The Getting of Wisdom

Laura Rambotham, clever, poor, and painfully sure of her own difference, is sent from a small country home to a genteel Melbourne boarding school, where she quickly learns that intelligence counts for less than knowing how to fit in. Henry Handel Richardson drew on her own schooldays for this sharp, often funny study of adolescence, following Laura as she fibs, dreams, blunders, and slowly works out the compromises that growing up demands. First published in 1910, it punctures the pieties of respectable education while treating its young heroine with real tenderness. Long admired in Australia, it remains one of the finest coming of age novels of its era. Free PDF and EPUB editions are available here.