A delightfully irresistible classic coming-of-age story, made available in a beautiful hardback for adult and young adult readers ""The idea of marriage even with the best man in the world seems to me a lowering thing."" Trapped on her parents' farm in the Australian outback, ebullient 16-year-old Sybylla Melvyn simultaneously loves bush life and hates the physical burdens it imposes. She longs for a more refined, aesthetic lifestyle--to read, to think, to sing--but most of all she longs to do great things. Suddenly her life is transformed. Whisked away to live on her grandmother's gracious property, she finds herself under the gaze of wealthy, handsome Harry Beecham. And soon she must choose between everything a conventional life offers and her own plans for a "brilliant career." First published in 1901, this book features an unforgettable, feisty heroine, who is refreshingly modern.