Lilians Story

Lilian's Story is a Australian film based on a novel by Australian author Kate Grenville, which was inspired by the life of Bea Miles, a famous Sydney.
Table of contents

The Secret River has won many prizes, including the Commonwealth Prize for Literature and the Christina Stead Prize, and has been an international best-seller. The Idea of Perfection won the Orange Prize. Kate Grenville lives in Sydney with her family. Reading group notes Download reading group notes PDF. Online teaching resources mapped to the Australian Curriculum. Online teaching resources mapped to the Australian Curriculum Lesson Plan.


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Online teaching resources mapped to the Australian Curriculum Example Essay. Settings Tips on technique 3: A film adaptation of the novel was released in , starring Toni Collete and Ruth Cracknell as Lilian. In this version she is institutionalised for 40 years. Or students could be asked to write a review of the film as it compares to the novel, paying attention to what the film chooses to tell of the story and what is omitted and why.

A final question for the discussion could be: In this response you will analyse whether she has become a positive or negative figure or perhaps a bit of both. In this chapter we see how Lilian interacts with two different women. On this sheet, you must complete a self-assessment of your own work using the marking rubric. The creative response should be written in a way that creates a voice for the character that reflects the way the character is presented in the novel by Lilian.

A rubric is included. On this sheet you must complete a self-assessment of your own work using the marking rubric. Please note that AustLit is a rich resource for any study of Australian literature or of Australian writers. Talk to your school or local librarian for more information. AustLit — Kate Grenville. Macquarie Pen Anthology — Unit 9: Voices see Activity 6 d. Wikipedia — Kate Grenville. Wheeler Centre — Australian Literature The Monthly Video — Kate Grenville: Writers in a time of change. Radio New Zealand Interview.

The Australian — A History in Fiction. The Guardian — Past imperfect. White Bodies and Colonial History: Australian women writers on sexuality and the female body. Westerly — The Contemporary Femaile Bildungsroman: Gender, Genre and the Politics of Optimism. Food in Contemporary Fiction by Australian Women. Wikipedia — Bea Miles. Profile of Bea Miles. Australian Dictionary of Biography — Bea Miles. SMH — Eccentric City: The Novelist as Barbarian Kate Grenville essay.

Introductory activities

AustLit — Lighting Dark Places: Essays on Kate Grenville. Life at the Time of Federation. This is her early work, and shows how much promise she has as a writer, but it is crying out for a plot. Jan 22, sisterimapoet rated it really liked it Shelves: I discovered Grenville through her Booker nomination.

I recall enjoying that book more than I expected to.

Lilian's Story - Kate Grenville - - Allen & Unwin - Australia

And being impressed how she works with a very traditional story format but makes it feel contemporary. This is one of her earlier books, and I thought in many ways it was far stronger than The Secret River. Its form was again quite traditional, a linear passage through the life of one extraordinary woman. But it was the character depiction that won me over. It's rare for me to encounter I discovered Grenville through her Booker nomination. It's rare for me to encounter someone so vivid.

Spending a few days with this book makes me feel like I have met Lil Singer, as colourful and crazy as that is. I understand that Grenville has written a complimentary novel to this one, focusing on Lil's father - I look forward to reading that too. I can see why she would wish to work further once she has created such an engaging family. Sep 30, Carol rated it did not like it. It is very hard to believe the same person wrote this book! It is a series of little short stories about the same people that were abrupt and jarring to read.

The beautiful prose was not present and I ended up skimming through the last third of the book just to get it over with. She has greatly matured into a magnificent writer in her later books. Mar 12, Erin Brice rated it did not like it. I'm not really sure what to make of this book. It's the journey of a young middle class woman turning into an eccentric lady living on the streets and all the things that happened in her life to bring her to that point.

Lil is an unique character and her journey through the course of the book was interesting. However there wasn't enough of a pull for me to enjoy it. I wasn't eager to find out what happened next and reading it was a chore. It was too slow paced for me, although I I'm not really sure what to make of this book.

It was too slow paced for me, although I have to say the second half was a lot better than the first. Was Frank actually F. J Strode or did she imagine that he was? Dec 23, DPS rated it did not like it Shelves: It is rare for me not to finish a book. Kate Grenville is a great writer, but this one is too, too depressing. There was not one character who made me smile. It is written as a series of short,some less than a page, vignettes, each making me feel worse than the one before. There are just too many books on my shelves waiting for me to read them for me to spend any more time with this one, hoping for it to get better.

