Writing Career
She had short sketches and stories published in various newspapers and magazines before achieving success with her first novel. Three religious tracts were published as The Mysterious Stranger (1913), Before an Eastern Court (1914) and Muffled Drums (1914). The success of the first of these tracts helped her to find a publisher for her first novel, The Captive Singer (1917). It was based on a guide who sang at Tasmania's Marakoopa Cave and was a financial success selling 150,000 copies in English and a further 40,000 in Danish translation. This first novel established Marie Bjelke Petersen as a significant Australian writer.
Bjelke Petersen approached Australian-born Hollywood actress Louise Lovely with her story Jewelled Nights suggesting it might suit Lovely. Louise Lovely liked the story and produced a film of the same name with her partner, Wilton Welch, in 1925. However, it was not a commercial success, recovering £5,000 of its £10,000 production cost. The film had its critics, some regarded its primary weakness as its plot which involved a girl disguising herself as a boy. However the film was a popular success in Australia and overall the critics were friendly - another explanation was that this ambitious film fell victim to structural distribution problems facing the Australian film industry.
Her novels were distinguished by a fresh literary take on Australian life, closely observed scenery and social background and, by the standards of the romance genre, comparatively non-stereotyped characterisation and plot. Despite her conservative politics they were also notable for their celebration of Australian egalitarianism and her promotion of women's rights at a time when (and a place where) the women's movement was largely quiescent. Her novels also reflected her devout Christianity. A striking feature of her novels was their intense feeling for landscape, almost to the extent of ascribing sentience to natural features.
Her novels sold altogether around 250,000 copies in English, a phenomenal success for an Australian writer at that time. They were also translated into six languages, including Arabic.
In 1935 she won the King's Jubilee medal for services to literature.
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