you find reading this book?

But it's also so interesting because it does force you to read both critically and historically.

And it's something that came out a lot in the reactions that we got from people on the book club Facebook group, people who responded both to the feminist angles of it and with a lot of discomfort about the sort of casual racism and the

And people deciding whether or not they liked Sibylla.

So Peter, for example, said, I'm reading My Brilliant Career for the first time and loving it.

It strikes me as surprisingly modern.

Perhaps things haven't changed as much for young women as I, an old bloke, had assumed.

Whereas Tatiana says, I'm halfway through My Brilliant Career and I don't think I'm going to make it to the end.

I can't understand why this is seen as an iconic book.

The characters are not fully developed.

The plot is slow, if there even is a plot.

And the casual racism is cringeworthy.

And then there are people saying, yes, and yet we want to explore this metaphorical cry of women everywhere.

Will we get a hearing?

Which is what Penelope said.