Picnic at Hanging Rock

One of the most elegant, evocative novels in Australian literature. Lindsay's prose is exquisite, as is her reconstruction of this era in Australian history. Both the landscape and the figures that move in it, like those stiff individuals in the original painting that inspired the work, make this a striking work. Even minor characters are clearly delineated and highly believable in their interaction (or non-interaction) with the natural world. As in Weir's excellent movie adaptation, the bush becomes a character. Just as fascinating as the inexplicable events themselves are the unfolding patterns that extend outwards from the day of the picnic. Lindsay has an superb eye for detail, and the novel's remarkable intricacy only becomes apparent upon reading and rereading. A quick note, though - this book is most certainly fiction, and anyone searching through newspaper coverage, police records or secondary sources for the `real' story is bound for disappointment. It never happened (take this from someone who was convinced of its authenticity for years). If in any doubt read the excellent book written about the novel `The Murders at Hanging Rock' by Yvonne Rousseau who also wrote an essay interpreting the missing chapter in `The Secret at Hanging Rock'. Rousseau examines the story from several angles and offers interpretations ranging from the mystical to the forensic. She also traces any notable historical events that did happen at the Rock for the period around the turn of the century - about the only mysterious event was the death of a man in a fall (from memory, the mystery was what happened to his pocketbook).

Having seen Peter Weir's film before reading Joan Lindsay's novel itis difficult for me to review the book without referring to the film.The film leaves out some details from the novel but both convey thesame sense of beauty, horror and loss, longing and haunting. We aretold on the book's cover that the story is based around a StValentine's day picnic in 1900, and the disappearance of some of thepicnic party.Picnic at Hanging Rock is Joan Lindsay's only work offiction, although its many themes are firmly based on reality. Thestory covers the loss of youth, beauty and innocence; love andsexuality; discrimination, prejudice and class privilege; fear,passion and the breakdown of order; the English Empire in a foreignenvironment, the clash of alien cultures, and the end of an era;beliefs and life's purpose; life's myriad web and coincidences;destiny and fate; and Time itself, reflected in Miranda's favouritequote "Everything begins and ends at exactly the right time andplace".Joan Lindsay's descriptions of the Australian bush andwildlife are as evocative as Russell Boyd's cinematography. The styleand language of her writing is deliberate to emulate turn-of-the 20thcentury writers.The girls images were already imprinted on my mindwhen I read the book and the casting in the film seemed to me perfect,especially that of Anne Louise Lambert as Miranda and Karen Robson asIrma. Joan Lindsay described Mademoiselle Dianne de Poitiers, theFrench teacher and the girls' confidante, as having blond hair, yetthe casting of the excellent Helen Morse was inspired.Joan Lindsaydescribes Miranda as a Botticelli Angel from the Galleria Degli Uffiziin Florence, and Peter Weir specifically uses the image of the birthof Venus. Miranda is all knowing and shows compassion to Sara andEdith the least popular girl's at the school. Anne Louise Lambert'sportrayal of Miranda with her ethereal beauty and enigmatic smilecaptures the vision perfectly, and is reminiscent of the knowing smileon the death mask of the famous "L'Inconnue de la Seine", whocoincidentally died around 1900 in Paris.The story's many strandsare reflected by the girl's layers of virginal white dressrepresenting suppression and restriction, with gloves, stockings andshoes being shed by the more enlightened girls on their ascent of therock. Peter Weir used several techniques to convey the many layers ofthe story including shots into mirrors as into anotherdimension.Joan Lindsay made a literary mistake which Cliff Greenrepeated in the film script - Felicia Hemanes' famous Victorianrecital piece is "Casabianca" (about the Battle of The Nile),and not "The Wreck of the Hesperus" (the captain ties hisdaughter to the mast to save her from the storm which eventually sinksthe ship) which is by Henry Longfellow. Discrimination is shown byMrs Appleyard against Sara (an orphan) who is punished for notlearning the poem, by being kept back from the picnic, whereas clearlyIrma cannot remember it (on the picnic she can o

I had to hunt for a copy of this out-of-print novel through the internet, and order it used from a bookstore in Australia, but it was well worth the effort! Beautifully written, this 1986 re-issue has period photographs that add greatly to the enigmatic story. The excellent 1975 Peter Weir movie version is quite faithful to the book. Interestingly, there is a Chapter 18 that is considered the "lost" final chapter that resolves the mystery. Joan Lindsay wrote it, but was asked by the publishers to withhold it from publication pending the movie rights. The caveat was that the chapter would only be published after her death. Lindsay died in 1984, her book was re-issued in 1986 (minus Chapter 18) and the "missing" chapter was finally published in 1987 under the title "Secret of Hanging Rock." If you can find "Picnic at Hanging Rock," buy it & savor it. It's THAT good. Rent the video too!

A group of school girls in the Austrialian outback at the turn of the century go out for a picnic and from there a haunting mystery ensues. Joan Lindsay has written a short but involving, absorbing novel that brings to life a strange and memorable experience from a time long ago. Carefully crafted, this novel as well as Peter Weir's direction of the full-length motion picture by the same name present one of the most fascinating interplays between the written form and motion picture format. Much of actual dialogue for the movie is taken from the novel which is almost unheard of nowadays. (For those unable to obtain a copy of the book, the movie version is as well done as the book). Both are delightful as they are haunting.

Joan Lindsay created an incredibly disturbing novel, full of atmosphere and suspense. The writing is so powerfully visual, you can picture each scene as if it were playing in front of you. You can feel the heat of the day, smell the earth and hear the characters talking. And when you finally finish the novel, you will want to read it all over again and even visit the place where these (fictional) events were set...Hanging Rock, Australia.