Oct 17, Jennifer rated it did not like it. I read for enjoyment, escapism, to challenge my mind or to learn something. Sadly, this book was just depressing. I plodded on hoping it would get better in some way, and eventually skipped forward a couple of times throughout the book, and to the end. It did not get better, it just became more and more depressing, so I have decided not to keep plodding on.

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Mar 14, Lori rated it it was ok. Didn't get the purpose of this book. Sep 13, Melanie rated it really liked it. A story told in moments. Mar 16, Jen Welch rated it really liked it. This poor awkward girl is so believable I couldn't help but empathise with her.

It's not a pleasant story but Lil's character is painted so exquisitely as are the follies of the age she lived in. Mar 10, Estela Anders rated it it was amazing. I admire KG's writing. Love the way she uses words to pull you in. Feb 07, Sandra rated it really liked it.


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  8. I gave this book 3. Kate Granville is a beautiful writer; she crafts her words in such a way that they add movement and dimension. The flaw or the brilliance of Lillian's story is that it is entirely from her perspective. There is no other opinion presented.. We see the world completely from Lillian's eyes from childhood to old age.

    Due to this the book can feel that it is lacking plot. Lillian had many challenges in her I gave this book 3. Lillian had many challenges in her life; the social norm for women in the s, a domineering father, weak mother and her individuality lead her to live and unconventional life. Lillian's character stayed with me long after I read the book. For this I am grateful; to know Lillian is to be exposed to a uniquely brave heart who isn't defined by societies norms. Oct 03, Angela Rhoads rated it liked it. I picked up this book in Australia; it was a have-a-blind-date-with-a-book book, and I am so glad it found its way into my possession.

    The novel is set up as a memoir that follows Lily, a white, privileged Australian girl, through her life. Lily describes herself as fat and not particularly beautiful, which opens her up to a whole range of experiences that are often left out of stories about women and that I appreciated reading about. Through Lily, the reader is introduced to some of the possibl I picked up this book in Australia; it was a have-a-blind-date-with-a-book book, and I am so glad it found its way into my possession.

    Lilian's Story

    It is a distinctly feminist novel, although I would have liked to see the author explore the issues of race and queerness more than she does. This book has all of the tell-tale signs of an author's first novel. The book is a little pieced together, a bit uneven, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it. Jun 22, Cas rated it it was ok Shelves: A little disappointed with this book, not least because the blurb spoiled it by telling the reader what was gong to happen. In most books this doesn't matter because the novel will be substantial enough to overcome the blurb, but this novel simply charted Lilian's descent in a fairly linear way.

    It was a bit of a grind to read, the whole thing rendered too predictable by that blurb. It was further marred for me because Lilian never won my sympathy, even with her family of completely flawed and d A little disappointed with this book, not least because the blurb spoiled it by telling the reader what was gong to happen.

    It was further marred for me because Lilian never won my sympathy, even with her family of completely flawed and dysfunctional characters and her equally odd friends. It felt as though KG didn't know this character as well as she might have done. Because there was no actual plot the whole emphasis was on the character and this allowed the weaknesses to show. Part of the problem was that KG's other books are so vividly alive with fully rounded characters that, by comparison, this more half- hearted effort was never convincing enough for me.

    Lilian's Story'Full'M.o.V.i.E (1996)

    Apr 28, Redfox5 rated it it was ok. I had one big problem with this book and that was that I didn't like Lilian. The older she got, the more I disliked her. Maybe she was really crazy but it seemed to me that she was to aware of being crazy and could stop if she wanted to. She just seemed like a big source of annoyance to the locals.

    One thing that rang true though was when she mentioned that the people she stopped and annoyed would go home and mention seeing her. This reminded me of someone we have local who's a bit odd. The bre I had one big problem with this book and that was that I didn't like Lilian. The breaded lady of Guildford. People will always bring her up in conversation if they see her, just like people would have done with Lil. And her whole life seemed pointless.

    Lilian’s Story

    She ended up living with Frank on the streets anyways, she should have just married him when she was younger and her life might have been very different Oct 19, Gopakumar Nair rated it liked it. The story is told in superb prose blended with poetic touch. But the flow gets hindered at many places by the abrupt ending and dramatic opening of the chapters.

    But, After finishing the last page I could not help wondering whether the whole world has gone insane!. Sep 24, Dillwynia Peter rated it liked it. I think I have read to many coming of age books, because, this didn't feel that original to me at all.