Stella miles franklin biography jill roe johns

Distinguished historian Jill Roe, best known for her celebrated biography of Australian writer Miles Franklin, died at her home in Pearl Beach north of Sydney last Thursday afternoon.

I remember her as a warm, witty woman with a formidable intellect and a mischievous smile.

She was forthright in her views, like many rural born people.

Jillian Isobel Roe had a lot in common with the heroine of Miles Franklin's famous novel My Brilliant Career, the spirited country girl Sybylla Melvyn, who lived in the Brindabella Ranges near Canberra.

Roe was born in Tumby Bay on South Australia's Eyre Peninsula in Her mother Edna, who was a nurse, died before Jill turned two years old and - like Miles' fictional heroine - Jill was sent to live with her maternal grandmother and a maiden aunt up country.

A self-described young rebel, she was educated at a one-teacher primary s Stella Miles Franklin: A Biography Kindle Edition - LEDUZ